The project manager hat is on and what I share today will help you understand the business side of being a self-published author. While I am addressing the self-publishing audience, these tips and tricks can work for anyone trying to get more exposure on their product.

If you want some quick tips and tricks for creating content, read here:

https://carincamen.com/blogs/cctraining/2022-creative-tips-and-tricks-to-grow-your-twitter-page

Self-published authors have two products. Their books and themselves. That's right. Our books are one of our products, but we are as well. Our readers buy into us, which then gives them confidence in buying our books. Most authors are introverts... so we may not excel at self-promotion... so it's something we'll have to work on.

Social media marketing has a lot of unknowns. A lot of things are out of our control. But what is in our control is our daily activity. Consistent daily action produces results... period. These results can be positive or negative. They key is to make sure your daily actions are based upon data, which indicate you'll get positive results.

In 2020 I had grown my Twitter and IG to 40k, 20k each. With one push of the button it all went poof. Several years of work gone in a flash. I was tired, exhausted, and discouraged. In June 2021 I decided to come back to Twitter, because I knew it was the fastest platform to grow. The rules had changed drastically. I was stuck at 5k for several months, before I hired a Twitter coach. I'll talk more about him later.

If I was going to succeed, I had to apply all the tools and skills I applied as a Project Owner and Project Manager in Internet Technology, to my writing business. I put myself on what is called Agile. Now before you close this out, I promise to not get all technical and geeky.... well I can't promise not to get geeky.

Let's talk Results - 2022 First Quarter

The following is an analysis of my Twitter Page. 

• https://author.to/Twitter_CarinCamen

Below are screenshots from my Twitter analytics to show you how positive growth occurred when I put on the project manager hat and began running my social media marketing for my books, as an business.

January Results

Growing to 5k was relatively easy for me. I slowed down a bit the fourth quarter of 2021 because I took on a new job which was pretty intense. For me to reach my yearly goal, I had to make up for what I lost.

After being stuck at 5k, I decided to hire a Twitter coach. I hired M Lemont, who is the author of How to Gain 100k Twitter followers. I had used his book to build my 40k followers before. I knew I could do it again. But Twitter had changed the rules and I needed help to navigate. The next two months you'll see the results of this coaching. The top three things he had me work on.

1. Tweet more
2. Follow More
3. Retweet More

Sounds pretty simple right? I soon found out how wrong that assumption was when I began to hit road blocks.  So before you close out of this blog, I recommend you read on.

All three things were in my control. My consistency in doing them was in my control. If I succeeded or failed, it would be due to my self-discipline. Well... Mr. LeMont soon found out I was a very self-disciplined person.

February Results:

Tweets: 401.952% increase Tweets are always in your control. They drive the other increases.

Profile Visits: 185.366% increase Tweets cause interest to look further.

New Followers: 527.273% increase Tweets help users to choose if they want to see more of what you share.

March Action Plan

March it was time to step it up. I was pushing Mr. LeMont to teach me new things quickly and he was pushing me to implement them and holding me accountable. We both shared insight into tools we used. What we were testing, what data we were getting.

Coming from a technical background, I heavily integrate technology into my system. This helps me to keep up my Twitter activities to continue growing while working with my consulting clients.

The results speak for themselves. Things I modified:

1. Updated my vanity links.
1. I use https://geniuslink.com/
2. Updated my tweet schedule.
1. I use SmarterQueue. Use this link to extend your trial period. It is an affiliate program.
2.  https://author.to/CCSmarterQueue
3. Updated follower tracking.
1. I use https://unfollowerstats.com/
4. Updated RSS Feed
1. I use https://ifttt.com/ for my website and Telegram.
2. I updated my Telegram bots to automatically share everything I am doing on Twitter. This provides me a backup.
5. Updated my Amazon Author Page 
1. https://author.to/AmazonCarinCamen and RSS Blog Feed.
6. Updated my Goodreads Author Page 
1. https://author.to/Goodreads_CarinCamen
7. Continued to track my daily activity.
8. Continued to report in my daily activity.
9. Continued to monitor the analytics.
1. Twitter
2. GenuisLink
3. UnfollowerStats
4. SmarterQueue

Some days I did well, some days I didn't. I tracked every activity. I tested everything. I wasn't afraid to fail. March was the month I wanted to push myself to the next level.

