Bisky's Twitterling's Scribbles! discussion

I know I waffle on sometimes so I just wanted to ask if anyone thinks the rules I have are too confusing.

Today I ended up spending far too long on someone who just ended up unfollowing me after we disagreed on 'indie promotion style'

I basically think that 3 identical messages in the space of an hour on twitter is spam.

Her point was that, she is strapped for time. So, for her that was the most efficent way of marketing. But as I tried to explain, there are other groups for that. And I think that's just something a robot could do.

I intend this group to be a nice calm enviroment for people to talk about their writing, and who take the craft very seriously. I don't mind if you aren't very active, but I would atleast like to know who is promoting to avoid spam clutter that some of the other groups have.

Thoughts?

The "strapped for time" thing should be your first clue that Twitter might not be your best marketing platform. If you aren't interacting with people on Twitter, posting links isn't going to get you anywhere. Especially if they are "buy this" links.

Twitter is for "social" and "networking". What this means is you connect with people, and SHARE information. Not spam. I have no qualms about posting a link every once in awhile. Honestly though, you aren't going to sell your book just slamming links down all the time. I've even gotten to the point where I gloss over those who are tweeting clips of their reviews.

Do you know what makes me buy a book? When I like an author, or the book's description and blurbs have made me want to read more.

I know there's a LOT of authors who don't appreciate the KDP select option on Amazon, but with all the free books available there, it's kinda stupid NOT to at least run the first 90 days of a new book by a new author, at least for the free giveaway days.

I don't pay attention to them either anymore. I used to, then I got ripped off once. I think I just want to keep the group free from that kinda clutter.

I have to agree... Well I don't know about Twitter as I just recently joined and it feels like a jungle to me. People don't speak English, they speak a language I am yet to understand.

Twitter, as any other media, takes (and needs) a lot of your time. Just posting links anywhere in fact is a bad idea. Personally, on GoodReads, I tend to skip reading messages from authors whom I know will only post links to their stuff or reviews of their work.

Don't take me wrong. I LOVE reading reviews on books. One of my favorite emails is the one I receive from a GR feed with friends' reviews and ratings. I also love clicking the links in those threads where they offer a free copy for an honest review. I just can't stand it when it's the only thing an author seems to be able to talk about.

(And yet, I am guilty as charged. I posted mine on my Facebook personal page when I got my first (and only) two reviews. I couldn't stay still, so happy I was.)

Does that make me a hypocrite? I guess… :(

Haha no G.G it doesn't :3 Its ok to spam things when you are super happy about them. I spam music I like and when someone sends me art. But you are interactive otherwise. People can see you aren't a robot and thats the most important thing I believe :]

Maybe I'm too harsh with rules but I like to see people taking writing very seriously. And spamming the same message over and over and over just seems like little effort to me :3

Too harsh about rules? I don't think so. This group has interesting discussions, and I read everyone of them. It might be one of the rare ones that I do so. Why? Because you keep it spam free.

It's so nice to learn to know the person behind the story. Everyone can read a blurb or a synopsis, but the same cannot be said about what drove an author to write his or her book, or create that special character, and this is just a few examples. You're doing it here while making it fun for everyone.

Please don't change it!

:D! I won't :3 You guys are really important to me and I want to make sure I keep doing my best in the group and also my tweets so its good to hear :3!

I think your rules are just fine where they are. No one wants links here, because if you allow even a few to slide, it would end up as a free-for-all. It's good to keep it as discussion only, because that's the group's purpose. It's the only group I keep on notification of every post because it's spam free!

And no, G.G. you aren't a spammer in the least! There are very appropriate places and times for links, so don't think you are "guilty" of anything bad. People expect blog posts on Facebook and Twitter, because it's information. They also expect occasional updates, such as new books or sales. There is nothing wrong with "sharing" links when the time and place is right. It's the ones that use automated marketing tools and don't bother to network with individuals that are the spammers.

@ Bisky and Dawn.

Thank you for the kind words. :)

If you don't have rules the whole thing becomes a pointless bill board.

:3 This makes me happy

Putting aside the moment that most of us are on Twitter for the interactions anyway, EVERY single marketing guide I've read says just spamming your links all the time does more harm than good. You have to interact and build relationships on social media, when people connect with you they will ask about your work. And if you must post links (I do once or twice a day) there are FREE apps that can schedule posts FOR you, so they aren't spammed in a brief time! So that whole "strapped for time" excuse is the resort of a person who doesn't know what they're doing anyway.

There are many, many indie writers on Twitter who do NOTHING but post links on Twitter all day long, and it annoys the shit out of me. But in the interest of maintaining networking I just put up with it. Ultimately, your rules on what you will accept and what you won't don't have to be up for debate. If you unfollow people for constantly posting links, then do it, it's up to you to decide what behavior on social media is outside what you're willing to put up with.

