Is Social Media a Waste of Time for Writers?

Some of it certainly is

“My goal is to figure out how to build readership without spending my life on social media.”

“I hope to learn about marketing, since I don’t like social media.”

“(I need) some concrete marketing-esque suggestions for how to tap into an audience if I actually have zero online presence.”

Sound like you?

Marketing, social media, all the platforms—It’s all pretty overwhelming.

You’re not alone in feeling like that. That was me a few years ago, too.

We just want to write! This new online world adds in an unwelcome level of promotion for writers.

Or is it an opportunity?

Writing used to have a lot more barriers than it does today.

You had to convince the gatekeepers to drag your work out of the slush pile and notice it for a start.

Then you had to compete with hundreds of other writers, hoping to snap up one of the tiny number of publishing spots.

Now anyone can publish in public.

The problem isn’t grabbing an editors attention as much as grabbing your readers’ attention.

How do we do that?

That’s what we’re going to look this month.

First, I’d love to hear from you!

• What marketing techniques, social media, or writing platforms do you find worthwhile?

• Which ones have been a waste of time for you?

---

Yesterday, I analyzed the top stories in my Medium publication, Inspired Writer.

If you don’t already know, Medium is a platform where anyone can write within an active writing and reading community. The trick on Medium is getting attention among the thousands of stories.

Check out how these 5 stories managed it. (It wasn’t by spending hours on social media!)