March Results:

Tweets: 2.11755% decrease 

• I tested with quality over quantity.
• I began scheduling tweets 24/7 so I could reach different time zones.
• I tested different writing and design styles.

Profile Visits: 57.4359% increase 

• I began testing different pinned tweets.
• I added threads.
• I started testing Moments feature.
• I became a Twitter Blue member so I could bookmark to folders.

New Followers: 125.604% increase 

• I increased my comments.
• I was retweeting pinned tweets.
• I daily was introducing myself to new people and following.

Twitter Analytics Results

Highlighting the top engagement rate day. This gives me one method to track what I tweeted on that day and then further analyze which tweets received the most engagement.

Highlighting the day with the most likes. I then went back and looked at that day's tweets with SmarterQueue. This graph showed me that I am not getting notifications for everything that is occurring on my page. I not only needed to look at Twitter Analytics, but also use my other social media tools to see what I was tweeting and what was being well received.

When people comment, it affects how your tweet is being seen. With this graph I could go back and see what was tweeted on March 29th and what received the most replies. This gives me valuable information to know what is resonating with individuals who follow me. As an author, my tweets help me understand my audience better. This is the power of Twitter when you use it with a business mindset. 

As an author, I have two methods to help introduce my writing to others. Those who enjoy my writing sharing and talking about it. Or, I have to introduce myself. The first is stronger. I look at my analytics every day and evaluate the days which have the most engagement, what activity I did, what I posted. All three help direct what I will share and which activities produce the most results.

Twitter's analytics on clicks is not accurate, due to what is called Dark Social. This is where someone will grab a link to a tweet and share it on other platforms, emails, and chats. Twitter doesn't have a way to monitor this activity. This is why I use GenuisLinks.

Twitter vs GenuisLink Analytics 

While Twitter analytics is still very nice, let's dive deeper and see how it compares with Genuislinks. Twitter stated I only received 174 clicks. But based on GenuisLink tracking I can see that my total clicks were 3.5k with a 382% increase over February.

I can also see where in the world the clicks are coming from. Because I implemented 24/7 tweets through my SmarterQueue scheduler, I was reaching countries while I was asleep. I'm in the US, but Germany and Canada are my top two countries which enjoy my writing. The US comes in third. Knowing my books have been read by an international audience, is important to know. Knowing this will help me determine if I need to change up my tweets in the different time zones to make sure I am resonating with this audience.

GenuisLinks also lets me know where my audience is coming from as well as if I am increasing from this referrer. The referrer "None" is the Dark Social. This shows me that 1.5k tweets were shared elsewhere through copying the link and sharing it off twitter. T.co is Twitter. Which is still higher than what Twitter analytics is showing. My website referrals were done, mainly because I had neglected to update it with a new thirty-day motivational challenge. This is something I will need to rectify.

My top performing book was Define and Align. The link click increases corresponds with the dates I was tweeting about this book. 

Digging into how my book was being shared shows me that Twitter was my highest referrer. Dark Social came in second. This is beneficial in letting me know that the marketing I am doing on Twitter is gaining interest.

Results Driven Action

I use my STEPS to Success Program to track my goals and activity. I set a large goal, break it down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily activity. On some tasks I even break that down into hourly activity. The later is essential so I don't get put in Twitter jail for doing too many activities in a short period of time. For social media marketing on Twitter, I have created a spreadsheet. It is why I can share what activities I did. To know how effective your activities are, you have to track what you've done.

March Activities:

• Comments: 306
• Retweets: 345
• Follows: 4607
• Unfollows: 2602 
• When Twitter blocks me from following, I have no choice but to unfollow those who have shown they are not interested in my writing. I don't like the rules, but I have to work with them. I may be interested in what they share. But I can put them into my lists or bookmark their pinned tweet into my folder to check in on them. I don't need to boost their numbers, I don't expect anyone to boost mine.
• Total Activity: 7984 = 257/day = 10/hr on a 24 hour timeline.
• Of course I'm not on twitter 24/7, so I need to apply automation. I use SmarterQueue scheduler and IFTTT to keep working while I'm sleeping.