Your "mission statement" describes how I want my classes to work. Based on years of experience I fully agree with what you're doing. Keep it up!

@J.David I think people who spam tend to just retweet each other. I feel like they are also the part of the community that do the dodgey stuff with reviews. I just ignore spamming tweets and I think its been working so far.

@Carl, Thanks! That means alot! :3

You're welcome. :)

I still haven't figured out twitter. I was spamming when I first signed up, then I realized that it bothered me when I saw other people doing what I was doing. Then I went dark for long stretches of time. Now I've begun to think of it as a place to post random quotes and song lyrics and thoughts on this or that, stuff that would be too random for facebook. But I still don't have a sense of what it does for me. I will say, however, that I've met more new people (as opposed to actual friends/acquaintances from real life) through twitter than facebook.

You're right, there are plenty of places to do pitch marketing. You made it clear that you preferred your page to be a place to relax and simply interact with others sharing the same interests. Don't feel bad about keeping the air clear for the rest of us, it's appreciated.

@Kevin, thats why I never unfollow people for spamming unless they continously pitch it too me personally. Sometimes people don't understand that its not really something to do. Facebook is a little harder for me to market with, but thats mostly because I'm not talking about my book yet. But people seem to enjoy the pictures I post.

Twitter for me is just a way to get personality out there, I feel I can relay my passion easier through quotes and its also a great platform to chat ^-^ Also you don't have to look like a stalker randomly adding everyone who says they are a writer ._.

@Mark Thanks :] That makes me happy ^-^

Is this post about twitter?
..Twitter is like a TV running constant and unrelated ads.
At times annoying commercial of individuals who don't really know how to use this Medea.
Often, I block what seems auto-tweeting. I also block people who contribute nothing to my knowledge .
Seldom, though, I run across uplifting ideas...

The facebook page for the documentary Blackfish posts ads everyday, but they manage to keep it interesting. They use a combination of pictures, videos, links, quotes, etc. I think that is the key. If you can make the marketing fun and interesting, it won't annoy people.
Twitter is tough because they only give you 140 characters. So on there I usually just post a quote and a link to my book every few days. But on FB (personal page) I put a lot more effort into my book posts.

Bisky wrote: "I know I waffle on sometimes so I just wanted to ask if anyone thinks the rules I have are too confusing.

Today I ended up spending far too long on someone who just ended up unfollowing me after w..."

Had a really interesting confrontation this morning on Twitter with a fellow author on this very subject. She posted 7 promo tweets within 2 minutes, 4 of which were the SAME BOOK within 1 MINUTE. Wow...

So I tweeted her and said, firstly "Are you having a scheduling mishap?" which does happen, once in a while a tweet scheduling app has a freakout and dumps all your tweets at once...I'm not going to jump on someone for a software glitch if that's what happened. I added "You posted 4 promo tweets abt the same book within 1 minute. Egregious spam level" Which I think is pretty fair to observe.

She responded, hilariously, "It's only spam if they are directed at you, which they weren't! I'll prevent you from being offended in future by blocking you. Thanks!"

Well, most people I know consider that to be spamming your timeline, and most I have spoken with find it annoying and will unfollow for it. So yeah, some people are just oblivious to the impact of their use of social networks.

Sad.

I had a guy message me a link to his book every time he responded to one of my tweets. I told him to stop and he did but he did it again yesterday and said.

"That link isn't for you. It's for all the people who will read this."

Sometimes I just feel like people want me for my follower count :p honest leeching? :p

Nothing personal, Bisky, this is how Twitter is... I think that he wanted you because you're special :)

Bisky wrote: "I had a guy message me a link to his book every time he responded to one of my tweets. I told him to stop and he did but he did it again yesterday and said.

"That link isn't for you. It's for all ..."

Yeah that's obnoxious. I will occasionally ask someone to pls RT one of my promo tweets, if they say no, no harm no foul I don't bother them again. But sending them to you over and over just so ppl searching your name will see them? That's just a d**k move.

I'm guessing this guy doesn't do much social interaction on twitter. Twitter seems like a massive spamfestival sometimes. I need to trim down who I'm following on there. There are two women who retweet each other's tweets and then retweet the retweets. It's like the never ending spambot going back and forth. It's a pity because they post some interesting stuff sometimes.

Twitter has an everyday tweet limit, you can only do so many everyday. Its why I don't often retweet people who don't talk to me first because my tweet count is taken up as I like to respond to everyone who talks to me.

I think the most important thing is to not send something to someone without striking up conversation first.

That's probably why I never see tweets from those two past 4 PM. Ha!