Twitter is in a state of flux to put it mildly.
For a long time, Twitter was a great way to market your work and to meet other writers.
Back in the day I used to rely heavily on Twitter to get my work out there. It was a great tool to find work too.
But things are changing. Whether it goes away completely or the powers at be change the platform in some fundamental fashion, it’s always prudent to make sure you have a back up plan.
So I thought I’d list off some alternatives.
If you want a Twitter Replacement.
Mastodon
Mastodon is a platform similar to Twitter.
It’s a microblogging site. But it is set up differently. Where Twitter is essentially an open door to the entire Internet with millions of people screaming into the void, Mastodon is a collection of mini Twitters with each revolving around one topic.
It’s a decentralized platform. This appeals to some people because theoretically you would be talking with people who have similar likes.
However as a marketing tool it’s not quite there yet. Even with a mass exodus from Twitter over the last few days the platform is still small. And the decentralized nature of it means that your work would have limited reach.
Facebook and Twitter are part of the old guard in social media platforms. However, I wouldn’t suggest jumping to Facebook.
Now it’s mostly conspiracy theorists and baby pictures. Plus like most platforms if you want to gain traction you have to buy ads, and unless you have a large piggy bank it’s best to focus elsewhere.
Other Places to Market Your Work
Instagram can be a good way to get writing in front of other people.
You can make posts that utilize portions of your writing and then bring in followers. If you are really good at it it can be another revenue stream.
Also the Reels component allows you to grow your account and potentially get your video in front of tens of thousands of people.
The downside to Instagram is that the communication is much different. Where Twitter often has huge public discussion, Instagram only has comments that do not have much back and forth.
Youtube/ Tiktok
I have both major video platforms in one slot here. They are vastly different experiences but a writer would probably have the same strategy for both.
Both of these mean a much bigger investment in both time and effort, but if you are able to pull it off the results are huge.
Best sellers have been made by becoming viral sensations on Tiktok.
However, I would imagine most writers would want to eskew these as we usually like to be holed up in little writing caves with as little outside contact as possible.
Reddit is maybe the greatest way to market your writing. If you score big on Reddit your post will get thousands, possibly millions of views.
Also you could get hundreds of comments and often decent discussions of your work. Or it could be 2,000 comments telling you your writing sucks. The Reddit gods are cruel.
LinkedIn is not one I use much. I write fiction so ten million Patagonia vest finance bros aren’t exactly my target audience.
But it’s still a powerful tool, even if it’s for boring stuff.
If you post your writing regularly it’s not hard to attract freelance clients. It’s a good place for people trying to make a writing business work. Or if you sell a writing course this is the place to cast your net.
So while Twitter might not be going anywhere anytime soon it wouldn’t hurt to make sure you’re at least familiar with other parts of the Internet.
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