Beem Weeks's Blog - Posts Tagged "twitter"
Voice Of Indie
What an amazing time we, as indie authors, find ourselves living in. We have the very world at our fingertips. From our homes we can communicate messages to every part of the world. An author in Los Angeles can alert readers in the U.K. of his/her upcoming ebook giveaway. A brand new short story can be posted on any given website and read by hundreds or thousands of readers by day's end. But all of this can only be beneficial to the author if those who would read this work are aware it exists. This is where Twitter, Facebook, and other social media come into play.
I've read the frustrating laments writers post on their blogs concerning lack of readership. The numbers just aren't there. What can be done? Well, here's what I found to be quite helpful: Use those social media sites you've taken the time to set up. Facebook is fine, but if nobody outside of your circle of friends is aware of your page, few people will know of the work you're promoting.
Twitter, as far as I've seen, is by far the best place to draw attention to your various sites. A short burst of 140 characters, complete with a link, will be seen by anybody following you or following those who generously retweet your message. The potential audience is limitless.
This, however, doesn't necessarily translate into book sales. What it does do is it gets author and book title into the public conscience on a larger scale than a simple blog post would. Because, after all, if your blog is read by just a handful of regulars, how can you expect to grow your brand? Write your blog, post a link to it in your tweets, and watch how your number of views grows.
This brings me to the title of this blog piece. I recently set up a Twitter account using the handle @voiceofindie. Yeah, I know, pretentious, right? The truth is, I wholly expected that handle to be in use already. It wasn't, so I took it. That doesn't mean I'm claiming to be the one true voice of the indie movement. Far from it. I am one small voice among many. But the whole idea behind this @voiceofindie is to support and promote independent creativity of all sorts.
An author will tweet me a message or they'll retweet one of my messages. In return, I'll post a link to their site, their book on Amazon, or I'll retweet some of their previous messages. From there, other of my followers retweet my tweets, reaching an even bigger audience. I'm seeing the results. And it's not just indie authors, either. I have many fantastic indie musicians, photographers, artists, and bloggers following me. As my following grows, the audience potential grows. And I follow everybody who follows me.
The point of @voiceofindie is this: A strong indie movement is good for all of us who are involved in it. So join me in this network of indie promotion and let's build our audiences together.
I've read the frustrating laments writers post on their blogs concerning lack of readership. The numbers just aren't there. What can be done? Well, here's what I found to be quite helpful: Use those social media sites you've taken the time to set up. Facebook is fine, but if nobody outside of your circle of friends is aware of your page, few people will know of the work you're promoting.
Twitter, as far as I've seen, is by far the best place to draw attention to your various sites. A short burst of 140 characters, complete with a link, will be seen by anybody following you or following those who generously retweet your message. The potential audience is limitless.
This, however, doesn't necessarily translate into book sales. What it does do is it gets author and book title into the public conscience on a larger scale than a simple blog post would. Because, after all, if your blog is read by just a handful of regulars, how can you expect to grow your brand? Write your blog, post a link to it in your tweets, and watch how your number of views grows.
This brings me to the title of this blog piece. I recently set up a Twitter account using the handle @voiceofindie. Yeah, I know, pretentious, right? The truth is, I wholly expected that handle to be in use already. It wasn't, so I took it. That doesn't mean I'm claiming to be the one true voice of the indie movement. Far from it. I am one small voice among many. But the whole idea behind this @voiceofindie is to support and promote independent creativity of all sorts.
An author will tweet me a message or they'll retweet one of my messages. In return, I'll post a link to their site, their book on Amazon, or I'll retweet some of their previous messages. From there, other of my followers retweet my tweets, reaching an even bigger audience. I'm seeing the results. And it's not just indie authors, either. I have many fantastic indie musicians, photographers, artists, and bloggers following me. As my following grows, the audience potential grows. And I follow everybody who follows me.
The point of @voiceofindie is this: A strong indie movement is good for all of us who are involved in it. So join me in this network of indie promotion and let's build our audiences together.
Twitter As A Marketing Tool
Marketing in this modern world of indie publishing has afforded authors a wide array of options. Among these choices are blogs, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. I personally prefer Twitter. Twitter allows for quick messages and immediate feedback. With generous retweets, the audience potential is virtually unlimited.
On Twitter, I’m known as @voiceofindie (though I've recently added @BeemWeeks). Those who follow me know this account isn’t just a self-promoting entity. I promote the work of others more so than my own. Writers, bloggers, musicians, artists, and photographers often benefit from shout-outs and retweets. But I don’t do this expecting retweets of my own stuff. I do this for one simple reason: A stronger indie movement is good for everyone treading this platform.
When we indie writers, musicians, and artists work together, we strengthen an up-and-coming industry. This tells the mainstream: Hey, we can do this without you. It lets the world know we exist, that our work is of the highest quality, and we’re only gaining in power.
I’ve discovered many new and talented writers through this process. I’ve also been turned on to great music from some seriously amazing musicians. Bands like Argentinian rockers Amoenus and Nashville-based The Bloody Nerve are reaching the world with music that, in most cases, sounds far superior to the auto-tuned nonsense seeping from the major labels these days.
@voiceofindie is growing each day. The only drawback is that I may not be able to get to every retweet every day. There are just so many wonderful participants involved in my little experiment. And that’s exactly what it is: an experiment. I set out to see if creative sorts from across the world would come together in the twitterverse to share what they’re reading or writing or listening to or recording. And it’s working. So why not join in and support indie! Tweet for tweet is the cheapest way to spread the word.
