Social media gives writers a place to find and connect with writers, editors, agents, readers, publishers and others in the publishing and media industry. Keeping your name out there not only leads to gigs and opportunities, but also shows future clients and publishers that you already know how to market your work.
So, here are 10 commandments to do right on social media, build up a following and mind your manners.
1. Thou shalt listen
This helps you get a feel for how people use the social media site or blog. It also encourages you to respond to others after you’ve heard them. Chris Brogan offers tips on listening.
2. Thou shalt do unto others to help without any expectations in return
One word: Karma. Even if karma isn’t real, helping others makes you feel good about yourself and drive you to do more. Plus, people will remember you for it and it’ll strengthen your relationships. Sarah Evans asks, “What have you done for your community today?”
3. Thou shalt read a diversity of resources and people
Spread your eWings and visit blogs, Twitter IDs and other accounts you haven’t read (check blogrolls, Twitter followers, etc. to find new ones) and check your friends’ connections. Sticking with same people limits your ability to meet others.
4. Thou shalt respond
If people ask you a question or take the time to leave a comment in your blog, you can take a moment to reply. Notice this says, “Respond,” not “Respond to every single message directed to you.” It’s overkill to thank every single person for mentioning you, retweeting you, linking to you. Instead, return the favor by pointing to their stuff, responding in private or commenting on something else they wrote.
Also, write more than “I agree,” “Great post” and “Thank you.” We have so much content online, a lot of it wasteful. Compliments are always nice, but not in a public response that adds clutter. Email the person, if you can’t think of anything else to say.
5. Thou shalt be genuine
Be genuine about mentioning and promoting others. Be genuine about the things you say. Be real. Be you. Some mentioning other people come across as phony looking to ride the wave of someone else’s popularity or kiss up to that person. You love it when someone mentions you, right? And you tend to remember them better, right? Well?
When you write a blog, article or tweet — look for genuine opportunities to link to other people’s stuff, quote them or credit them. Notice this post has a few links to other people’s high quality content that explores a topic further for those interested. Bonus points if you mention a competitor.
6. Thou shalt play nice
It’s incredible how many arguments turn nasty online and how many people say things in a mean way. We all have different opinions. (That’s a good thing — it’d be a dull, dull world otherwise.) We just need to remember to play nice and show respect. It goes a long way.
7. Thou shalt remember that everyone can read your content
Mom, kids, editor, publisher and people who might hire you. You’ve probably heard a few of the stories about people landing jobs only to lose it because of something they said online.
It’s also wise not to cuss in public. Granted, some popular folks cuss. But not everyone can get away with this. You wouldn’t cuss in a job interview, would you? Think of the Internet as one big job interview. After all, writers don’t always do one gig forever.
8. Thou shalt not obsesseth with thy numbers
Email newsletters … Twitter followers … Blog comments … Blog readers. People email me asking how I got so many Twitter followers. Well, it didn’t happen in one night, one month or even six months. But who cares how long it took? The point is to have high quality conversations. Spammers have figured out how to gain high numbers in Twitter — so obviously, quantity means nothing.
Listen and deliver valuable stuff. They will come.
9. Thou shalt not gossipth
The kind of talk of someone else’s private business makes a person look like a gossip and future clients might fear you’ll gossip about them. Yes, skip sharing private details even if the subject is open about it.
10. Thou shalt forgo the hard sell
Social media helps you gain trust and credibility, which will build your relationships. People WILL connect with you and ask about your content. When you do, at least add value by telling people what they get out of it. How much should you self-promote? I believe it should be closer to 70/30. That’s between Pareto’s 80/20 and Maria’s suggestion.
Not convinced that writers need social media? Maybe Joanna Penn can convince you.
Agree? Disagree? Please share your thoughts in comments or create a blog post of your own and let us know about it.
I couldn’t agree with this more. Without doing a hard sell I find people go to my website and checkout my blog on their own — based on comments or help I provide in other forums. For me, that’s more meaningful as the person is discovering what they want about me rather than me pushing them. I have seen this work well.
Even your article applied this law, you refer to other persons information and still added value. What a terrific article you wrote, great value.
.-= Lisa Lomas’s blog …Latest Business News =-.
Fantastic list! The only one I can think to add (and you touch it but don’t call it out) is “Thou doth remember it’s not all about you.” Sharing links, responding to comments, pulling comments out and making them articles, and doing other things to spotlight your community goes a LONG way in building a thriving community.
.-= Phil Gerbyshak’s blog …Be a Relationship Geek =-.
Teri, thanks for showing you’ve had great success with selling without the hard sell!
Lisa, whew… glad this walked the talk for ya.
Phil, definitely. Thanks for bringing that out more. I just read in Sarah Evans’ newsletter that 80% are “me now” type messages.
OK Meryl,
I hope you didn’t scrape your knees coming down the mountain with the tablets.
I know these are applicable to social media but they also apply to our blogs and how we handle comments. You could also stretch it a bit further and say that they are a foundation for our posts as well – the principles should be the same. Whenever my name is attached to something, I’d like that something to fit in this box.
George
I agree with this 100%, especially numbers 6 & 9.
I think we’ve all broken one or two of these commandments at times.
Thanks for the reminder.
FANTASTIC post. I agree with each and every single commandment. It’s really not about how fast you grow, but the quality of your growth both on twitter and on your blog. Adored this post.
Thanks for the helpful tips for writers using social media. It’s good to be reminded about the need to be polite. It’s so upseting to read some of the terrible things that people write about others. Some people get carried away with their politics.
Rita at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
.-= Rita’s blog …Tips for saving more money in tough economic times =-.
My first visit to your site is an amazingly positive one. All of these laws apply offline the same as they would offline. I’ve ready some pretty crazy, off-color, and shady stuff just on blog comments! I wish this post was visible on Google’s home page.
Excellent post. I especially have to work on number 3, which is often problematic because I read blog on a blackberry which often does not allow one to post comments.
Meryl:
Great list. Did you get the original in stone, papyrus or electronic version? 🙂
I’ll add one more:
Thou shalt always give proper attribution to another person’s content. Copying, plagiarism and passing another person’s content as your own leads to demise.
.-= Jeff Hurt’s blog …The New Normal: 12 Meeting Takeaways & A Couple Predictions From An #Eventprofs View =-.
Thanks for the laugh, Jeff. Amen on your pointer!
This is a great post, at once subtle and intuitive. And since I saw Teri Coyne’s names in the comments, I wanted to add that her debut, THE LAST BRIDGE, is an utterly haunting, gripping read. Just trying to follow a few of the commandments–offer some totally unsolicited, won’t give a thing back to me, but genuine praise 😉
Jenny, your comment hits the nail. Thanks for mentioning Teri’s book — it does sound like a entertaining read.
http://Twimagination.com is a Twitter application that allows you to share your short writings such as fiction stories, poems, novels, fairy tales, fantasies, dreams or any other products of your imagination through Twitter.