Twitter Lists: A Power Tool for Authors
Twitter Lists: A Power Tool for Authors
Written by Freya
Source: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2010/02/twitter-lists-power-tool-for-authors-by.html
Twitter lists are a powerful tool you as an author should use to engage with your audience. Used right it can increase your productivity on twitter many fold and help you reach your goals faster. It will also help organize the twitter chaos a little : )
What are Twitter Lists?
Twitter’s ‘Lists’ feature allows you to group people on twitter. You can make a list on just about anything (from science fiction to friends) and add people you want to it. What I love about this is that I can add someone to a list even if I don’t follow them. There are people I want to listen to but adding them to my stream will cause it to seem overloaded so, I add them to a list. For example: I follow a lot of authors on twitter through my ‘Authors on Twitter’ list but do not directly follow all of them (over time as I get to know them I follow too).
Lists as verification checks
When I meet someone new on twitter and need help to make up my mind on following them, twitter’s lists are great tool. Taking a look at how many times someone has been listed helps you gauge their reputation and by looking at the lists you’ll know what that person’s specialties are. Example: @TonyEldridge is reputed for being an author and book marketer. You can also look through their lists to find more interesting people.
Are lists just groups?
Yes, lists are just groups but the key lies in creating them right and using them well. Before creating your lists make a list of your audience. For example we at BookBuzzr want to engage with authors, publishers and those in the writing/publishing industry. So our lists are – authors on twitter, book marketers, book related, etc.
Grouping people right helps to see conversations better and aids with engagement. As an author you can create lists for marketing your books, different audiences, publishing news, author friends, etc. When you go through each list separately rather than your timeline, it is easier to start relevant conversations, connect with common friends and see all of these conversations happening with more ease.
The key is still engagement
The key to success on the internet is engagement in its many forms. Engaging and connecting with your audience is what will guarantee book sales. Lists just make this easier.
For example: If you are a science fiction author (as you can see its one of my favorite genres), you can create a list of science fiction buffs on twitter. This list will give you a lot of information about your audience and what they are reading currently. It is also a great opportunity to engage in conversations with your readers.
You can also add people to lists for news and information as this will help you stay updated. You can also share this information and start discussions on twitter.
Niche Lists
Some lists on twitter are niche lists; they have the movers and shakers on it. When you watch these lists you are privy to special conversations. You pick up nuggets of knowledge and news and connect with influential people. You can create your own niche lists and watch people start to follow it.
Twitter has proven to be a great networking tool and the new lists feature just accelerates the use of its potential. Grouping your audience right and engaging with them creates more opportunities for your books and writing. The more you connect, make friends and build relationships the more you will benefit in every way: And Lists will help you do this with more ease.
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Freya is the author community manager for BookBuzzr – A Free Online Book Marketing Technology for Authors and is the face of @BookBuzzr on Twitter. She is a Social Media Marketing Consultant and blogger. When not online she is a biker, bibliophile, traveler and imagineer. : )
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