I’ve decided to ditch The Word Shark DOT com (and the cost).
Why?
Because most of my clients come from referrals or my blog, not the website. Most of the traffic on my website comes from “marketing professionals” and “sales professionals” who know the “sure fire way” to turn my site around and make a bigger profit.
Profit margin vs. website cost
Over the last few years, about 95% of the traffic on my website is from scummy, spammy spammers.
100% of my business comes from satisfied customer referrals.
Word of mouth
I don’t need a website. I’ve got a tribe of happy, satisfied clients to plump my pillows at night.
Still Shark
While I won’t be – officially via a website – The Word Shark, I’ll always be YOUR Word Shark.
Back in June, I met with long-time online friends in Newark, DE, for the first-ever Word Sharks Conference. In attendance – J.J. Brown, Elizabeth Cottrell, Pamela Wight, Jessica Pettengill Messinger, and Barbara Forte Abate.
Since then, we have stayed in touch sharing blogs we like, having book discussions, and sharing other resources and insights.
Out of one of those conversations came some fantastic insight into Twitter by J.J. Brown. She shared her philosophy and advice on how she uses Twitter. I thought it was so good, I called “dibs” on sharing it in a blog.
Welcome, J.J.!
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Article by J. J. Brown
I love twitter because it is a free and open conversation that’s so fast-moving. Twitter is quite famous for NOT being a place to sell books or much of anything else. So, I don’t have advice about how to use twitter to sell books.
Being active on twitter is a wonderful way to meet writers and readers, and exchange thoughts on the writing process and story ideas, as well as inspiration. And once in a while I get a tweet asking to review a book of mine, or to be interviewed on a blog, or submit a post for a website, or a story to an anthology, which is fun.
I can’t count the many interesting people I’ve met and shared views with on twitter, and sometimes later in-person as friends (none of whom were creepy).
21 rules I apply loosely, depending on how much time I have are:
How to tweet:
Be interesting and super brief; don’t repeat identical tweets.
Talk about yourself and the books you’ve written, but not ALL of the time, just sometimes.
Post provocative things about writing, about your books, and the news – things people react to.
Share other writers, artists, and thinkers works, at a good ratio. Tweeting 5 of others’ things then 1 of yours works well.
Use a photo in your original tweet so more people will see it. This magnifies your reach because more people look at pictures than words, even on twitter.
Tweet quotes from famous authors or artists who inspire you, just to share the joy.
After you tweet something original or important, stay on a few minutes to respond to any replies.
Retweet things others post that you think need a broader audience because they’re great, funny, or important.
Say something insightful about any link you share on twitter, don’t just hit the Tweet button though it’s tempting.
How to interact:
When someone tweets your work or retweets you, thank them via direct message (which is private) or tweet (which is public).
When people react to you, tweet back like a conversation. It hurts to be ignored there like in any conversation.
Never argue on twitter. Yes, sometimes a person will be mean to you. Ignore them. Praise, or add a new thought, or brood away silently.
Use #amwriting (for insights, personal progress) #amreading (for reviews) and other hashtags to enter writer’s conversations, then respond when people join your thought stream.
Follow people who follow, retweet, or comment to you, IF you’re interested in their twitter feed.
Don’t follow people who offer to buy twitter followers or increase your reach. That is kind of spammy messy stuff I don’t get into at all.
Seduce people you’re most interested in on twitter, tastefully, by retweeting and commenting on their tweets.
Think of the new contacts as friends and connections, not followers or fans.
How not to drown in the twitter stream:
Don’t look at your live stream, it’s a jungle in a thunderstorm.
Make lists of groups like writers, editors, publishers, artists to organize your new friends.
Do look at your lists’ tweets, your favorite people’s tweets, and any hashtags trending on that day that stimulate you.
Keep an eye on the clock. I limit my twitter socializing to about 30 minutes on a free day, 10 minutes on a busy one.
I hope this is helpful. I started on twitter about three years ago, when I started publishing books. At first, I was baffled. Now I love it. But I keep it to short doses. And only log on when I’m in a pretty good mood.
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Jennifer J. Brown, PhD, is an editor at EverydayHealth.com by day, and writer of books and short stories by night. She completed a PhD in genetics and worked as a research scientist for 20 years before turning to writing. In her fiction writing, she is obsessed with exploring death and the meaning of dreams. Published author of seven books as J.J. Brown, she was born in the Catskill Mountains of New York and lives in New York City.
Find out more about J.J. Brown’s book news at her author website.
I am attending a writer/blogger conference in Fargo, North Dakota, this month.
I looked back on my writers’ conference tips, written last year. I also wrote about “branding” back in 2013 – you can see that link here.
For this conference, I thought…
How do I want to present myself? (The Word Shark, editor extraordinaire)
How do I want to dress? (professionally, in colors to match my website and blog)
What do I need to have? (biz cards, a name tag, give-away pens)
People are going to remember me because…
I dressed like a professional editor – sensible shoes, a blazer, neat hairdo, spare make-up. And everything about me is going to scream, “Shark!”
Personalize
I’m not going to use any entry-table name tag, no way. I made my own. You guessed it – it has a shark on it.
Hand outs
I will have The Word Shark biz cards and give-a-way pens with a shark charm (people will take me home with them).
North Dakota bloggers on FB
I discovered and joined the FB group, North Dakota Bloggers. There has been some chit-chat about the conference, and I have connected with a handful of attendees as well as presenters.
Research the presenters
Before any conference, you get a who’s-presenting email. Do look up these people, connect with them on social networking, follow their blogs ahead of conference time.
Magazine articles
One of the presenters at this conference is the editor of a local, regional magazine. Will I have a couple of articles to hand her? You bet your dorsal fin!
Engage
Don’t just show up at the conference – engage. Talk to people, ask questions about their projects, and participate in discussions. Exchange cards so you can send a follow up email, “Nice to meet and you at the conference…”
When all the conference-goers go home
They will pick up my shark pen and say, “Hey, maybe I do need an editor.”
Conference ready!
Got the shark name tag
Got shark-pen give-away swag
Got a flashy shark shirt for downtown Fargo walk-about
Got a quiet shark tee and blazer for the conference crowd
Got the biz cards, ready to hand out
It’s all conference I’m about!
How do you prepare for a writers’ conference?
What’s your favorite thing about attending a writers’ conference?
Jennifer J. Brown, PhD, is an editor at EverydayHealth.com by day, and writer of books and short stories by night. She completed a PhD in genetics and worked as a research scientist for 20 years before turning to writing. In her fiction writing, she is obsessed with exploring death and the meaning of dreams. Published author of seven books as J.J. Brown, she was born in the Catskill Mountains of New York and lives in New York City.
I am attending a writer/blogger conference in Fargo, North Dakota, this month.
Engage
Karen R. Sanderson 