10 Commandments for Promoting Your Book on Social Media

I am on quite a few social media platforms and follow a lot of writers and writing groups. I have seen a variety of book marketing practices, some effective and others not so much. I love the advice that writers share, but I tend to tune out the book hawkers who constantly beat the "buy my book" drum. Here are my 10 Commandments for book promotion.

1. Thou shalt not annoy your friends and followers with constant "buy my book" posts. Be thoughtful with your promotions.

2. Always honor the 80-20 rule. Look at the content of your posts. Promotions should only be about 20% of your content.

3. If you schedule posts, be mindful to mix things up. You don't want to be the one on the lists that have 40-50 posts for the exact same thing. People tune out or block the noise.

4. Make sure that you share information that is fun and useful. (See #2.) This is the other 80% of your content.

5. Make sure that you always attribute the owner if you share content.

6. Strive to build relationships. Join lists and groups. And participate in the conversations. Share their successes. Don't be a lurker.

7. If you have set up automatic ways to share posts on other social media platforms, mix it up. Nobody wants to see the same post on four different sites.

8. I learned this from Rachel Thompson of Bad Redhead Media. Use social media platforms that appeal to your readers, and not the ones that you prefer. You need to go where your readers are. Know the key demographics of the platforms you use.

• This Pew Research article has basic demographics about social media.
• This Pew Research article breaks down the statistics by platform.

9. You can't effectively promote your work on hundreds of sites unless you have a staff. Pick several that you know work for you and your readers and start there. Watch your analytics and maximize what's working. Stop what doesn't seem to be effective.

10. Balance your time. It's important to have a healthy platform and to promote your work. Just be careful that it doesn't overshadow your writing time.

Happy writing and best wishes for your promoting your book!