Twitter/Facebook

I'm continuing to make good use of Twitter and Facebook as part of my overall marketing. Both media are a great way to connect with readers old and new. And with my Twitter account feeding to Facebook, the tweets themselves keep my Facebook page active.

Facebook is also an effective partner with Twitter because people can send you a longer, private message. Here are three I've received recently about new fans on Facebook:

1. I used to read all the time as a kid. I read R.L. Stine books. I loved how he wrote. Then I went to college and stopped reading ... Then one day a lady my mom used to work with finished Ted Dekker's book "Thr3e" and gave it to my mom to read. She said read this, you will like it. It's a Christian book. My mom said, "And I would like this because?????" The friend said no seriously read it, it is really good. So, my mom read it and and liked it. Then I bought it, read it, and liked it. I went to the book store and said I got through reading Ted Dekker's book "Thr3e" and I like it, is there any one else like that? And she look into the computer and said yes, Brandilyn Collins. I said ok thank you. My first book of yours I read was "Brink Of Death," then "Stain Of Guilt" and now I am reading "Dead Of Night,"then next on my list will be "Web Of Lies," then onto "Exposure." You are my favorite author by far. Now, I admit, I don't go to church, but I do believe in God, and I love how you incorporate suspense with believing in God, and how that can get you through tough times.

2. My husband has never been a reader. However, after seeing me stay up night after night to finish your awesome books, he decided he needed to see what was so interesting. LOL. He is now hooked!! He finished Exposure and is on Stain of Guilt. Read through Brink of Death in about 3 days. So a big thank you!! It is fun to have something to talk about with him other than the 'normal' conversations of life:)

3. I just "discovered" you yesterday on the CBN site. So encouraging to hear about your healing from lyme, and gives me hope that there will be healing for my son and myself as well. I am excited to get into your books, I love to read!

(This third one refers to my taping for The 700 Club, which covered my healing from Lyme Disease.)

On Twitter I hear from readers every day. Remember, these tweets are public to all who follow the tweeter. So receiving such tweets is like receiving favorable public reviews. Here are a few recent examples:

1. Finished EXPOSURE by @Brandilyn. Wow, what a ride! In the end, I wept. In my big honkin' pickup truck. At a tower site. Really.

2. Noon walk: long way to library to pick up GETTING INTO CHARACTER by @brandilyn (7 secrets a novelist can learn from actors)-starting to read.

3. @Brandilyn My mil LOVED your bk, Dark Pursuit, for Mom's Day :) Exposure going out this wk. for bday :) :) :)

If you are a published author and are not yet on Twitter, I encourage you to start an account. It takes time at first to build followers. But at this point--I'm around 4400 followers now--my follow/unfollow is all automated. I don't have to do anything to get followers--they find me, and my account increases.

By the way, I have fun on Twitter/Facebook too. On Tuesday I sent this tweet: "Whoa! Just saw a brown bear run across my backyard. Cool. Last bear sighting was 3 years ago." The tweet prompted almost 30 comments on my Facebook page about wild animal craziness, including a gal who claimed her cat thinks he's a rattlesnake and an alligator. I told her it's time to get a dog.

My Today's Word goes out automatically (through Tweetlater) at 8 a.m. Pacific time. Folks on both Twitter and Facebook enjoy making a sentence with Today's Word. Some on Twitter (@jamesscottbell is the main culprit who started it all) enjoy butchering the use of Today's Word. Jim's sentence for yesterday's word: COEVAL (which means of same age/duration or occurring at same time) went like this: @Brandilyn When two beetles eat the same cotton bud, it's a coeval disaster.

An important marketing statistic: When I tweet about my blog post with a link, I see about a 30% rise in viewers for that post. Now that my blog has been updated, new F&F readers clicking over from Twitter/Facebook will immediately see the covers of my new releases, the trailer for Always Watching, how to join my Facebook fan group, etc.

Yesterday Brian Hanson of CustomTwit created a new theme for my Twitter account in just a few hours. I hired him in the afternoon, and bam, he got right on the job. Check out his work on my page. He used graphics from my Web site to create a seamless look for me. Most impressive is the fact that he could upload a new design at all. Twitter upload ability has been broken for months. Brian knows how to override Twitter and make it work anyway. My months-long frustration in needing a new design was put to rest in a few hours' time. Now when people check out my profile on Twitter, they'll see the covers of all my books, including the latest releases.