How To Establish Your Social Media Presence To Help You Sell Books

I’ll be honest. I hate social media most of the time.

It’s hard to grow, you don’t own your connections, and if the algorithm changes… well, you are screwed. Some platforms only push your content if you are paying them. All in all, it’s not my favorite place to be creating.

Yet, social media can play a massive role in growing your email list, following, and helping you grow your tribe that will buy your books. This is the ultimate reason why I think social media is essential.

I have found that some platforms work well for different types of content and niches. You can see massive growth if you hit the right crowd at the right venue.

Most of all, when it comes time to share your books for sale, you will see people buying them, sharing them with others, and even championing you during the entire process.

Today, I will share three ways to build your social media presence to grow and sell books.

A Case for Building Your Social Media Presence

Thanks to Twitter, I have sold a lot of online products. LinkedIn has helped me grow my email list. Facebook has helped me sell a lot of devotional books. Each platform has helped me do different things related to my readers. Let’s look at a few platforms.

Facebook is good for selling books. At least for me. I have a lot of friends on Facebook, I’m part of many groups, and I have a few pages there too. All of these touch points can help me sell books. I have confirmed this by only putting posts up on Facebook for books and seeing the results.

Twitter is great for digital products. My Gumroad statistics have shown a high level of conversions coming from Twitter. The best part is, with Gumroad, I can share later when I launch a book. This has helped sell books too.

LinkedIn is great for email subscribers. I’m seeing colossal email growth thanks to LinkedIn. LinkedIn has a fantastic community, and the algorithm can help creators and authors. This growth of email list helps you with book sales through your email list.

I haven’t had a lot of luck with Instagram, TikTok, or other social media. Yet, people are making tons of sales with these too! Ultimately, you need to find the right mix for you. And with the following three steps, we will learn how to do it.

How to Build Your Social Media Presence

I have found myself wanting to grow on all social media platforms simultaneously. However, I found a quick framework that has helped me grow over time and grow a solid following. Follow these steps, and you will succeed.

Grow One Platform at a Time

You and I want to see thousands of followers on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But the truth is, we need to focus on one place at a time. Pick your one platform. Focus on getting to 1,000. Then move on to the next one.

I started on Facebook first. I grew my friend list to 1,000 and moved on to LinkedIn. This year, I hit 1,000 followers there too. Now, I am moving on to Twitter. I’ve picked 1,000 followers because 5% of those followers will potentially buy your books.

If 5% will buy, then it only makes sense to try to grow one at a time instead of a bunch and grow slowly. So, let’s focus on one and get 1,000 access to your 5%.

Consistency: Daily Posting

On your one platform, focus on posting at least once a day. On a platform like Twitter, you can probably post more. But make sure you have one intentional post every day.

No matter the platform, you can post a meaningful post in less than 30 minutes. Mix up photos, videos, written content, polls, quotes, and stories in your posts. Trying different media will help you capture other readers

What will help create a simple content calendar? I use a simple system. I write the week at the top, then bullet points each day, and write down the post type and the idea that goes with it. It’s simple and works great.

You can, of course, get even more complicated systems, but I have found simple helps me stay consistent.

Connect with Others

The other thing you need to do is to comment on at least 5-10 different posts. Try a mix of big influencers, peers, and people with smaller followings than you. Your comments help you connect with the people posting and reading their posts.

Make sure your comments are meaningful. Ask a question or share a short story. It will likely help people connect with you if it contributes to the post. If it is general, like, ‘great post,’ you will get ignored.

If you comment regularly, people will see you show up repeatedly and check out your profile. The more eyes on you, the better chance you grow a following. And you will connect with people who will be interested in your content and want to buy your books.

Final Thoughts on Building Your Socials

As you grow your social media following, people will find your writing home and subscribe to your email list. The more people you can connect with on social the better chance you will have to get more people around your content.

No matter which platform you choose, how consistent you are, and how many comments you complete, it will take time. Not many people go from 0 to 1,000 overnight. Sure, sometimes you post something that will go viral. Not often, though.

Nevertheless, you must build your socials before writing a book because these places will help develop other parts of your writing foundation. Social media should never stand alone but will help grow your home and email list.

Building your socials cannot be neglected.

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J.R. Heimbigner?is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and help writers become authors.?You can connect with him on?Medium, his?website,?Facebook,?Twitter,?Instagram,?LinkedIn, and?Substack!