Today I want to talk with you guys about the power of being social.

You know social media gets such a bad rap, don’t you think? But I believe there is so much power in leveraging social media as an author so I really don’t want you guys to sleep on it.

Let’s have some real talk about it.

So, for the authors, writers, and poets, what I find is that most of the time, we tend to be a little isolated, right? As much as you guys may think that, “Hey, Audra is so social,” I have my introvert ways, trust me. Even when I was a runner, my friends would call me the “antisocial runner” because I didn’t like to run with the group. I meet up with them in the morning but then I would put my headphones on and take off running…alone, lol. So, I understand why someone would want to tell her story while also keeping a part of herself hidden from the world.

But I gotta tell you, the power of social media, it really requires you to come out of your comfort zone. And what I am learning and discovering (that’s been so amazing) is that as I do this more and more, my readers thank me for it.

I want to share with you three powerful reasons why you should be more social on social media when you’re an author.

And yeah, I know you’re thinking, “I just want to write my book, Audra! Can’t I just do that?” Well, you can, but isn’t part of sharing your story so that somebody eventually reads it? Yeah. Right. So, I want to share with you why it’s so important for you to be social…because social media requires it. It requires you to get out of your comfort zone and allow others who don’t know you to not only get to hear about your book but hear about YOU.

Because let’s face it, this is not how things used to be. There was a time (my first exposure to books was in the late eighties so I’m dating myself, lol) when you could just write a book and hide in the background; the bookstores and everybody else would do all the work for you. Well, honey, that day is over. It’s really over! But, what’s so fascinating about this process is as you share more about who you are to your readers, it endears them to you.

So, that’s one of the first things I want you to put down as a power of social media is that it allows you to connect with your readers in such an intimate way. I get emails, text messages, and Facebook inboxes from people all over the world. I was even tagged in a post from someone in Korea who read Unchain Me Mama, my first anthology and was moved by it. And it was funny because, in the post, the person said, “Read this book by my friend Audra.” And I’m thinking to myself, hmm, I don’t know you, but okay, lol.

I honestly believe what happened was, she read so much about me because I’ve opened up so much about my life, that when she purchased the book she felt as if she really knew me. Isn’t that what you want your readers to feel? You want them to get your message so clearly that they feel it and respond to it! And most importantly that they share it with the world. So, a power of being social is connecting with your reader intimately, right? And it can happen in a way that allows your book sales to organically grow.

Recently I posted that I woke me to an email notification that Unchain Me Mama was featured in a magazine under the Must-Read section. Yes, we are a must read y’all, and that made me excited! This book came out two years ago, yes, two years ago, and here we are in 2019, and it’s showing up in the print version of a magazine in the Must Read section, but it’s because the book has a life of its own. And it has a life of its own because I was willing to give just a little bit of me.

Another power of social media is the ability to create virtual connections that translate into real life. You can take interactions from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. and connect with people in person that can lead to future ventures and lucrative partnerships.

I attended a conference in Vegas a couple of weeks ago, and it was amazing. There was an author there that I’ve known for two whole years. We met on social media, talk frequently and finally got a chance to connect in person, and it was crazy. and exciting all at the same time!  I have this great connection with this awesome author who’s doing some fantastic stuff…and yeah, I met her online.  As a matter of fact, for those of you attending the Visionary Author Summit, you’ll meet her, Tamara Zantell, in person (yay you!).

We met because both of us were willing to be social on social media. It ain’t just about getting online surfing and scrolling.

But you really have to be willing to give just a little bit of yourself, and the results will be amazing. First, you want to connect with your reader intimately by sharing, being honest, being transparent, right? And then, you want to take your connections that you have online from Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and you want to connect with people in person. It really will elevate your experience.

The next thing I’m about to share with you is how being social can increase your reach and exposure.

And the reason why as an author, you want to increase your exposure and your reach, is because you wrote this amazing book and someone needs to read it. Look, you’ve sacrificed trips with your kids, missed hanging out with friends, gave up doing all the things that you would normally do just to put your heart and soul onto paper.

Don’t you want as many people as possible to read your book? Now, for those of you that say, “Hey, Audra, if just one person reads my book, it’s enough.”

(Insert sigh)

I think that when most authors say, “Well, if one person reads my book, that’s enough,” that it’s a defense mechanism. They’re protecting themselves because there’s nothing more heartbreaking than writing a book and then release it on Amazon or wherever and the book sales are…crickets. And I think sometimes people will make that comment, that if just one person buys it, it’s enough because they are afraid…

But, here’s the thing, maybe if you work on being social just a little bit, you can get that reach and exposure that will help generate and increase your book sales. But it’s going to require you to take some action.  Action takers win all day long. It doesn’t have to be huge actions. It can be little actions, such as jumping on a Facebook Live once a month. Start there, allowing your viewers to convert from being viewers to readers. Wouldn’t that be exciting?

Recently, I had a conversation with someone who met me from a social media ad that I ran and now we have a partnership. We have yet to meet face to face, but we’re working on making that happen soon. There is true power in being social that can be a huge benefit to authors, and with the stories you guys are sharing, the messages you want to get out there, look, your readers will absolutely thank you too.

So, just take a little step, a little step out of your comfort zone. You’ve written a book, you’ve published the book, and now take one more step towards being more social and get the word out to your readers.

Share in the comments one thing you will do to be more social on social media to purposefully connect with your readers.

I’ll be sure to reply and cheer you on!

Have a great day, guys. Bye.