On Twitter, I’m known as @voiceofindie (though I've recently added @BeemWeeks). Those who follow me know this account isn’t just a self-promoting entity. I promote the work of others more so than my own. Writers, bloggers, musicians, artists, and photographers often benefit from shout-outs and retweets. But I don’t do this expecting retweets of my own stuff. I do this for one simple reason: A stronger indie movement is good for everyone treading this platform.
When we indie writers, musicians, and artists work together, we strengthen an up-and-coming industry. This tells the mainstream: Hey, we can do this without you. It lets the world know we exist, that our work is of the highest quality, and we’re only gaining in power.
I’ve discovered many new and talented writers through this process. I’ve also been turned on to great music from some seriously amazing musicians. Bands like Argentinian rockers Amoenus and Nashville-based The Bloody Nerve are reaching the world with music that, in most cases, sounds far superior to the auto-tuned nonsense seeping from the major labels these days.
@voiceofindie is growing each day. The only drawback is that I may not be able to get to every retweet every day. There are just so many wonderful participants involved in my little experiment. And that’s exactly what it is: an experiment. I set out to see if creative sorts from across the world would come together in the twitterverse to share what they’re reading or writing or listening to or recording. And it’s working. So why not join in and support indie! Tweet for tweet is the cheapest way to spread the word.
Beware The Techno-Zombies
They are everywhere. In restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and banks. They can be found wandering the streets of big cities and small villages alike. I’m talking about the walking dead. No, I don’t mean flesh-eating zombies in search of a slow-moving meal. I’m talking about smartphone junkies. You know the ones, those brain-addled folks who cannot function more than a few minutes without looking at the electronic device that’s literally stealing their souls away.
We’ve all seen the videos on the internet; the ones showing those clueless clowns who plunge into water fountains inside some shopping mall because they can’t bear to look away from the smartphone long enough to save themselves from disaster.
Just sit inside of a restaurant—any restaurant in any city in any country—and watch all the sagging, drooping heads. These brain-dead techno-zombies won’t even bother to socialize with their lunch or dinner companions. They just can’t spare the thirty minutes or so for simple human to human interaction. Their smartphone just won’t allow it.
This is the new society we live in. This is the curse that technology has gifted the human race. How many lives have been lost due to smart phones? I see these fools texting, surfing the internet, and checking emails while at the helm of fast-moving vehicles. I watched one idiot fly through an intersection before T-boning an unsuspecting motorist who had the misfortune of passing through that intersection at the wrong moment in time. The guilty party was texting or checking messages. The rest of us were stopped at the red light. I guess you’re not likely to notice a thing like a red light with your nose buried in a smart phone.
During a recent visit to a local burger joint, I witnessed a grandmother completely ignoring her young granddaughter, because whatever her smartphone offered far exceeded anything the little girl could manage. The girl, no more than five, practically pleaded for Grandma’s attention before finally realizing the futility in her effort. The grandmother acknowledged the girl twice during the thirty-odd minutes they were in the restaurant. And both times, the woman hollered at the girl to quit pestering her.
Don’t get me wrong; technology has been amazing—especially for writers. It’s something of a miracle to be able to write a short article like this, and have it read by people all over the world with just a few keystrokes. But look at what’s been replaced by this technology. Social interaction is now mostly carried out over Facebook or Twitter or texting or any one of a dozen other social media sites. Very few of us actually sit down and write letters to friends and family anymore. Why bother when a text message is quicker and easier? Most schools here in the States don’t even bother teaching students proper handwriting. Cursive has been placed on the endangered species list. And books? Who has time to read books when there are video games, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and emails on which to catch up.
I’m not against technology; I use it daily. I just think we’ve lost something vital to being human beings. And the deeper we fall in with technology, the more likely we’ll never recover.
We’ve all seen the videos on the internet; the ones showing those clueless clowns who plunge into water fountains inside some shopping mall because they can’t bear to look away from the smartphone long enough to save themselves from disaster.
Just sit inside of a restaurant—any restaurant in any city in any country—and watch all the sagging, drooping heads. These brain-dead techno-zombies won’t even bother to socialize with their lunch or dinner companions. They just can’t spare the thirty minutes or so for simple human to human interaction. Their smartphone just won’t allow it.
This is the new society we live in. This is the curse that technology has gifted the human race. How many lives have been lost due to smart phones? I see these fools texting, surfing the internet, and checking emails while at the helm of fast-moving vehicles. I watched one idiot fly through an intersection before T-boning an unsuspecting motorist who had the misfortune of passing through that intersection at the wrong moment in time. The guilty party was texting or checking messages. The rest of us were stopped at the red light. I guess you’re not likely to notice a thing like a red light with your nose buried in a smart phone.
During a recent visit to a local burger joint, I witnessed a grandmother completely ignoring her young granddaughter, because whatever her smartphone offered far exceeded anything the little girl could manage. The girl, no more than five, practically pleaded for Grandma’s attention before finally realizing the futility in her effort. The grandmother acknowledged the girl twice during the thirty-odd minutes they were in the restaurant. And both times, the woman hollered at the girl to quit pestering her.
Don’t get me wrong; technology has been amazing—especially for writers. It’s something of a miracle to be able to write a short article like this, and have it read by people all over the world with just a few keystrokes. But look at what’s been replaced by this technology. Social interaction is now mostly carried out over Facebook or Twitter or texting or any one of a dozen other social media sites. Very few of us actually sit down and write letters to friends and family anymore. Why bother when a text message is quicker and easier? Most schools here in the States don’t even bother teaching students proper handwriting. Cursive has been placed on the endangered species list. And books? Who has time to read books when there are video games, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and emails on which to catch up.
I’m not against technology; I use it daily. I just think we’ve lost something vital to being human beings. And the deeper we fall in with technology, the more likely we’ll never recover.
