Hate Social Media? Here Are Other Ways To Promote Your Writing
Hold off on that Instagram account just a little longer.
Photo by Erik Lucatero on Unsplash: a cellphone displaying an Instagram account
Social media isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s time-consuming, challenging to navigate, and sometimes just downright annoying. Personally, if I didn’t rely on Facebook and Instagram to promote my work, I would delete the apps.
Even if you do enjoy using social media, promoting on various platforms is a different ball game. You have to stay on top of algorithm changes, trends, posting schedules, and interacting with others to succeed. When it comes to social media haters, there are two types of people: people who will suck it up for marketing purposes and people who wouldn’t make an Instagram account if their life depended on it.
Whether you are looking to promote your writing or writing services, we often overlook other ways to do so. You can use these strategies separate from social media or pair them with your social media use, depending on which type of hater you are.
Win distinctions and honors
There are plenty of writers who don’t have social media, yet they remain very popular. For example, Tracy K. Smith, the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States, does not have social media accounts or a personal website (that I can find). I would assume that becoming the Poet Laureate of the United States is enough promotion.
As a writer, you can submit to contests or awards to get your name out there. If you’re just starting, try to find local contests or small contests in your niche. You can then branch out to larger ones once you have a few of those under your belt. No matter what you write, it can help to browse Submittable occasionally to check up on opportunities you may qualify for.
Typically, organizations will promote the winners of certain honors and distinctions on their social pages. Depending on the opportunity, the achievement may open doors for even more promo as prominent people learn about your work because of it.
2. Have other people promo for you
In that vein, having other people promote your work for you is a great way to get around doing it yourself. It’s not a surefire substitute, but it always helps to tap into other people’s followings. Some ways to get others to promote your work include:
Get on the news
If you have an exciting new project coming out or you want to talk about your services, the oldest method in the book is to get on the news. Once you know your target audience, you should figure out the news sources that appeal to them. Create a list of sources, read their requirements for pitching, and send a pitch. Make sure you have an interesting angle that people would want to report on or read about. Instead of just saying, “I’m releasing a new book,” think about what your book offers to the world and what people may gain by reading it.
If you don’t want to pitch, you can position yourself as an expert in your niche by becoming a source for articles already in the works. Websites such as Help a Reporter allow you to sign up and receive information about reporters looking for expert sources on various topics. When you find one that pertains to you, you can submit a quote and potentially get featured in the article. These types of features give you credibility for whatever work you do.
Send your work or offer your services to popular people
This is the “influencer method” that many companies use, and it works. If you’re struggling to get your foot in the door, try finding someone who already has the door wide open. Create a list of people who have popular blogs, YouTube channels, or social media accounts related to your niche, and then reach out to them. For example, if you wrote a self-help book, you can send it to people in the lifestyle and wellness niche with the hopes that they will share it with their audience.
Tell friends to share your work online
If you have friends with social media accounts, get them to help you. What else are friends for but for free promotion? Ask them to post about your work on their various channels or to reshare it from other sources. If your friends don’t use social media either, you can encourage them to read your work and share it with their other friends and family.
Becoming a presenter at a conference, webinar, or festival can also position you as an expert in your field and garner other people’s interest.
3. Go to events
Events can be a better form of networking than social media and a quick way to put some credentials behind your name (if you’re into that). Becoming a presenter at a conference, webinar, or festival can also position you as an expert in your field and garner other people’s interest. The best part about attending events is that you already know that everyone there has some interest that aligns with yours. Networking at niche events can connect you to like-minded people. From there, look for opportunities for further collaboration with those people and build a supportive community.
4. Have an email list
Email lists can be a headache in and of themselves. But, if you don’t have social media, email is a great way to allow people to keep up with you and your work. If you have a business, you’ll probably need to take your email list more seriously and have a strategy and a messaging schedule. If you’re a writer who just wants to have somewhere for your audience live, you can have a more leisure email list and only send messages when you have an update.
The hardest part about email is building that audience. The other methods I’ve listed will help you do so, as you can direct all of your connections to your email list. Once you have a solid following, email can be better than social media accounts in some ways because at least you know your audience is already interested in what you have to offer.
5. Write for major publications
image: ways to promote your writing
When you get in good with a popular publication, you can allow your work to speak for itself with their audience. I recommend keeping a running list of publications with a large following related to your niche (think of where you like to go for information or entertainment) and noting when they open for submissions. As you well know, a well-written article or story can sometimes make readers want to learn more about the author.
Additionally, most major publications have all their own forms of promotion and marketing. When you publish with them, you get to tap into the structures they have in place to promote your work for you.
6. Get good at SEO
I find it important for writers of all types to have at least a simple website where they can house all of their work. If you have a website and no social media, taking a couple of courses on search engine optimization (SEO) can’t hurt. SEO allows people to find you directly from search engines such as Google.
It takes time to optimize a website and get organic traffic. Once you do, however, the results are phenomenal. Instead of casting a wide net on social media and hoping that you catch someone interested in what you are doing, SEO allows the interested parties to come directly to you.
For my ghostwriting business, I directed my energy towards building out my website instead of fishing on social media. Now, people searching for ghostwriting services can find me instead of me having to find them.
A lot of writers feel trapped by the vortex that is social media. Many of us feel forced to make accounts just to get our work out there. Fortunately, there are other ways to promote your work.
Of course, all methods have their downsides, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to self-promotion. You can find out what works best for you, even if it means doing none of the above steps. If you’re willing to put some work in, hopefully now you have a few places to start. If you need motivation, check out my list of affirmations for writers.