By Frances Caballo (@CaballoFrances)
I met Frances at our local BAIPA meetings, where she is the Social Media Advisor for the group. She has just published a very useful book for writers who want to get up to speed with social media marketing. Here she shows how useful Twitter hashtags are when you know how to use them.
Hashtags are a great feature that can help you to expand your online reach by attracting users searching for your hashtags and help you reach your targeted audience. Hashtags are also useful for tracking mentions of you, your books and your genres.Hashtags also can be tricky. You don’t want to overuse them, yet when used appropriately (two per tweet), they hold the potential to improve the chance of someone discovering your tweets—and your latest book—through Twitter’s search function. Hashtags can also increase the occurrence of retweets.If you write memoir, you’ll want to include #memoir when you tweet about your book to attract writers and readers interested in personal stories. Looking for a prompt to get your writing started in the morning? Use the hashtag #writingprompt in the search bar to get you going.What follows here are some of the hashtags writers commonly use.#99c—If you have a spare $0.99 to spend on a new story, use this tag in your Twitter search bar and you’ll find dozens of them. You can also use this tag to find new readers if you’re selling an e-book for this price.#amwriting / #amediting—These terms are commonly used for Twitter chats you join. Johanna Harness is the creator of the term #amwriting as well as the www.amwriting.org website. Chats take place throughout the day.#AuthorChat—This hashtag is used for ongoing conversations between authors.#askagent / #askauthor—These are great tags for writers who don’t have an agent or editor, but have questions for them. Who knows? You just might find your next editor on Twitter.#bestseller —Have you written a best seller? Let everyone know.#eBook —Did you release an eBook or recently convert a hard copy novel to an eBook? Use this hashtag so that iPad, Nook and Kindle users can download it.#FollowFriday / #FF—This is a fun Twitter tradition for expressing gratitude to your retweeters by giving them exposure to a wider audience. On Friday mornings, compose a tweet comprised of the usernames of your most loyal retweeters. You can also #FF writers you admire or members of your critique group or book club.#Free / #Giveaway—This has become a popular hashtag on Twitter. Let readers know when you’re offering your next book or story giveaway.#Genre / #Romantic / #Comedy / #Suspense /#Mystery / #Erotica—Some readers search specifically for genre stories. If you’ve written one in one of these genres, use one of these hashtags so that readers can find you.#GreatReads—You can use this hashtag for promoting your friends’ books or just sharing your impressions of the last book you read.#Halloween—Holidays are trendy on Twitter. Use them in creative ways to promote your blog and books.#HotTitles—Have you read some books lately that are selling like wildfire? Let your Tweeps know about them.#IAN—This hashtag stands for Independent Author Network. Started in 2010, it’s become a resource for Indie authors who support each other in their promotions.
#kindle—If you have a book on Kindle, let everyone know.#memoir—Connect with other memorists by using this hashtag.#nanowrimo—Every November, thousands of writers take part in NaNoWriMo, the effort to write a novel in one month. You can keep in touch with other NaNoWriMo writers all over the world by using this hashtag in your tweets or by searching for this term.#ShortStory—Do you prefer to write short stories? Attract new admirers with this hashtag.#WLCAuthor —The World Literary Café is a promotional website for authors. Similar to the Independent Author Network, Indie authors help each other in their promotions.#wordcount—With this hashtag, you can share your progress with other writers on the book or story you’re writing.#writegoal—Users include this hashtag to publicly announce how many words they intend to write that day.#WritersBlock / #WriteMotivation—Do you sometimes need a little motivation in the mornings to get your writing started? Use these hashtags and find your inspiration.#writetip / #writingtip — If you don’t have time to take a workshop, trying using these hashtags to learn more about your craft.#writing / #editing—These terms are similar to #amwriting and #amediting, but aren’t nearly as popular.#writingblitz—This one is used to let your followers know that today you are writing as fast as you can and locking your internal editor into a closet.#writingfiction—Fiction writers use this hashtag to meet each other or to share their books, goals, or ideas on writing fiction.#writingprompt—Is it hard to get started on the next chapter of your novel? Well, worry no more. Log on to Twitter, search for this tag, and you’ll find a great prompt to get those creative juices bubbling.#ww / #writerwednesday—Is there a writer you would like to introduce to your followers? Use this hashtag and introduce your colleague to your Twitter tribe.To learn the definition of a hashtag you find on Twitter, or to discover what’s trending on Twitter, go to TagDef or Hashtags.org. Do you know of familiar writer hashtags that aren’t mentioned here? Please share them in the comments.
Frances Caballo is a social media trainer, blogger and author of Social Media Just for Writers: The Best Online Marketing Tips for Selling Your Books. She helps writers and businesses attain their social media marketing and public relations goals. Presently, she is the Social Media Editor for Redwood Writers, the largest branch of the California Writers Club, and the Women’s National Book Association-SF Chapter. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+. Social Media Just for Writers is available on Amazon.Amazon links are affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
