Read on Twitter
So with Elise's permission, I wanted to do a thread about what I look for when I do a social media audit of folks. I've done some for friends before, and I thought people might be curious to see my process.
To be clear, not claiming it's anything groundbreaking. Just what I do. https://twitter.com/EliseIsWritinYA/status/1265614134030110720
To be clear, not claiming it's anything groundbreaking. Just what I do. https://twitter.com/EliseIsWritinYA/status/1265614134030110720
Step 1: Check out the social media profile on the initial site. I'm looking for clear information in the bio and a link to the page. Also, consistent branding.
So let's see what we have here.
Okay. Got ourselves a nice clear header, good profile pic. Let's check out that bio.
Okay. Got ourselves a nice clear header, good profile pic. Let's check out that bio.
I don't personally like "Almost #AmQuerying <BOOK TITLE>" as a lead. Your bio is like your hook; when people mouse-over your icon they see that bio. You want it to tell people who you are. Telling me what you're working on when I don't even know you're a writer? That's confusing.
Also, I have my rants about book titles being poor hooks in other places because they're too abstract. If you look at the pinned post, "I write YA fantasy inspired by Bronze Age History..."
THAT is specific and evocative. Honestly more striking than a book title.
THAT is specific and evocative. Honestly more striking than a book title.
All of this is basically just copy things. The short version is lead with your hook. Tell us briefly what you do.
"Write of Mediterranean Bronze-Age inspired YA fantasy" is much more compact and clear. Don't let your bio try to do too much.
"Write of Mediterranean Bronze-Age inspired YA fantasy" is much more compact and clear. Don't let your bio try to do too much.
There is, however, a clear link to the website. Good! That's important. If I want to learn more about you, I have a clear path to do that.
Last note: pictures are good. Super abstract avatars can be hard to parse (but it's okay if you don't want yo face out there)
Last note: pictures are good. Super abstract avatars can be hard to parse (but it's okay if you don't want yo face out there)
(Incidentally the reason for that is people are trained to recognize faces. We can parse something as a face even if it is dime-sized or smaller as an icon on a website. If your picture doesn't have a face - even a cartoon face - that's more of a problem).
TO THE WEBSITE!
Okay on the webage something immediately jumps out to me: I cannot clearly parse this text.
The white text on the almost-white table is really hard to parse. Also, this image isn't BAD, but it's pretty generic and not exactly evocative of a writer. I see: PLANTS.
The white text on the almost-white table is really hard to parse. Also, this image isn't BAD, but it's pretty generic and not exactly evocative of a writer. I see: PLANTS.
Scrolling down I get a full screen of a big library thing.
Several Wordpress themes do this now: they're designed almost more for mobile, so on desktop you get HUUUUGE pictures.
Depending on the theme, you can scale down those pictures so they aren't as ginormous.
Several Wordpress themes do this now: they're designed almost more for mobile, so on desktop you get HUUUUGE pictures.
Depending on the theme, you can scale down those pictures so they aren't as ginormous.
