Does Twitter Sell Books? Yes, It Does

With such excitement and hype encompassing Twitter, I definite to look for concrete examples of social media succeeder in book publishing. I interviewed two different publishers to get their take on how attractive on Twitter has benefited them.

Twitter requires an investment of time and resources, so the first and most transparent question is, does it work? Does it sell books? I asked Michael Taeckens, Publicity Director of Algonquin Books, and he answered emphatically, "Yes, absolutely." I agree as well. At FSB, we are running tests to judge the impact of Twitter chatter on gross revenue and the picture is undeniable: Twitter is leading to gross revenue (more on it next month).

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Algonquin Books (@algonquinbooks) was featured in Huffington Post's recent clause on the 12 Best Publishers on Twitter. Another publisher on the list was Alfred A. Knopf, and I asked Mary Buckley and Pamela Cortland if they feel their efforts managing Twitter feeds sell books. They too said yes. The dynamic duo have been Tweeting for Knopf (@aaknopf) for just over a year. Although they were not hired for this role, they seem to be naturals at it. First they took over the Facebook page and later the Twitter feed. "April 2009, we definite to create a more active presence. Mary and I split the tweeting responsibilities because we were both interested in Twitter's potential for engagement with readers," said Cortland.

The growth in the number of following for both Algonquin and Knopf has been substantial. In 2009 Knopf had 1,581 following and nowadays they have over 32,000. I asked them what the secret to their succeeder is and if the growth was steady, "Our growth goes in spurts where some days we'll increase by fifty following and the next by two-hundred. On average we gain about one-hundred following a day. We see a big surge when our authors with huge followings (e.g. Anne Rice, Nicholas Kristof) retweet posts of interest to them. In addition, we find that our tweets about general literary news such as book festivals crosswise the country or discussions of the book world nowadays has appealed to a broad audience." Algonquin also has a hefty following of over 26,000.

The trick to their succeeder may consist the community building which is so crucial to Twitter. Taeckens explains his three point plan for engagement: "First, be pro-active about interacting with other people; you have to engage in conversations, not simply post as if you're coverage to a captive public. Second, display your sense of personality; use wit, humor, creativity, and have fun. Third, post and comment on topics you know and care about--not just lit and publishing, but all topics in the cultural dialogue."

Creating communities and loyal following is a time overwhelming endeavor, especially since neither of the Twitter feeds are run by dedicated community managers. Taeckens has the stern job of being the Publicity Director and this fall will get in his new position of Online and Paperback Marketing Director, piece Mary Buckley is Assistant Manager of Advertising and Promotions and Pamela Cortland is Assistant Marketing Manager. How do they manage to run such succeederful Twitter feeds? "From the outset, we created a system of cyclic "tweeting days," so we wouldn't get burnt out on the effort of determination engrossing things to say. Hootsuite allows us to line up our daily load of tweets in a small block of time in the morning. We're always hearing about engrossing book news--on blogs, on industry sites, in the paper, on Twitter itself--so it's ne'er been too difficult to gather up material to tweet. Additionally, now that our colleagues are more aware of Twitter's potential to reach a vast audience of readers, booksellers, and media contacts, they've been grand about feeding us with great reviews and author events," said Buckley.

For Taeckens, Twitter seems a natural extension of his job: "It depends on how good you are at multitasking. I'm used to--and thrive on--doing fivefold activities at once. I think it's a skill that people will have to hone, because Twitter and other social media forms are growing increasingly important. If one isn't particularly adept at multi-tasking, one could always set aside certain time periods throughout the day to check in and engage in Twitter."

To a simple question, both companies provided ennobling answers. What do you think is the biggest benefit of Twitter for authors and publishers? "It's an honest-to-goodness thrill for our company to interact directly with readers, authors, and booksellers. Twitter allows publishers like us to be listeners additionally to content-providers. Being in a virtual room with millions of readers makes us more aware of what people want from us, from our authors, and from lit," explained Cortand and Buckley. Taeckens eloquently added, "The chance to convey your personal, unique sense of identity in real time."

In both these cases, the Twitter managers found a place to express their passion for their books, authors, and industry. They did not set dead set build a battalion of following. They set out, nearly as an experiment, to engage with a community and found it to be extremely gratifying and succeederful.