Second Quarter Goals

Based upon the data I have gathered and the correlation with my activity these are my goals for second quarter. I used the last couple of days in march to set myself up for a successful second quarter.

1. Created a new banner image.
2. Adjusted my name so I pull up in search for writer, reader, author.
3. Utilized these hashtags in my bio to help being pulled up in search of these terms.
4. Added emoji's for visual stimulation.
5. Clarified my three hashtags of what I use to share my followers work.
6. Updated my website with with a current The Ember Within Motivational Challenge.
7. Updated my navigation to take people who want to purchase my books to Amazon using GenuisLink tracking.

Second Quarter Action Plan - Goal: 20k Twitter individuals who enjoy my writing.

1. Design more marketing material for my books.
1. 100 marketing pieces per book.
1. Flat-50
2. Image-30
3. Video-10
4. Audio-10
2. Use efficiency for comments/retweets/following.
   I tested this out. While vetting took a bit more time, I was doing 2-3 activities during that same time period, making my time usage more effective. 
1. When I follow, I have to either provide a quality comment or retweet.
1. I am very selective on what I retweet, because my page is pretty well branded. 
2. This takes a lot of time to vet and curate what I will retweet or comment on. 
3. If I am not given options within the first three tweets to either comment or follow, then I will pass. 
4. I enjoy helping other reach their goal. I have dedicated three hashtags for my followers. #NatureRetweet, #ConnectionRetweet, #LoveLinesRetweet which are on my bio and easily accessible to everyone who visits my profile.
5. Implement a three strike unfollow policy. Notifications don't always show up. I give individuals three ways to vet me to see if they enjoy my writing and we mutually will help support each other. Remember, it's about finding your target audience. 
1. I'll follow
2. I'll comment
3. I'll retweet
4. I give a two week window to decide.
3. Continue to track my daily activity.
4. Increase vanity links for my different marketing campaigns.
5. Add to my training blog.
6. Do a call to action at the end of each blog to where they can reach a book which correlates with the blog.
7. Continue to test different pinned tweets.
8. Continue to test different marketing pieces.
9. Whatever activities my Twitter coach asks me to do. And yes... he'll be reviewing this blog. 

If you're not afraid to fail... you have an incredible opportunity to learn. It's all about the mindset. The greatest accomplishment we can obtain in life is to become a complete failure at fearing to failure. Self-discipline is in your control. You decide what activities to take and how consistent you'll be. 

Make sure you celebrate every win of the day. Because, every day has a win. Find it. Celebrate it. Focus on your next step and move forward.

Overwhelmed? Don't be. This seems like a lot all at once. Remember, I have been putting this in place for months. Pick one thing and work on that until you get comfortable and in a good rhythm. Then add something else. What matters is small consistent steps.

Do you work full time? Excellent. You are your best investor for your business. You'll want to integrate automation so you can focus on things that require hands on. I've given you tools that will be beneficial. They will take some time to set up. But, you're in this for the long haul. You've got time. 

Need Help? You have options!

1. Feel like you just need a bit of guidance?
   You've got one. I recommend you begin by following https://twitter.com/MisterSalesman. I'm very self-disciplined, but Mr. LeMont helps to fine tune and guide me through avoiding the Twitter traps which can set me back. He shares what he has implemented and learned. 
   
   If you feel discouraged, you should hear his story of how he built up his Twitter account and then had to rebuild it when Twitter began the purge.
   
   
2. Want to take your business to the next level? 
   If you are wanting to take your business to the next level, you have to begin with your mindset. The Ember Within Series is where you'll find my STEPS to Success Program. In these workbooks I take you step by step through the same process I use to get the results I have shown you. https://author.to/TheEmberWithinSeries
   
   
3. Need help with technology integration? 
   Whether you are an individual or business. I can help train you with the technology which will take you to the next level. You can find my portfolio here. https://author.to/carincamenconsulting

If you found what I have shared helpful, please share it with others. See you on Twitter. Click those social media share buttons below.