Twitter can be a very powerful tool for helping you to promote and sell your book. Below is a quick guide to get you started.

1. Use hashtags.

Hashtags are Twitter’s system for organizing tweets. You can create your own hashtag, or search for relevant hashtags other users have created. Hashtags can be used to run a contest, host a tweet chat or get involved in someone else’s chat! You can read more about hashtags here.

2. Consider the name of your book.

Before Twitter existed, the length of your title may not have mattered so much. But in a universe of 140 characters, the length of your book title becomes very important. You can always use an acronym instead of the full title, but make sure it’s unique and memorable.

3. Create content people want.

Twitter is most effective when you have original content to link back to. A blog is an excellent way to post excerpts from your book or share your writing process. Try to make most of your content useful to others. Use a URL shortener, such as bit.ly, to link back to your blog.

4. Limit self promotion.

This might seem counter-intuitive. After all, isn’t self-promotion the whole point of using Twitter when you’re trying to sell something? You need to add value (see point number 3) before you can expect people to want to buy something from you. Keep the self promotion to a minimum and keep creating content people want.

5. Build relationships.

Social media is, at its core, about building relationships with others. It’s about widening our idea of who our neighbor is and allowing us to connect with people who have similar interests, ideals and philosophies as us–as well as those with completely opposing views. The more connections you make, the more avenues you have that you can use to sell your book!