Start Here! Social Media Advice for Authors

Authors on social media often struggle in the beginning.

Aside from the fact that self-promotion seems daunting and distasteful, you must also contend with a vast number of social networks to choose from, each with their own best practices, unspoken rules and effectiveness. How can you possibly be expected to know where to start?

Good news! You need not figure out everything right away. You have plenty of time to try out different platforms. You may explore each one-by-one if you wish, trying them on for an audience, ease of use and enjoyment.

There’s one very important task for you to complete as you’re getting started. Do this now:

Claim your name on all the major social media platforms.

What does this mean? This means creating an account on all the major social networks, as well as any niche networks you think might be a good match for your work and your readers. This does not mean that you need to start using all these accounts right now. That would be a massive overwhelm! You want to claim your name now so that if you do decide to try use the platform in the future, you will not suffer the annoyance of discovering your name is already taken.

These are the social media networks I suggest for all authors. Do you already have your name claimed on these sites?

• Twitter
• Facebook (A public page, not just your personal account.)
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Goodreads

There are many other social media or community sites that may also be a good match for you. Check out:

• LibraryThing
• Wattpad
• DeviantArt
• Medium
• Vimeo
• Vine
• Snapchat
• Dribbble
• Tumblr
• Behance
• Snapchat
• Whatsapp
• TikTok
• Reddit

There are a billion more. Ask your readers where they spend their time online and what sites they like. That’s where you need to be.

When you create your username, you will be very lucky if you can get your first name, or even your full name. Already taken? Don’t worry, there are many ways you can craft a well-branded, professional username that will likely work across platforms. Let’s say your name is Stephen King, you could try these public user names:

Stephen

StephenKing

AuthorStephenKing

StephenKing

StephenWrites

SKingAuthor

theStephenKing

RealStephen

OfficialStephen

StephenSpeaks

MeetStephen

If possible, you want to find a username that you can use on as many social media platforms as possible. This will make it easier for people to find you.

Tip: DO NOT create profiles in the name of your book. You’re an author for life, right? You are going to write many books, yes? It will be a big pain to have to start over again every time you publish something new.

Are you 7 for 7 for claiming your name on the primary social media accounts I listed? Do you know more social sites for authors and artists that I may add to the secondary list? Let me know in the comments below.

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