How Authors Can Use Periscope To Sell More Books
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Jessica Woods
Are you on Periscope yet? Periscope is Twitter's real time video broadcasting app. It might not seem like the obvious choice for authors at first glance, but look closer. There are actually lots of ways for an author to grow their audience on the platform. Here is why I love Periscope as a platform for writers who want to grow their audience and sell more books. Get up close and personal with your readers If you are trying to connect with your readers via social media, Twitter has been the closest thing to real-time connections up until now. They ask questions, you Tweet back, and then you carry on trying to keep up with the questions in your Twitter feed. It can get confusing since only the reply gets shown in each Tweet, and you can easily miss comments. Periscope lets your viewers focus solely on you. They can ask questions in the form of comments, and you can answer them back in real time, almost face to face. It helps your readers to form a connection to you that will encourage them to buy more books and remain faithful fans. Interact with more people in less time If you love to do book tours, but don't have the time or money to travel from city to city, do a virtual book tour from the comfort of your own home. Periscope lets you reach anyone, anywhere, and at any time, so you can share your books at your leisure. Periscope keeps the videos on the app for 24 hours and then deletes them, but you can save them to your phone and upload them to your website, so your fans can view them later when it's convenient for them. Do exclusive readings for your fans Periscope lets you make public or private broadcasts, so you can choose to broadcast only to your followers, if you like. This allows you to do special readings or question and answer sessions just for your followers and no one else. If you have fans that aren't following you on Periscope, you can plan a reading, announce it on your other social media platforms, and encourage fans to follow you on Periscope for full access. Share your writing life with the world Being an author can be a lonely profession, but thanks to Periscope, you can share your writing life with your fans and they can send you messages about your work. Periscope uses the hashtag #WhereIWrite to allow famous authors to let their followers get a glimpse of their personal writing spaces via video. It's not just famous authors who can use the hashtag; independent authors and unknowns can become a part of the larger community of writers using the platform, and grow their own audiences as well. Gain exposure and new fans by showcasing your home, office or favorite writing spot. For authors, the possibilities are endless when using Periscope to build a brand or loyal following. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, Periscope could be one of the most powerful tools in your marketing toolbox.
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