Social Media and Selling Books

It’s about building relationships!

If you are a published writer, you undoubtedly have Twitter, Instagram, a Facebook page and/or other social media accounts.

If you have books on consignment in bookstores, or have sold books wholesale to bookstores, do you use your social media accounts to help promote those bookstores?

You definitely should. Using social media effectively doesn’t mean you’re looking just to find people who will buy your book (although that does happen). What it means is you can, and should, use social media to build relationships with those who can sell your book.

The value of sharing

My children’s book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab, was published in November 2020. In the early spring of 2021, I went on a mini-book tour and sold it wholesale to bookstores and gift shops in N. Carolina. In October of 2021, when I planned to vacation near one of the bookstores, I emailed the owner, Leslie, to ask if she would like me to deliver more books. She thanked me for reaching out and placed an order.

When I brought her the books, Leslie told me she appreciated that I tag her in my Instagram posts. “I may not respond, but I notice and I appreciate it.” She went on to tell me, “So many authors ask me to carry their book in my store. And then I never hear from them again. It’s wonderful that you promote the bookstore.”

I told her it’s important to me that people who visit the island know where to find the book!

Sharing the love

You see, when I share posts about Gordy and the Ghost Crab on Instagram or on specific Facebook group pages, I use related hashtags (in this case, #ocracoke #obx or #ncbeaches, etc.) and I also tag the bookstores that sell the book. My objective is to generate interest from people with children who vacation at those beaches and shop at the local bookstores.

Those stores notice!

Last week I received an email from Gee Gee, another Outer Banks bookstore owner:

Good Morning Linda, Saw your post on Insta. Thanks for the shout out! I’ll need more Gordy for the Holidays please. Could you send a dozen books and if you’re still making the packages I’ll take 6 of those. Thanks!

It’s been a year since Gordy and the Ghost Crab was published, and I’m still taking orders for more books. This, to me, is the value of social media:

Relationships.

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Thank you for visiting.

Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist:
Multi-finalist award winning novel In the Context of Love
Picture book Gordy and the Ghost Crab
Latest poetry chapbook: Sleepwalker

Connect with Linda: LinkTree