Just How Effective IS Social Media for Authors?

Good morning, and welcome to another Social Media Monday!

Last week, something occurred to me. Here I am, handing out advice to all of you on a variety of social media-related topics, but I had no idea whether or not social media actually worked. At least, not with regard to book sales.

Oh, I like being on social media (Twitter and Facebook are my favorites, and yes, you should totally join me there 😉 ), and I had the impression that it was beneficial to my book marketing efforts, but I had no proof. No way to determine whether or not the time I invested was paying off in anything more than sheer fun. 

So I put together a poll. It was very informal (my statistically-minded daughter would cringe at my methodology), but it gave me my first real insight into the efficacy of my online involvement. Here was the question I put out on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog (which also feeds into Goodreads):

Fans of the Grigori Legacy series, I’m curious. How did you discover the books?

a) Bookstore
b) Online retailer
c) Friend recommendation
d) Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads)
e) Other (?)

Like I said, it was pretty basic, and it was intended to get a sampling rather than definitive data. I think the results, however, are still interesting:

Bookstores accounted for 10% of readers discovering my books.

Online retailers accounted for 2.5%

Friend recommendations accounted for 8%

Other (conventions, events, etc.) accounted for 20.5%

And social media? That accounted for a whopping 59% of readers having discovered me (interestingly, the majority via Twitter). That’s better than half my book sales made because of my engagement in the online communities I’ve built.

Are these figures scientifically accurate? Almost certainly not. But they’re enough to keep me chatting away with readers — past, present, and future — happily and guilt-free. 😉

P.S. If you’re just finding the Social Media Monday series, check out last week’s post for a listing of all the articles so far — and please share!

P.P.S. Do remember that I’m primarily a writer…feel free to check out my books while you’re here! 😉