For writers, a Twitter account can provide a sense of community to what is, for much of the time, a very solitary activity. But Twitter is more than that. It enables writers to reach out, to share writing techniques, discuss trends, offer support, announce launches, reach readers…. Phew! In other words, it’s a great tool for connecting, learning and sharing.
But Twitter can quickly become overwhelming, even for the most experienced user. For the Noob (or newbie), Twitter can be frightening.
One of the most puzzling and misused aspects of the technology, whether you’re new to it or not, is the proliferation of hashtags (those strange words or phrases that are preceded by the pound symbol: #). What do they mean? Should we get the NSA involved? Do we need a Rosetta Stone?
No. All you need isa brief intro to them and a handy guide to help you chose which hashtag to use and when.
But why do people use hashtags?
The hashtag allows tweeters (posters into the Twitter stream or “conversation”) to target their post to a select group with specific interests. Relevant hashtags increase the likelihood of others finding and reading your post...and becoming a follower. They’re a wonderful way to engage a particular group of Twitter users.
How do they work?
The hashtag is a “tag” that Twitter uses to index tweets, much like keywords, that facilitate content searching by users. In this way, the hashtag is a way for readers to find content suited to their needs and interests much more easily…as long as the hashtags are utilized. And, more importantly, as long as they’re not abused.
So here’s a handy guide to Twitter #hashtags for writers. Apply them well and you’ll find that your tweets are a lot more effective. But misuse them—or even worse, abuse them—and your tweets will be lost or ignored. Finally, my advice is to limit your tweets to a maximum of 1 or 2 hashtags per post. Otherwise you really should be asking yourself: “Am I truly targeting my posts, or polluting the stream?”
(NB: tags with “chat” in them signify live twitter chats on the specified subject [eg., #yalitchat is about young adult literature]; anyone can follow these streams by typing the hashtag into the search field and can post into the stream by including the hashtag into their post; specific times for specific chats can be found by searching the web)
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But Twitter can quickly become overwhelming, even for the most experienced user. For the Noob (or newbie), Twitter can be frightening.
One of the most puzzling and misused aspects of the technology, whether you’re new to it or not, is the proliferation of hashtags (those strange words or phrases that are preceded by the pound symbol: #). What do they mean? Should we get the NSA involved? Do we need a Rosetta Stone?
No. All you need isa brief intro to them and a handy guide to help you chose which hashtag to use and when.
But why do people use hashtags?
The hashtag allows tweeters (posters into the Twitter stream or “conversation”) to target their post to a select group with specific interests. Relevant hashtags increase the likelihood of others finding and reading your post...and becoming a follower. They’re a wonderful way to engage a particular group of Twitter users.
How do they work?
The hashtag is a “tag” that Twitter uses to index tweets, much like keywords, that facilitate content searching by users. In this way, the hashtag is a way for readers to find content suited to their needs and interests much more easily…as long as the hashtags are utilized. And, more importantly, as long as they’re not abused.
So here’s a handy guide to Twitter #hashtags for writers. Apply them well and you’ll find that your tweets are a lot more effective. But misuse them—or even worse, abuse them—and your tweets will be lost or ignored. Finally, my advice is to limit your tweets to a maximum of 1 or 2 hashtags per post. Otherwise you really should be asking yourself: “Am I truly targeting my posts, or polluting the stream?”
(NB: tags with “chat” in them signify live twitter chats on the specified subject [eg., #yalitchat is about young adult literature]; anyone can follow these streams by typing the hashtag into the search field and can post into the stream by including the hashtag into their post; specific times for specific chats can be found by searching the web)
| #amediting | if you’re at the editing stage; for sharing struggles, success, requests for advice |
| #amwriting | if you’re at the writing stage; for sharing struggles, success, requests for advice |
| #apps | for discussing apps (not specific to writing) |
| #askagent | for throwing out general agent-related questions (hoping for a qualified response) and for offering said advice |
| #askeditor | for throwing out general editorial-related questions (hoping for a qualified response) and for offering said advice |
| #askpub | for throwing out general publishing-related questions (hoping for a qualified response) and for offering said advice |
| #author, #authors | general tag for targeting this community |
| #bio | for providing info about yourself |
| #blogging | announcements about your blog or blogs you read |
| #bookapps | about bookapps |
| #BookFriday | book promotion |
| #bookgiveaway | announcing a book giveaway |
| #bookmarketing | for soliciting or offering advice on marketing books |
| #booksellers, #bookselling | for targeting this group |
| #campnanowrimo | tweets about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) |
| #childrensbooks | tweets about childrens books |
| #dearpublisher | similar to #askpub |
| #ebooks | tweets related to ebooks, about ebooks, ebook publishing, etc |
| #editing | less specific than #amediting and #askeditor; encompasing both |
| #edubk | books about teaching |
| #ePrdctn | tweets about electronic book production (e.g. book designers, formatting, etc.) |
| #epub | tweets related to digital publishing or ebook publishing |
| #epubchat | Twitter live chat on subject of ebook publishing: Every other Friday, 3pm-5pm PST. |
| #FF, #followfriday | a general hashtag used on Fridays for encouraging others to follow your Tweeps |
