Five Things NOT to Do to Your Followers

In the amazing Facebook group I am a member of (New Adult Authors Unite!) There are often conversations on what is the best way to reach readers, both old and new. They discuss newsletters, Facebook fan pages and groups, Twitter, e-mail listings, the list goes on and on. But really what is the best way to reach readers?

Honestly, I have no idea. There are so many do's and don't's for social media that it makes me head spin, so I wouldn't even know where to begin with telling anyone what to do to gain more. But I do now a few things NOT to do*.

1. Spam your followers.
• If you are able to get some followers, do not spam them with talk of your book. I know I personally do not follow someone that constantly  tweets about their books or send out Facebook messages for each great review they receive. Life is too short and the literary world too big for me to waste time on people that are just going to annoy me. This means if I'm not following you, I'm even less likely to retweet anything you say and spread your name with my own followers.
2. Talk only about writing
• Most of the people I try to follow talk about more than their writing career. They talk about their crazy kids, or their hobbies, or what movies they have seen lately. This makes them into real people who are more relatable and interesting. This makes me want to engage in conversation with them and check out their backlog of books. If you are an interesting person and a published author, I'm just going to assume some of your books are interesting too. Faulty logic? Sure. But it's how a lot of people work.
3. Never talk about your writing
• On the other hand, you don't want to never talk about your writing. Then I'm going to wonder why I bother following a writer if I'm not going to get any information about their books. It's a tightrope to walk on, but keeping the balance is important.
4. Ignore them.
• The beauty of social media is that it is social. There have been times when I send messages out to authors I like and never get a reply. I understand that authors are busy people, what with all the writing and, usually, full-time job. But this doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed. Especially when I see the author talking to the same fans or bloggers all the time. It's discouraging to the fan and in extreme cases can make them feel resentful (believe me, I've had friends that felt that way).
5. Don't beg.
• Seriously, do I have to tell you this? Begging for retweets, reblogs, sharing, and all those others is just tacky. It makes you seem desperate as if you don't think your books are good enough to get attention without the theatrics.

All in all, just be yourself and have fun. The best kinds of followers are going to be the ones that flock to you when you are just being the normal you.

*This is all subject to personal opinion. I am not saying my way is right, but it is a suggestion.