Is there a post-Twitter world for writers?
Hello. I have been a very big proponent of authors using Twitter for quite some years, as you can see from this embarrassing photo of me at Twitter HQ in London. And to be fair, in the main, the platform has served the book industry very well. But, things are changing! Elon Musk has taken over and seems to be aiming for total destruction. Many people are leaving or contemplating it and looking for a new place to find that supportive and engaged book community. Here are my thoughts,
Nobody can be certain what is going to happen at Twitter, so personally, I think we should hope for the best and plan for the worst.
There isn’t going to be ONE place where everyone goes, so the future looks more fragmented.
Things to do if you’re unsure if or when you’ll leave Twitter
Keep your Twitter account for the time being, either let it sit dormant or check in occasionally.
If you definitely want to keep your Twitter account, then protect yourself as much as possible from the additional hate-mongers that seem to have returned to the site. Block and mute people aggressively, but also go to Settings and support > Settings and privacy > Privacy and setting - where you can mute and block certain words, look your account down, and set up who can DM you and more.
Think about the possibility of Twitter either shutting down or being a place you don’t want to spend anymore time or energy on.
Your other active social media
Take a look at the other social media where you have accounts. Is it worth putting more energy into your Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest (or wherever you are active)? Have a look at the analytics on all of them. Spending time on the other social media where you already have a presence may be more effective than starting from scratch elsewhere.
If you decide to build your existing social media then make sure you encourage as many of your Twitter followers as possible to join you there too.
Other social media, where to go?
If you are considering setting up a new social media account then worth thinking about the social media where writers and the book industry is already active and there is an established community you can engage with.
TikTok - I absolutely know this isn’t for everyone, but again I recommend you set up an account (same name) and at least familiarise yourself with BookTok - they might be talking about your books! We know for a fact that TikTok actually sells books and drives people into bookshops, so worth understanding it a little. I am there too (shocker), but very much with my boomer boots on, but if I’m honest, I am starting to REALLY enjoy it. Should authors be on TikTok? Some great answers to my question on Twitter.
Reddit - I noticed the Gillian Flynd did an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit recently, which reminded me that there are very active communities there. The platform is a bit old school, but worth considering because there is an active book community and it also split up into sub-reddits and genres too. r/Writing, r/Writers, r/Books, r/Fantasy etc. Find out more about Reddit for writers, here
Facebook & Instagram - I’m assuming every writer is already present here
Again, if you do create new accounts here, then drive some of your Twitter followers there too.
New social media platforms
These are mostly Twitter competitors. I have seen book folk setting up accounts on Mastodon, TikTok, Tribel, Hive, and Post. There are far fewer users on these platforms, but you might find engaging in a smaller, more intimate group preferable and more useful?
Mastodon seems to be the most popular with the book industry (so far), it isn’t the most straightforward thing in the world, but has a lot of similarities to Twitter. Read a bit more about it here. I am not necessarily advocating for it, because I haven’t spent enough time on it yet, but I’d suggest setting up and account with the same name as your Twitter name just in case. (Please read up on concerns on the safety for LGBT+ and other marginalised communities).
Again, if you do create new accounts here, then drive some of your Twitter followers there too.
Don’t lose your Twitter connections completely
If, like me, you have been building connections on Twitter for over 12 years, then think how you can migrate the most valuable ones either to follow you elsewhere, sign up to your author newsletter (certainly encourage this regularly anway) and even perhaps Linkedin.
Making your author platform robust
Worth taking a minute to consider where you engage with readers, booksellers, bloggers, journalists and others, and aks if are you covering as many bases as possible? Social media should only ever be a part of your platform. And despite social media being incredibly valuable, you are dependent on the whimsy of new owners but also how the algorithm favours your content and how many people see your posts. Most of your posts are seen by fewer than 5% of your followers.
If you have an author newsletter already, spend some time encouraging your social media followers to subscribe. One of the most compelling reasons to spend a lot more time building your own author newsletter is because you ‘own’ this way of communicating to your readers in a way that you never will on social media. Also, email marketing is much more effective than social media. I genuinely think this is an essential tool for all authors and time well spent.
If you’d like to find out how to do this is a simple, practical way, you could buy our Author Newsletter Bundle - an hour-long video, a 40-page report explaining everything and an annual worksheet so you can plan your email activity. Find out more here.
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