| #fictionfriday | for promoting fiction |
| #fridayflash | flash fiction on a Friday |
| #Fridayreads | for sharing what you're reading over the weekend; book and author promotion |
| #iamwriting | same as #amwriting |
| #indieauthor, #indieauthors | tweets about independently (or self-) publishing writers |
| #indiewriter | writers looking to self-publish |
| #indiepub, #indiepublishing | tweets about independent (or self-) publishing |
| #kidlit | about children’s literature (including up to young adult literature) |
| #kidlitchat | live chat group on this subject |
| #kids | general tag for subjects about kids (usually coupled with another hashtag for specificity, eg. #writing) |
| #kidsapps | tweets about apps for kids |
| #kidsbooks | about kids books |
| #kindlechat | live chat about books released for Kindle and kindle-related topics: Time: Fridays 12pm-1pm PST. |
| #librarians | for targetting this group |
| #litchat | live chat discussing all things literary |
| #literacy | about literacy |
| #nanowrimo | anything regarding National Novel Writing Month |
| #novelists | for targetting this group or tweets about this group |
| #novels | tweets about novels (often used with or replaced by genre-specific hashtags, such as #horror) |
| #nowediting | same as #amediting |
| #pblit | picture book literature |
| #pblitchat | live chat regarding picture book literature |
| #poem | about poems or a specific poem |
| #poet | about poets or a specific poet |
| #poetry | about teaching, writing, reading, interpreting, enjoying poetry, etc |
| #poets | tweets about poets |
| #publishing | related to all things publishing, trade, educational, indie, etc |
| #pubtip | for offering or soliciting publication advice |
| #readers, #reading | about this group, but often used to reach out to readers; book promo and sharing info about reading |
| #scifi | about the science fiction genre |
| #scifichat | live twitter chat about science fiction |
| #selfpub | tweets related to self-publishing; same as #indie or #indiepub |
| #selfpublishing | tweets related to self-publishing; same as #indie or #indiepub |
| #storycraft | about the craft of creating stories |
| #titletalk | librarians talking titles |
| #vss | tweets about very short stories |
| #webfic | tweets about web fiction |
| #weblit | tweets about web literature |
| #wip | tweets about works in progress |
| #wordcount | for sharing your word count; can help you stay focused, share your successes (and failures!) and motivate yourself and other writers |
| #write, #writers | for targeting this group |
| #writechat | live twiter chats about writing |
| #writegoal | for talking about your general or sepecific writing goals |
| #writequote | used when quoting from a book or author |
| #writer, #writers | for targeting or tweeting about this group |
| #WW, #WriterWednesday | for shouting out to writers & suggesting authors to follow |
| #writetip, #writingtip | for soliciting or offering writing tips |
| #writing | tweets about writing; very general |
| #writingprompts | for connecting w/other writers by suggesting a trigger for a story; or to look for writing inspiration yourself |
| #wrotetoday | for offering or seeking encouragement |
| #ya | tweets about or targeting readers of young adult books |
| #yalitchat | live twitter daily chat |
I knew there was a reason why Twitter was feeling overwhelming, and you just listed it! lol! Perhaps #overwhelmed could be added to the list!
ReplyDelete...and thanks for explaining all that about hashtags, too. :)
This is a great explanation. I use Twitter often and one of the hardest things to explain to newbies are the hashtags. As soon as I say the word to a non-Tweep, I get odd looks. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHey JB,
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to see you here. Glad the post helped. Sorry, can't help you with being #overwhelmed by Twitter. I get that way every morning just logging on to my account. You just have to resign yourself to the fact that it's like watching a school of anchovies passing. Every once in a while you catch a glimpse of an individual fish, but for the most part it's a blur. The hashtags help.
I hope you're still trying to get STORY FOR A SHIPWRIGHT published. I'll be the first to buy it!
TY, Mizzez Melly Mel. I remember the first time I encountered hashtags and wondered what they were used for. They're really very dynamic tools, changing almost daily, some getting dropped while new ones are added. But they can really help target your tweets and identify others' that are useful to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
If I was leery before, now I’m downright terrified.
ReplyDeleteNine months ago I took the website-plunge. A month ago I acquiesced to trying out this blogging thing.
After reading your post, Twitter will have to wait. Maybe forever.
Hi Mirka, and thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteAs with all types of social media, you'll need to decide for yourself whether spending the time and effort meshes with your personal and professional goals. Twitter's a great way to connect and keep an eye on what's happening with people you want to follow, but it can quickly become overwhelming. Using lists and hashtags can help you manage it.
Whatever you choose to use (twitter, facebook, google+, blog, etc), if you decide to use it for networking and marketing, it will become very important that the content be regularly updated, which can be difficult for some people. It's one of the resons why I'm bringing in another writer to share the burden on this blog. :o)
Excellent intro! I'm relatively new to twitter and trying to figure out how to use it with a group--thanks for the info! It feels very doable!
ReplyDeleteI just get loads of authors self-promoting. I retweet a few of these, hoping that when I hit the smashwords.com premium list, people will do the same. However, I am concerned that all authors retweet only to other authors. How should be use hashtags to break out of the circle?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great article. It helps me to use and understand Twitter better.
ReplyDelete