The Right Tools Are Critical for Every Writer

As I begin a new year (2018), I take some time to reflect on the accomplishments of last year and also look ahead to what I want to happen in the year ahead. I'm grateful for the different opportunities I've had to write and also help others. As I get into this reflective mode, I look at some of my habits. For example, over the last few years, I've focused on growing a large following on Twitter which has grown to over 220,000 last year and continues to grow. Twitter has added a graphic of twitter impressions (see this image from my twitter page)

Since 2008 when I joined Twitter, I have tweeted almost 40,000 times. In recent years, I tweet about publishing and writing almost a dozen times a day. I use a tool called Hootsuite which has a free version and also a paid version. Recently I have switched to the paid version because Hootsuite added a limit of the number of future tweets you could have on the free version. I exceeded this number.

For me, Hootsuite has been the right tool for my social media because:

--I can schedule the tweets
--I can add an image to my tweets (important for visibility)

Because of my commitment to Twitter and Hootsuite, I have developed my own system with my tweets. For example, I begin my day with an inspirational quote. As I locate these quotes in various places, I cut and paste them into my Hootsuite with a photo. I've saved many of my photos in a little folder on my desktop called Twitter photos. Rather than search each time for a photo, I often have an image saved in my folder because I've saved them and developed an easy system to keep and retrieve them.

Your writing goals will be different from mine. Maybe you want to be published in more print magazines. You will need to learn how to write a query letter and develop a pattern or habit of pitching editors on a regular basis. If they are Christian publications, I encourage you to use the Christian Writers Market Guide 2018. If they are general market publications, then use the 2018 Writers Market Guide and make sure you are contacting the right editors with your pitches. You can also find the Writers Market Guide in the reference section of most public libraries.

If you want to sell more of your books, then you will need to be reaching your audience through the radio or print or social media or your own newsletter list. Each of these venues are effective and ones where you will need to learn the right tools and develop a regular pattern or system. As I use my various regular patterns or systems, I don't have to reinvent anything but simply use what I've created earlier over and over.

What tools are you using with your writing? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Every writer must use the right tools for your writing. Get some ideas here. (ClickToTweet)
 

Twitter Tool or Gimmick?

One of my writer friends and I were talking about twitter. He suddenly said, "Terry, you use a program to automatically grow your following right?" I agreed that I'm using a program called Tweet Adder. I've been using Tweet Adder for about seven or eight months and yes it has dramatically increased my followers on twitter. I see Tweet Adder as an important tool and not a gimmick because it does automate a number of functions. Previously I was working each day at increasing my followers on Twitter and now Tweet Adder handles these functions.

From my experience with Twitter, one of the best ways to increase your followers is to first tweet excellent focused content and second to follow others who have an interest in that content. You have to follow others gradually and consistently. If you decided to follow 400 people in a single day, then that would appear to twitter like you are abusing the tool and they could suspend your twitter account and defeat your entire purpose for being on twitter.

You can invest the time and energy and follow people to grow your twitter following. Or you can use a focused tool like Tweet Adder to help you in this process.

The program runs 24 hours a day in the background of my computer and will gradually follow new people. They don't follow random people but individuals that I've selected through keywords. For example for my Terry Whalin twitter account, I'm looking for followers who are interested in writing, publishing, books or those types of words. Tweet Adder searches the profiles of people on twitter and you can select whether you want them to speak only English (my preference) or to be in a certain geographic area and other limitations. The program will search for new followers, eliminate any duplicates and follow more of these selected people each day.

After a period of time, if the person does not follow you in return, then Tweet Adder unfollows this person. It keeps the balance between people you are following and people who follow you on Twitter.

The program has a one-time fee and not something monthly (like some other Twitter programs). Also from time to time, Twitter will change how their program works. The folks at Tweet Adder keep up on these shifts and modify their program so it still keeps working--and send out an update to you without any additional expense. Other programs will charge you a fee for that update but it's not the case with Tweet Adder.

At this writing, I'm still learning how to use this tool but it is not a gimmick. It is a valuable tool for you to grow your twitter following without spending massive amounts of time and energy. If you are looking to increase your presence on Twitter, then I recommend you try the free download of Tweet Adder and eventually purchase this tool.

Press Release Tools

Many writers have never written a press release. They figure that's something their book publisher handles or something they can delegate to someone else. In the normal course of events, your book publisher will prepare a press release for the book. This release is focused on the content of your book and a mixture of information about you as the author and the unique marketing position of your new book. It's a one time event then the publicity person moves on to another book.

There are almost limitless opportunities to promote your events, your forthcoming workshops, your new products and other aspects of your work--if you know how to write an effective press release. It's another critical skill that every writer should add to their base of knowledge. The first part of this process is learning to write the release, then you need to effectively get that release to the right media person (newspaper, magazine, Internet, radio or television) and follow-up. The key will almost always be in the follow-up.

Whether you've never written a press release or it's been a long time or you just want a tool to help you in this process, I've found this resource from John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing. It's an online press release generator. You fill in the blanks and it generates a press release which you can receive via email and send out. You have to subscribe and confirm your subscription to reach the Instant Press Release link but then you can save this link in your browser and use it over and over. John is using this tool as another way to build subscribers and it's admirable. If you don't want to be on his list, you can unsubscribe at any time but I see he provides continual value to his audience and recommend you stay with his list.

Another resource in this same area (where you don't have to register for the tool) is the Press Release Builder. If you follow the various links here, you will gain an education in this aspect of the business, learn how to email reporters and much more.

A few readers are probably grousing about this post and wondering why they should even care. They want to get published in magazines. Or they have a novel that they want to get published. Or they have a nonfiction idea that they are putting together into a book. Here’s why you should care: you are the best person to promote yourself. Unless you write certain press releases and send them into the market and follow-up with the media, they will never be written. Yes, you can hire a publicist to write them for you but if your resources are limited, then you should broaden your skills and learn to write press releases.