Social media promotes a culture of comparison, dissatisfaction, and unrealistic expectations.
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I've been using some form of social media since 2015 and came to the realisation this year that it's a fruitless daily task.
Endless Scrolling Addiction
Yes it's true, scrolling has become an addiction, it's better known as the "infinite scroll", and it's a big problem for a lot of people. Social media is full of information, including entertainment, sports, news etc.
Endless scrolling results in fewer if any clicks on any posts, and huge competition.
Let's take a look at the benefits and changes you could be losing out on by being on social media.
Missed Opportunity
Every platform you join there are thousands of authors just like you trying to sell their books. It's no different to selling your book in a market place or on a street corner. You're still surrounded by other vendors trying to sell their goods.
When it comes to writing there's no set rule that you need to start up a social media platform to be successful.
Does Success Come from Social Media for Authors?
A writer's main purpose is to write, second to that is advertising or promotion, which is usually better if it's paid for. But that's a subject for another day.
I'm not saying that social media isn't a great fit for some authors, it just seems that the time the successful author spends on social media each week probably isn't as long as you think. Because it's not their main focus.
Social Media Takes Valuable Time Away from Writing
The older you get the more valuable time becomes. So why not spend your time producing books and paying for targeted advertising, then put it into the endless scrolling on social media.
Social media requires image production and a bit of copywriting to get your audience's attention. But how many sales do you actually get after you've spent time creating images that are only going to be seen for a split second, if that?
I'm guessing very little, unless you're a best selling author.
Let's take a look at why social media is waning for many authors.
1. You Reach Less People
Again this goes back to the endless scrolling people do, and that most people have a short attention span. You only have a second, if that, to catch someone's attention, and you're competing against thousands of people trying to sell their books and products.
I started to notice a real change in my social media about a year ago, and it took a while for the penny to really drop. But by that stage I was using paid advertising, and I noticed a more positive uptake of my books and my blog.
Which really got me thinking.
2. If You're a Writer You Should be Writing
That's when I realised my time could be better spent, and more fruitful if I found another channel, alongside my blog to write on.
It makes sense that your income as an author should come from your books or writing, or any other service you offer. So why not branch out and find a way of really channeling your writing. I went back to Substack, and started writing there again.
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