The Book Sale Social Media Experiment for Authors
Creating a plan of action before trying an author’s social media experiment is key
Social media is a powerful tool that allows us to connect with tons of readers.
However, it’s also a fast-paced social space that, unless you hit your target, gets lost in the mix.
So, how can you take on the fast-paced world of social media as an author?
Step 1: Research
It’s not the fun portion, but it’s necessary. Take the time to research authors in your genre. Make note of:
Follower Count
Types of content they post (And how it did)
What platform are they on
Any other details you think could help
This step will take time, so do it thoroughly.
Step 2: Create Content
Once you have seen what other authors in your genre are doing, brainstorm some ideas of content you could post and begin drafting some content items. This could be:
Image posts for Instagram
Book comps
Quotes from your book with an aesthetic backdrop
Creative posts (look at my shelf, about me, where did my book travel)
Creating a slew of different content is key to keeping things fresh, but also having pools of content ideas you can use is useful as well.
Tip: Use resources such as Canva.com to create images, videos, and more for your content
Step 3: Plan
Now that you know what types of content you can use, and you have created content to use, it’s time to plan when it will be seen.
For this to work, block a period of time to dedicate to posting this content, considering how often you will post and for how long. (For example: I will post 5 days a week for a month and see how my followers/book sales/ or stats have been affected.)
Then use a planner, calendar, or scheduling app to get all your content sorted and planned.
Tip: Great resources for this are the good old Google Calendar, a Word document, or sources like Hypefury, Loomly, or even social media platforms that have built-in schedulers
Step 4: Reflect and Assess
Once your time period is over for your social media experiment, it’s time to look back over the content you posted and see how it did.
You can check:
Book sales
Follower counts
Stats on each post
Compare likes and comments
Doing this will help you figure out what your audience wants and how you can move forward.
Note what did well and what didn’t do well. Because if something did well and your audience responded to something, the chances of mimicking or expanding on that are high.
Tip: Using an Excel table or Word table, track the content you posted by the categories- Platform, likes, comments, shares, date, and more.
Social media can be tricky to navigate and keep up with, or even just get noticed on.
The good thing is, there are ways to perform some trial and error. There are also people out there willing to share what they have tried. And you can track these over long periods of time to see what you are capable of.
Take the time to:
Research other authors in your genre to see what they are doing on social media
Create content surrounding your book or platform that you can use on social media
Plan out where, when, and how often you will post this created content
Reflect after the allotted period of time as to how well your content did
Bethany Azatadeh does a great job speaking about this, trying a social media experiment here: Does this strategy really sell more books?