For more than nine months, I have not updated my blog. One week went by, and then another, and then a few more, until I realized I replaced my blogging time.
At the beginning of 2011, I had about 600 Twitter followers on @ErickWrites. An author friend told me literary agents would pay attention to me if I had 1,000 followers. I gained those 1,000 followers during the summer of 2011, and by late September I noticed I was nearing 2,000 followers. So, I stopped blogging in October and focused on obtaining those 2,000 followers.
A few days before 2012, I crossed the 2,000 threshold. I challenged myself to obtain 5,000 followers by the end of 2012. That meant acquiring 250 followers per month. I achieved 1,500 of my needed 3,000 followers by June first, and I am on track for 5,000.
So, how am I doing it? I find like minded people, follow them, and get into conversations. And how am I doing that? Hashtags. Once or twice a week, I peruse Twitter, using hashtags specific to writing, follow people who use those hashtags, and get into conversations with them.
I haven’t noticed any literary agents following me. Though, I have potential readers for my long time work in-progress and a couple of major publishers following me.
Now that I am more than half way to completing #Project5K, it’s time to start blogging again. I will not blog as often, and I will post fewer writer-centric blogs, but you can be sure my blogs will be rich with informative content that will encourage conversation.
Stay social my friends!
Erick
