How to build an online presence as a writer

In this age of social media and the internet, an online presence has lots of uses if you’re running any kind of business. Writing is no exception.

As a writer (new or old), you would have seen how helpful an online presence can be in the writing journey. It can help you create a community of writers and readers; it can help you find editors, agents, and publishers; and if you’re self-publishing, it can help you publicize your book to a bigger audience.

However, building this platform is tricky. We know. And we are here to help.

In this article, we’ll be showing a few things to do and not to do if you want to build an online presence as a writer or author.

Things to do

Create a social media account.

An online presence can be built on more than social media; however, it is the easiest and quickest way to grow a community online.

Social media is made to connect people from around the world in the quickest way possible, and to a very good extent, it’s free to use. You want to make sure you leverage every free resource that exists.

If you already have a personal account, you may want to create one dedicated to building a presence as a writer.

But there’s a small problem—how do you choose the right social media?

There are tons of social media you could use to build your online presence. All you have to do is choose one you’re familiar with and one whose content you can easily create.

The best and easiest social media you can use include X (Twitter), Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Discord.

Join a writing community.

Communities are simply mini platforms or spaces within a social media platform where people talk about the same topic. Every social media has communities.

Your goal is to find the writing communities on the platform of your choosing. Here you’ll find people who are creating writing-related content and talking about the very thing you’re interested in.

By doing this, you’ll be up to date with your people who would help you grow, and you will have a better idea of what to do to perform better online. You could also find people who’re willing to beta-read and review your draft.

Create content

When you find your community and you become familiar with what goes on there, the next thing to do is to make content of your own.

Making content can be simple or tricky. It completely depends on the platform you’re using. If you’re using Instagram, you’re going to make more picture and video content, and you’re going to have to be creative about it. If you’re using X (Twitter), you’ll have a simpler path to make content. Everything there is short form and written words.

Once you get a hang of making content, you’ll have to plan how you post it. You’ll have to consider the frequency and the volume of posts you’ll be making per day and per week.

A very useful tip for making Instagram content is to make as many pictures and videos as possible within the space of one month before you start posting. That way you’ll have enough material to stay consistent.

We know you might be tempted to just follow other authors and interact with them without putting up your own content.

Fight the temptation!

Your content is like a portfolio that gives your audience a glimpse into who you are. This is what you should be going for.

Interact with other writers

You’re trying to build an online presence, and so are others. At this point, they’re your colleagues. Interacting with them will give you that feeling of friendship and camaraderie that you both need to help each other grow.

When you interact with other writers, especially those with bigger platforms than yours, you give yourself the opportunity to be noticed. If they see your comment, for example, they could like and share it for their followers to see. From there, you’ll have more eyes on your page, which will lead to more followers if you already have interesting content posted.

Also, you should always keep in mind that people want interactive followers. They want to make friends as much as they want to grow their audience. You can use that to your advantage when growing your own audience.

Stay consistent

If you’re going to create an author platform or any kind of platform online, you have to stay consistent.

Being consistent is how you’ll get the social media algorithm to notice your social media account and recommend it to other writers like you. It is also how you’ll get other authors to believe that you’re actually here for business.

There are a lot of scams and fake accounts out there, and they often lack consistency and personality. Inconsistency could easily make other writers group you among scammers and sketchy characters. You do not want that for your social media.

Do some actual writing.

While building your online presence, it’s easy to get up in making content and scrolling through social media, getting sidetracked in the process. However, no matter what happens, you have to keep writing.

A lot of writers fall for the abyss that is procrastination once they discover social media. And why won’t they? Social media is fun and engaging. It is designed to hold your attention for as long as possible, but you’re a writer before any of that, and you must do what you must.

Besides making sure you have a manuscript to publish, your writing journey gives you more material you can use to make content. It gives you experiences and stories to tell.

Consistent writing will also help you ensure your online presence doesn’t go to waste. The goal is still to market yourself and your works as a writer.

Things to not do

Now that we’ve highlighted things you can do, it’s time to talk about things you shouldn’t do if you’re trying to build an online presence as a writer.

Leaving comments unanswered

When you post on your social media account, you’re bound to get comments the more people notice. As you interact with others, you’ll get interactions in return, and that means more comments.

For a growing account, this is a very good thing. However, problems come when you don’t respond to these comments.

Leaving your comments unanswered will easily make other writers see your account as fake, making them not interact with you any longer. You’ll lose attention, and you’ll lose engagements you worked so hard to get.

Remember, people want interactive followers they can relate to. That relationship will start in the comments section.

Ignoring notifications

Notifications are easy to ignore when there’s too little of them, and they become overwhelming when they’re too much. However, you have to constantly check your notifications if you want to know what’s happening on your account.

Going through your notifications is how you know when you have a new comment, new likes, and new followers. It helps you keep track of your activities and milestones so that you can plan better for the future of your account.

At first, going through them is easy. There’s only a few of them, no matter how hard you try. But then, when you start going viral and gaining a lot of traction, it becomes a very overwhelming chore that you procrastinate out of.

The best thing to do is to keep a system that reminds you to check your notifications and keeps you accountable when you do not.

Ignoring private messages

Your private messages or DMs are where a lot of good stuff happens. It’s almost the same as your mail, where people send letters and try to communicate with you. Except, people just send simple greetings and try to have nice chats.

From your DMs, you could receive offers, collaborations, and many more. Once people have started to notice you and your craft, the next thing to do is to get closer to you and, in some cases, become partners.

Conversations like these can happen in the comments, but for many reasons, it is best to keep the content of partnerships and collaborations private. Especially when a sponsorship is involved.

If you’re going to get the good stuff you’ve been working so hard for, chances are they’ll be in your private messages.

You absolutely do not want to miss out on them.

However, it’s important to note that not all private messages are real. There are a lot of scams going around, and you have to be wary of them. That’s a wrap! Thank you for reading thus far. We hope you found a thing or two useful for your journey. We hope you stay consistent and interactive as you build your online presence, and most importantly, we hope you keep writing.