Why more Twitter followers won't necessarily kill engagement.
The first thing I would like to tackle with this post is why I'm willing to follow fellow writers in your behalf and not readers per se. It isn't that I'm not willing to follow readers for you, but they are harder to find.
Most writers are looking for a fan base, so they identify what they do in their Twitter bio almost all the time, which makes it easy to find them. Readers are less likely to identify themselves in my opinion. Sure, many bios include the word reader or phrase avid reader, but searching for them takes much more time in comparison to finding writers.
One day I may be able to offer a Follow Readers service, but not at the outset of this new service. I'll start with writers. As I mentioned in the previous post, you'll get your readers as well as networking contacts. It's a great place to start.
Not a Guarantee
Nothing I do on this site will guarantee a rise in book sales. Few online marketers could boast a guaranteed rise, and if anyone makes that claim, I would question it. What I can bring is exposure, which is very important since more and more books are being published each year.
In his comment about the previous post, Jack Durish said, "So, is it worth $25 to have someone else help me in this effort? Only if it helps me sell books and, as of now, I have my doubts."
Let me state it plainly: it doesn't matter how many followers I get you; getting people to buy your book is not what this new service is about. It's about giving you a platform. What you do with that platform will determine the end results.
If your marketing strategy isn't working now, it probably won't work later either. However, if your marketing is working now, increasing the number of people to see it will naturally increase its results. Another scenario: getting new followers could jump start a new marketing strategy (if you haven't marketed before or if it hasn't worked so far).
Think about it this way. Two authors organize a conference at a hotel. You are able to invite 30 people, but the other author is able to invite 300. If the presentations are the same, which group will provide more results? Logic states that the more people who see a product presentation, the more that will buy it.
Of course, one could argue that a more intimate group would be more likely to buy, which might be true. This is where engagement comes into play. My experience tells me that if you follow the right people, engagement will naturally follow.
For example, if I have a question for writers, I'm pretty sure I'll get an answer from a tweet. But I wasn't so sure back when I had half as many followers. The potential number of people to see my question has grown and thus engagement has grown.
This post is long enough, so I will have to continue this series next time, where I plan to discuss the actual process this service would operate on and what options you would have with me at the helm.
Stay Tuned.
In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts. Every new comment helps me streamline my ideas.
