How Social Media Helped Me Find My Audience

Please welcome guest blogger Claude Bouchard to Endurance Marketing. Claude is a Canadian author who has embraced social media to drive awareness of his writing, building a network of Twitter followers to more than 140,000.

Here’s his story.

Once upon a time

A number of years ago, when home computers were just coming about–and people still used postage stamps as a means of communication–I wrote three novels. I tried to get the attention of some agents (that’s where the postage stamps came in) but they seemed to be in a bad mood that year and most ignored me so I put all that aside.

Years past and I was doing the day job gig until my position was moved to Mumbai making for too lengthy a commute. As I considered what to do next, I decided to pull out my old manuscripts. Through the power of modern technology, I was able to turn my manuscripts into actual books with glossy covers and cool pictures. So I did.

With that part done, I was on to the next challenge: How in the world would readers find my intriguing crime thrillers? How would I reach my audience without forking out a ton of cash?

Enter social media

In 2009, while setting up my first novel on BookBuzzR, I was given the opportunity to Tweet it. I had not clue what Twitter was, at the time. I opened an account and quickly realized that Twitter was just a GRAND way of getting the word out about my writing. I immediately started building my followers, understanding that the more followers I had, the more exposure I had for my writing.

In less than two years I’ve grown my followers from 0 to 140,000 –with new followers finding my profile every day. Impressive, I know.

So, that’s all fine and good, you say. But what have I gained through my social media marketing efforts. Well, let me tell you.

I’ve made book sales, though modest those are sales I would never have made without the reach that social media provided me. By balancing my tweets – blatant, self-promotions sprinkled with witty and thought-provoking updates – I’ve developed friendships with people globally. I’ve connected with numerous authors, and made contacts in the literary world that garnered me a host of interviews and wonderful book reviews.

The highlight of my SM marketing accomplishments, however, is that one of the people who I met on Twitter, the amazing Cari Foulk, has since become my dedicated, unstoppable agent at Tribe Literary Agency.

The moral of this story is that marketing via social networks does work but, like any other job, it involves time and effort, and yes, frustration at times. If you’re an author, you can’t afford to be a spammer; you must connect, contribute and share with your followers—not just broadcast your message. If you do that, you will have a much better chance at finding your audience—people who want to know about you and your work.

The end

On a final note, many have asked me how I managed to get so many followers and I will specify that I have never used any bots of any kind. Beyond that, besides mentioning chocolate chip cookies, if I told you, I’d have to, you know…

Connect with Claude on Twitter.