It’s the end of the year, so why not take a little downtime (haha, what’s that) and clean up your author bios and social media accounts? Is it worth the time? Well, let me put it this way: don’t you want to connect with readers, aka people who will buy your book? Additionally, clean up time is a great way to update old links, outdated graphics, and any other information you need to be on top of for ultimate SEO and exposure.
As we’ve discussed in the past, many writers follow only other writers and then complain at the amount of “Buy my book!” spam they receive. To stop that from happening, unfollow all but the writers you interact with regularly.
What about Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram and LinkedIn? Your Amazon Author Central Page and Website About Page? We’ll cover those, too. Let’s get started.
- Is your bio complete? Is it updated? You have 160 characters to use in your bio, so make the most of it. You can add an additional link (that will hyperlink and show up in Search) so add your book link or Facebook or whatever you want here. Add a few pertinent hashtags, but don’t make it unreadable.
- Have you created an interesting display name yet? You now have up to 50 characters.
- How long as it been since you updated your pinned tweet? Unless it’s really popular (as mine is on @RachelintheOC, with over 3K retweets, so I leave it there), change it up to ensure the info is still relevant.
- Is your header graphic updated? Is it hi-res? Do the colors pop? You can hire someone on Fiverr to do a decent header for $5 or create one on Canva. Do you have a good avatar pic? Show your face. People connect with faces.
- How is your follower ratio? When was the last time you cleaned up inactives, no-faces (used to be called ‘eggs’), and fakes? I recommend using ManageFlitter (they have a limited free option, though it’s worth it for the cheap Pro version). The best way to grow on Twitter is to follow others with similar interests. Build relationships, don’t hard sell.
- Audit your last twenty tweets: how many contained links? If you have a link in every tweet, you’re violating Twitter’s Terms of Service, aka the Twitter Rules. Figure out how to share different types of content. Links are not the only thing you can share: tweet quotes (yours and others), retweet others, interact with people, comment on trending topics, create Moments from interesting tweets on a particular topic…the only limit is your own imagination.
- Want a verified account? Sorry, that’s on hold. Stay tuned for updates (Go to the Help Section anytime or read their blog).
Facebook Page
- When was the last time you updated your Author Page header? Clicked on your header and added all your links? (I didn’t even know I could do this until someone told me). Not sure the size? Here’s a handy infographic to use for all your social media headers.
See below:
- Just as above: how complete is your bio? How about your About page? Avatar photo? Have you added/connected Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube? Have you activated Notes? *If you’re not sure how to do all this, go into the About Section of your page and you’ll see Notes. To connect your other social media, I recommend the free version of WooBox.
- Did you create an Author Page (not a Business Page or something else)? A personalized username? I don’t recommend creating Pages every time you release a book. Why? That’s a lot for you (and your readers) to keep track of. One author, one page. Promote whichever book is newest or on sale at that time.
- Do you feel you deserve a verified account? Fill out the forms. You can only get a GRAY verification button for Pages, BLUE for Personal Accounts. You cannot do both. They want your first-born and a million dollars (kidding). Just proof of birth (seriously) and a few other things.
- Not sure what to post? Facebook’s help section is basic but informative.
- Does your demographic consist of women, men, or teens? You need to be on Pinterest. Women and teens are the largest demographic, but the male demo is growing over there. If you’re not there, start an account. It’s super easy. I recommend starting with a business account, which allows you to run ads (at some point) and get analytics.
- If you have an account, when was the last time you went through your boards? I know some of my pins are old and outdated — so this is definitely on my clean-up list.
- Are your boards all about you? Are they limited in range? Tastes change. Something I enjoyed three years ago, I may not be into now. It’s okay to delete boards, start new ones, etc. Pinterest is all about what you find interesting and want to share, but not all about you.
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Rachel Thompson is the author of newly released BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge: How to energize your book sales in a month, created to help authors market their books. She is also the author of Broken Places, one of IndieReader’s “Best of 2015” top books and 2015 Honorable Mention Winner in the San Francisco Book Festival, the multi award-winning Broken Pieces, and two humor books, A Walk In The Snark and Mancode: Exposed. She hates walks in the rain, running out of coffee, and coconut. She lives in California with her family. Follow her on Twitter.
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Originally posted at BadRedheadMedia.com
Photo by Jason Howie