10 Simple Things You Can do to Minimize Twitter Time!

Don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE Twitter!  It’s a fundamental tool for all authors or anyone who wants major social media exposure.  But do you find yourself spending a lot of time on it?

What I’m going to talk about in this post is how to do increase your Twitter following, increase retweets of your material AND increase engagement, all while CUTTING the amount of time you spend on Twitter by half!

1.  Place all the posts you want to schedule in a Word document.  I recommend using Hootsuite as a template first, so you can not only stick within the character limit but also shrink any links, etc.

2.  Scheduled posts should include book and author shout-outs (or industry-related posts), your own book plugs and any other personal tweets. 

Note:  I include plugs for my own books, reminder tweets for upcoming releases, deals or free days, and tweets to entice readers to subscribe to my site.

3.  Utilize a service such as Buffer; mostly because you can have several different Twitter accounts and work simultaneously for the same low price (I use the yearly plan, which is about $100).  Plus it’s a lot faster and more user-friendly than Hootsuite or other scheduling applications.

4.  Integrate author shout-outs, your own book plugs and various tweets into Buffer daily by spreading them out.  The ratio I use is approximately five book/author shout-outs for every one of my own book plugs. 

Tip:  Use the shuffle feature so your tweets are evenly mixed.

5.  Select ‘notifications’ on your Twitter account once or twice daily (less if you don’t have as many followers and more if you do).  Those who have retweeted or mentioned your tweets, add them to your Buffer account to retweet them throughout the day or week.

6.  Either copy and paste to your Buffer account from the Word document (mentioned in step 1), or add the tweet to the document if required.  (I usually thank the person with a tweet first, and then if they retweet or mention me again I’ll add them to my shout-out list).

Tip:  Use the ‘find’ feature in Word by either hitting control and F simultaneously, or click on ‘edit’ and then ‘find’.  This captures the tweet much faster than scrolling through the whole list.  Also, use ALT + TAB to switch between Twitter and Word.

7.  If you have someone who is very loyal and retweeting you numerous times, mix up your mentions of the person.  Be creative and noble to them; give them accolades for their work and loyalty.  Don’t be shy!

8.  Make sure you keep your own book plugs fresh.  Don’t use the same ones all the time.  Mix them up with enticing quotes, favourite book lines, role-playing, five-star reviews, etc.

9.  To keep things simple, use the profile outline that the author has on Twitter, or use the same idea.  If they placed that note on their account, most likely that’s how the author wants to be recognized.  But don’t be afraid to be creative!

10.  Don’t forget to use hashtags!  Where you can, slip in a hashtag, especially if the author uses the hashtag in their Twitter profile.  If they do this, clearly the hashtag is important to them.

If you would like more detail on how to use Hootsuite and/or Buffer, how to set up your book plugs and what to write about your book in your tweets, please see ‘How to Get Followers on Twitter’.  I used the tips in this book religiously and I’m very proud of how much knowledge I have acquired!

Sandy is the author of fiction and memoirs.  Her latest release is a funny, kid-style memoir called No Thanks, Mommy, I Peed Yesterday.  

To learn more about Sandy, please visit her website by clicking here.  

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