When it comes to remembering people’s new novel releases, friend’s publications and books authors have slaved over, I’m terrible. Unless I actually happen to see someone’s social media post on the day of release, it passes me by. And that happens pretty consistently because everyone’s social media feeds are pretty crammed, right? Then, there’s the guilt I didn’t help out, that I might have pushed a few sales for them, given them a higher rank, helped to really get a good shine on that book. It sucks. I’ve always thought I should set out a set schedule and try to automate stuff, but that takes a lot of time and you can still easily miss releases or forget to send a social media push on the right day.
Recently I’ve discovered Thunderclap; a tool that, in my mind, could change this, though it requires more authors to utilise it. Fundamentally, Thunderclap uses the power of social media to spread a single message on a single day as far as possible. All you have to do is sign up to tweet, post to Tumblr or add content to Facebook on a certain day with a pre-determined message. EVERYTHING is already done for you. And you can send content out on as many or few platforms as you like…which is good, because my Tumblr is a smallholding blog and is far removed from any bookish stuff. Meanwhile, my Twitter is ideal.
As an example of how Thunderclap works, gay romance author Alina Popescu is launching Broth3rly on January 15th. She currently has 30 supporters set to send her release message out, and that should reach 119,409 people. That’s a pretty epic amount, considering if I, myself, tweeted, it would only reach a fraction of that. It just shows that if we all pull together, we can make a difference, a real difference. Also, for the amount of work involved, it’s a win-win; you’re helping people out without really having to do anything.
I have my own Thunderclap going for the relaunch of CRYO: Rise of the Immortals. If you’d be happy to send out a tweet or message (something I’d VERY much appreciate) then please hop over to Thunderclap and check it out.
Bear in mind that if you’re using the free Thunderclap then it could take up to three days for your page to be approved. I say ‘could’ because despite the holidays, mine only took a single day. So, if you’re looking to push your social media reach for releases, or just want to help others out, then definitely check out Thunderclap in 2016. I think it could be a great way to bringing the community together. Most importantly, if you’ve got a new release, consider using this platform and LET PEOPLE KNOW (including me)!
Geoff Wakeling 