We sometimes forget what nuggets of wisdom we’ve posted in the past as the years go by we continue to write and post and don’t always think about some of the past gems we’ve written. Well, Sally Cronin decided to run a series where she welcomed bloggers to give her the go ahead to dig through our posts and cherry-pick some of our gems collecting dust and giving them new light at her Potluck series at the Smorgasbord. Today I’m sharing one of my older posts on Social Media, which Sally has chosen to share on her blog.
Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives – #PotLuck – Are We Lost in #Social Oblivion? by D.G. Kaye
Welcome to the series of Posts from Your Archives, where bloggers put their trust in me. In this series, I dive into a blogger’s archives and select four posts to share here to my audience.
If you would like to know how it works here is the original post:
Here is the fourth of the posts I have selected from the archives of D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies who is a regular contributor to the blog with her travel column and also as a guest comedian…Debby has some terrific posts on blogging and social media… and here is one that I think we can all relate to.
Are We Lost in #Social Oblivion? by D.G. Kaye
Today I’m going to share my thoughts here on the madness of social media, and book promoting, and our constant battle to keep up with everything social media to stay afloat with our presence.
I’m speaking for myself, but I know my thoughts are shared by many a writer. As writers, we all develop our routines, and although every one of us has our own methods of tackling our ‘to do’ lists, if we’re writing books, much of what we do will involve ways to market our books using social media.
With the explosion of new authors and books in the past few years, there are waves of cries to ‘buy my book’ in order to be heard through a sea of social media blasts. I sometimes feel as though I’m drowning in that sea. But I don’t wish to become one of the ‘hard sell’ authors, and I don’t even spend nearly enough time or dollars doing the amount of marketing I’m urged to do through all the social outlets I follow and with all the subscriptions I read from newsletters telling me about another method to push my books.
Sure I read many articles to stay abreast. I’ll bookmark pertinent information and save it to Evernote for the time I’m ready to tackle it. But with all I read, I still can’t bring myself to become an aggressive marketer. I have my daily routine planned the night before with my list of things to accomplish, and that keeps my plate full as it is. As much as I want to try a million new ideas out, there are only so many hours in a day. So I prioritize with my book writing days and my blog post days. I’ve learned what social media sites I gravitate to most. I’ve built friendships and followers who I can chat with, share with, or just have a simple ‘thank you’ for sharing rapport with for dedicated sharers. I read many blogs, and like and comment where I feel like contributing, and if I enjoyed a post, I’ll share it to my social sites.
This routine I have was never a strategy to gain followers, but somehow it had led me to gathering readers and making some wonderful friends along the way. This is who I am, and I don’t wish to conform to being one of those hounds shouting hashtags to ‘buy my book’.
And what may have prompted me to write this you may be thinking? Continue reading at Sally’s blog . . .
©DGKayewriter.com
DGKayewriter.com 
Thanks for boosting the post Debby an important message to us all about social media..hugs ♥
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Thank you for bringing the post back to life Sal ❤ xx
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I’m pleased Sally chose this one, Debby. I agree with you about the importance of staying true to yourself and following your own rules.
Have a happy birthday week!!!
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Thanks so much Norah. ❤
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Marketing is hard, for sure. I hardly ever do ‘buy my book’ blogs anymore, and if I do I find they gain the least amount of views! Everyone’s trying to find the best way to sell their book (s), and as soon as I find it I’ll let you know…
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You know I’m with you Stevie! 🙂 x
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Debby, I love this post. I’m grateful to Sally for sharing it. It reminds me of the Marie Kondo advice to keep things that spark joy. I think taking that same approach with social media can keep us from getting bored and complacent.
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Thanks Amy. It sounds like we’re on the same wavelength. 🙂 x
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I think everyone has to figure out what works for himself/herself, Debby. Your philosophy works for me. Since I consider this as one of my hobbies, I feel under no obligation to devote so many hours to social media. For me, it’s about having fun and meeting a few cool people in the process. Others prefer devoting many hours to the day to social media, and if that works for them, more power to them.
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I absolutely agree Pete. 🙂
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Debby, you capture it soooooo perfectly. Thank you. I needed this today! XO
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Thanks Natalie. Happy to relieve the pressure. ❤
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For me, that non-hard-sell approach works quite well. If I like the author’s blog, I invariably check their sidebar to see what books they’ve written. I’m happy to support their efforts.
Now off to Sally’s to read the rest of the post!
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Thanks Jacqui. I like your approach 🙂
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I have heard that if we keep blogging, avoid ‘follower’ and ‘like’ envy, and slog through those times when it feels like we’re going nowhere, we’ll eventually find a place for ourselves in the densely populated world of blogging. You remind us of the importance of being true to ourselves. Thanks Debby.
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Thanks so much Rob. That’s exactly how I roll. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I don’t even know how many followers I have, lolol. I’m not interested in statistics. I write for the joy of writing and sharing and in the process have formed some wonderful friendships. ❤
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Thanks for sharing this post Debby.
It can be overwhelming so the advice here is helpful.
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You are most welcome Vishnu. I’m glad this post helped to cut the overwhelming, lol 🙂
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Great article, Debby! I agree. I left a comment on Sally’s blog. 😀 xo
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I hope you had a wonderful Birthday week! ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thanks so much Vashti. It was definitely memorable. ❤
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Thanks so much Vashti ❤
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Hi Debby – I just prefer being able to have some form of engagement with my blogging pals – rather than chasing the pack around other type of sites … and completely burning myself out. No doubt things will change – but not at this moment! There’s a lot to take on board, and each day that passes … something else we need to consider appears on the horizon … if we don’t step off the bandwagon and keep our own sanity we’ll burn out. Social Media can be overwhelming, let alone so time consuming … cheers Hilary
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You’ve said a mouthful Hilary. So true, with adding more tasks to our writing life, it certainly cuts into writing time! 🙂
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Debby, the hard sell approach doesn’t work with me. I like to massage a book a bit before I buy it. If I see a book mentioned on a blog or author page, I check it out, but I can’t stand to be bombarded with “buy me.” Your method works for me. ❤️🤗❤️
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Thanks for saying that Michelle. I’ve always lived by the motto – ‘do unto others’ and I know I don’t like to be hassled to buy anything, anywhere, lol. I think it’s common sense, really. ❤
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