Why Is Social Media So Important for Romance Authors?
There is one main reason why it is so important for romance authors to have a social media presence: reader engagement. Romance readers are extremely loyal to their favorite authors, and they want to know all about them: what you’re doing, what you’re writing, and when they’re going to get your next book. Readers get attached to the stories and characters that you create for them to fall in love with, and they want to be able to follow your journey, so they can know when they can get more.
Pretty much, the idea of social media is that readers want to be all up in your (book) business, so you should give them that opportunity. Even debut authors with a strong social media presence can have high book sales upon their first release because readers have gotten to know them and their first book. Every opportunity you have to connect with your readers should be taken advantage of, and social media will most likely be your main source of connection.
Here’s the thing though, your social media shouldn’t just be filled with posts only promoting your books. No one wants to follow a repetitive ad account. You need to create a community in your social media accounts. You want a place where readers can learn more about you and your characters and where they can discuss all the things they love about your books.
When should you start building your social media presence?
As soon as you decide you want to write and publish a romance novel, you should start at least one (maybe two) social media accounts. You want to get your name out there as early as you can, so you can start building your potential readership and reader engagement. In doing this, you’ll have some readers ready to buy and review your book as soon as you’ve published.
While it’s great to start early, it’s also never too late to begin promoting yourself and your books through social media. Whether you’ve written one book or six, you should have a social media presence. It can only ever help, and if you can do it right, it will do wonders for you and your book sales!
What should you do with your social media?
Share with your readers! They want to know about you and your process and your books, so tell them all about it.
Tell readers about your writing process:
Let them know where you like to write.
Tell them what you like to write with.
Tell them if you’re a planner or a dive-in-and-write type.
Share a picture of your desk, and tell them if it’s usually messy or not and why.
You should tell readers about yourself as well. Sharing personal details about yourself will help your readers connect to you. You can answer questions like:
What are your other hobbies?
What are your favorite foods?
What are your favorite books?
What book are you currently reading?
What movies and shows do you like to watch?
Occasionally, once a week or so, you can share a post about your book/series to try to get buyers. It’s smart to share your book with potential readers, but you don’t want to bombard them with posts and stories about your book every day. They’ll honestly get tired of seeing those posts. At the least, they’ll scroll quickly past your posts; at the most, they’ll unfollow you completely.
There are other other ways to promote your book though, and good news: they’re much less blatant and much more effective. The following are some amazing ways to promote your novel without “promoting” it:
You can create character profiles, so readers can get to know your main characters.
You could create a Pinterest board to share with readers about your novel. You can share pictures of the setting, character look-alikes, and outfits your characters would wear.
If you are working on a book, you can keep readers updated through the process.
Tell readers when you have writer’s block and how you’ve chosen to distract yourself.
Do a cover reveal after you’ve received your front cover from your designer.
Tell readers when you’ve sent your book off to your editor or formatter.
Tell readers when you’ve written the first kiss.
All of these things will help readers feel involved in your process and are a great way to promote your romance novel without blatant advertising.
What are some of the other benefits of social media?
There is an amazing romance community online. Authors are so willing to help each other out and be a support system. There is something amazing and encouraging about being part of a community like this.
You will be able to find resources as well. You can find designers, marketers, formatters. I do a large part of my marketing through social media, and it’s how I’ve connected to many of my authors. It’s a great place for you to be able to connect with others who can help you and who want to be part of your writing journey.
In today’s romance publishing world, it is essential to have a social media presence. It will be amazing to watch a community of engagement surrounding you and your books blossom.
