How I landed a book deal just by using Twitter
Are you missing valuable opportunities on Twitter? Find out how a professional organiser landed not one but TWO book deals just by tweeting!
With over 170,000 hits from Twitter – and plenty of places on courses, like Twitter Tune-up filled from it, we’re well aware of the value of social media. But what about other people? Do other businesses also see a worthwhile return on their time and effort on Twitter? And if so, what kind of benefits have they received?
To find out, we asked some successful tweeters how Twitter works for them – and what tips they can share to help others.
First up is declutter coach Juliet Landau-Pope. Juliet has already written for us about how to promote yourself as a media expert in your industry. Since then she’s also since landed two book publishing deals just by tweeting. We asked her how she did it.
How I landed a book deal just by using Twitter
In Jan 2017 I received a DM on Twitter from Joanne Henson, inviting me to get in touch if I was interested in writing a book for her popular What’s Your Excuse? series. I honestly thought it was a joke or a scam – who gets commissioned to write a book via Twitter? – but I contacted her and arranged to meet up for a coffee and chat the following week.
When we met she explained that she’d been following me on Twitter for two years and liked my style of writing. She had two titles in mind that she wanted to invite me to consider – one on time management and one on decluttering. I couldn’t decide between the two so asked rather cheekily if I could pitch for both.
And as a result of this connection, Joanne published my first book, Being More Productive, in September 2017. We celebrated with a launch at Waterstones in Kensington and the book is now available in print and for kindle.
The second book, Clearing Your Clutter, was published in March 2018 and this time the launch was held at Waterstones in Hampstead. In my speech and in the acknowledgements of both books, I thank Twitter for introducing Joanne and I!
I love Twitter and use it effectively to market my business. I’m very grateful that I didn’t need to search for an agent or editor, that Twitter provided me with an opportunity to connect with a publisher and editor.
Twitter quick fire – how do you use it?
So how did Juliet land a book deal from Twitter? What examples can you follow? We asked her some quick questions about Twitter.
How often are you on Twitter?
Three or four times a day for a few minutes each time.
How many hours a week in total do you spend on Twitter?
Approximately three hours in total per week but it varies. Before the book launches, I spent longer.
Do you have a strategy or is it ad hoc?
All ad hoc although I do certain things routinely, such as block the spam and porn profiles that follow me.
Do you use hashtags?
Yes, I use hashtags relating to my industry and check hashtags that are trending to see if I can say anything relevant. I also post tweets that link to regular hashtags such as #MondayMotivation #FridayFeeling and seasonal campaigns such as #SpringClearing2018.
Do you use any automation tools or just tweet in real time?
Only real time. I know there are advantages to scheduling but I prefer to keep it live. But I do draft tweets in advance and save them in ‘drafts’ ready to post at particular times
What’s your top Twitter tip?
Be authentic. Let Twitter reflect your personal brand and your personality. It doesn’t need to be slick and perfect. It takes time, energy and patience to build a following but if you persist, it can be very rewarding.
(Follow Juliet and Joanne on Twitter.)
Find out how to master Twitter for yourself
As you can see, you don’t need to invest hours a week on Twitter to get amazing results. But you do need to know what you want from it and be persistent, using it continually over time to grow your audience and build your brand, if you want to see results like Juliet’s.
If you’d like to feel confident on Twitter, and start reaping the opportunities that are available on it (and turn it into a powerful sales tool for your business) in just a few hours a week, find out how our popular online course Twitter Tune-up will teach you everything you need to know.
Join Twitter Tune-up now and start seeing instant results for your business.
