Welcome to Writers Talkback. If you are a new user, your account will have to be approved manually to prevent spam. Please bear with us in the meantime
Having to reach out for advice here. About social media sites and how to attract followers to them. Have manage to set up a few now, but am at a lost as to where or what to do to attract the right type of people to my posts, tweets etc, to gain their attention.
How do you start with these things? Just start jumping into people's 'conversations?'. A blog, for instance, where do you go to find out similar minded people who might find your irreverent take on life etc, with additional serious posts on political topics, just where do you find the right type for those messages on all media? Is there a 'tool' or something that allows you to find them? Do you 'stalk' celebrities, wth similar outlooks, in the hope of impressing some of their fans to your sites??? Confused again.. Help!
Comments
Link your blog to FB and to Twitter - it will then happen automatically whenever you blog. People are following me on Twitter all the time (no idea why) as a result of my link. I rarely go there myself.
On your own blog, use keywords: remember that they must be the sort of word that people will actually punch into search engines. Think of a word you'd find relevant and do a search for it - that's how it works.
There's a thread on here about blogs - why not add your address/es there? Take a look at some of the blogs mentioned there, too.
Where do you do a search for a word on Facebook? In the little box in the left hand corner? I'll check that out. Thanks for that Mrs Bear and I'll search out those threads, on here, which mention blogs, and add mine, once it has been converted to my business name..
If your comments are interesting/fun/useful then you'll gaon followers that way.
The only proviso I can think of, is that, as someone who is majorly affected by her disabilities, I am not actually able to get out and about to join in with the type of things that might be being discussed by these people, or don't have the same life experiences to be able to engage on the diverse topics that are important to them, and interest me too, but that I have no real knowledge on. How do I get around that?
Was just listening to radio 4's Woman's Hour. Do you think listening to those type of programmes would give me insight into more evolving issues, rather than my own restricted outlets...?
Some of these are subjects I'm interested in or involved with, but not all. I'd be surprised to learn there weren't at least one or two aspects of that list which you can't identify with.
And then there's the other problem in that I am to the extreme of left, when it comes to my political views, which makes it difficult to communicate with more traditional thinking types.. My ideas don't tend to go down well with conservative types, with a small 'C'..
I don't think it is difficult to communicate with people with very different views on certain things - we all have many aspects to ourselves and our lives. I would think the trick is to keep those views to the appropriate forums and not try to infiltrate a forum about e.g. gardening with discussions about communism or whatever. But there is no reason why a socialist and a tory shouldn't discuss gardening perfectly happily!
If too much personal opinion is shared, readers – potential readers – might assume the writing's just more of the same. A subliminal negative seed will be planted.
Engage – communicate.
Entertain – either seriously or with humour.
Exploit – when you have a product to sell, use that network.
The books I've bought because of Twitter and Facebook are written by authors who have followed those three steps.
There's no reason why you can't have two profiles – one to express your opinions and another to promote your work.
I block anyone who posts anything that I find remotely offensive or unnecessary and I don't care who they are. If they're spouting on about things, even posting rubbish adverts, I've no interest in them and I don't want to waste my time scrolling away from them.
I must learn to 'tone down' my keeness at being able to exchange ideas. Leave the long ramblings for my blog posts where people will only see them if they venture willingly onto there..
And I agree that, however important the topic is, at that goes without saying, I do not wish to.be bombarded with news about child abuse or domestic violence. That is so.upsetting. so keep.it short and light seems to.be the general advice here. Still learning..
Heather: "...there is no reason why a socialist and a tory shouldn't discuss gardening perfectly happily!"
Left handed secateurs?
But seriously, my advice to Lydia is to steer clear of the political stuff. Consider instead any of the wide range of topics kindly suggested by Phots M.
To retain readership interest it has to be about the quality of the writing as much as the content. My mantra: and something I always say to would-be writer students....
"...there are no dull subjects, only dull writers..."