Social Media Posting In December

You’ve all been doing it, right? You know, posting posts about your content? Pointing out your books to people who might want to see your point? It’s the holiday season, really the shopping season, the season to sell, sell, sell – or not. Sales are good. Sales aren’t everything. But this is the season for selling, so helping buyers buy for readers is a limited-time offer. Do it now! Or not.

I am getting better at timing and marketing, and have a lot to learn. December is a good time to practice. November is good. October is better. Sell to a reader in the autumn, and they can buy multiple copies for friends. That’s true for paperbacks. Ebooks are harder to wrap, but they can sell well when people unwrap their gift cards.

I am sure that some authors are in hyper mode, selling, selling, selling. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that most authors ignore books that aren’t selling. It can be demoralizing, trying to add energy to a book that hasn’t found its audience.

My sales technique is in the middle, but probably on the minimalist side. Throughout December, and a bit in the earlier months, I’ll post about one of my books each day. The posts are short, so I don’t have to edit for character and view length as I post across several platforms. (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bluesky – search for Tom Trimbath or tetrimbath)

I have ten narratives, so posting once per day, Monday through Friday, takes two weeks.

I also have ten photo essays, each of which has individual photos for sale.

And then there’s merch, merchandise. (mugs, hip flasks, notebooks, tote bags, etc.)

There’s probably something else, but I forget because there’s so much to remember.

If each item got one day’s posting, I could keep busy for two months.

If I did less, it would be too little. If I did more, my friends might purposely miss my feed.

This year, I’ve concentrated on the books, posted a few times about the merch, and will fit in photos as time allows.

I’m also a fan of “or not”.

Just because I wrote a book does not mean someone wants to buy that book as a present. Muddling By, my rollercoaster ride through America’s wealth classes, is available. Early reviews are that it is refreshingly open and vulnerable, which is appreciated, but I’m not surprised if it is not the sort of thing to have under the tree. A book about poverty and frugality may not seem appropriate amongst a celebration of excesses. My travel, nature, and sci-fi books are better for gifting. My book about tea, Kettle Pot Cup, and my photo series books were produced as hardbacks specifically so they could be wrapped, shipped, and gifted more readily than paperbacks.

I also don’t only sell in December. I currently have 480 photos for sale, with another 48 coming soon (April). One a day would take more than a year. In that case, any day will do. Sometimes news items overlap with something I’ve written, so there’s an opportunity to post. Earlier this year, I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my bicycle ride across America, Just Keep Pedaling, by posting quotes from each day, once per day. That took two months. I could do the same with any of my books that were written chronologically.

Posting regularly does not necessarily produce sales regularly, but posting that often reminds people that I am a writer, have books for sale, and books to write. It also reminds them that I can teach, give talks, and generally have experience about a variety of topics.

Social media is ill-conceived, as if it was actually conceived and not just birthed by accident. Social media is flawed, but it is also the most economical marketing machinery available for sales. It is also easy to become obsessed or disillusioned about its usefulness. Allow me to suggest posting once a day, at least. Maybe there will be sales. Maybe they’ll be more likely to remember you. Maybe it will take less time than it took to read this post. Good luck.