I was a little hesitant about TikTok at first. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m getting old and uncool, but I thought the last thing I needed was another social media account. As if I don’t already spend too much time scrolling through Instagram and Facebook.
Besides, TikTok is a place full of teenagers doing cringe-worthy dances and lip syncs. I don’t have a sufficient command of the English language to describe how little I’m interested in that kind of content.
Turns out TikTok has much, much more. Especially for authors.
Four months ago, I downloaded TikTok as a way to connect with my young adult audience–after all, that’s who my books are written for. When I would post about things I thought were cool or funny, some videos would get a little bit of traction here and there, but nothing too exciting.
Then I started posting about writing, self publishing, and the processes therein. The views went up. The comments went up. The follows went up.
Turns out TikTok has a huge community of fellow writers looking to connect with each other.
These other writers thanked me for answering questions about KDP and Kindle Unlimited, asked more questions about things like editors and royalties… it blew my mind. This was a community that I had no idea even existed. And now, a good chunk of my 12k followers are fellow book lovers. And thirsty single moms.
“But Aaron, has it translated into book sales?” I’m confident saying yes. The data isn’t razor sharp (thanks, Amazon), but I can say purchases through organic TikTok content exceeds that of paid Facebook and Amazon ads. It’s cost me zero dollars and zero cents, and it’s yielded a much more noticeable result. Seriously.
So if you’re a writer, get on that TikTok train!! Connect with people! Post about what you’re working on! Review books you’ve been reading! It’s fun, and it’s a good use of your time.
Oh, and here’s the link if you’d like to follow me. 🙂
What do you think?