Sure, everybody knows about essential Twitter hashtags that authors use such as #amwriting #SciFiChat #MustRead and so forth, but what about promoting other writers and authors on Twitter? When I tell people that I sell more books via Twitter than on any other social media platform or my own website, they sometimes look at me like I have three heads.  But what they sometimes fail to understand is the importance of social media being "social" - that is promoting others and their books. They, in turn, reciprocate the effort, resulting in you and your own books getting more exposure.

Two of the easiest opportunities to do this are Wednesdays and Fridays.

#WW stands for Writer Wednesday and is sometimes actually used as #WriterWednesday. On Wednesdays, I make it a point to use a graphic that depicts the words "Writer Wednesday" and post the words "#WW check out these writers @___ @____ @___" and so forth. I have created a list of fellow authors and writers on Twitter and refer to it to get the names of people to be promoted on #WW. Don't forget to include those writers that may not yet be published authors, such as magazine writers, blog writers, or travel writers. Don't be shy. Promote other writers and authors that you may not know well but are following (or they are following you) and you'll benefit from the retweets of that writer and his/her followers.

#FF stands for Follow Friday and is sometimes actually used as #FollowFriday. On Fridays, I make it a point to use a graphic that depicts the words "It's Follow Friday. Check out these great tweeps!" and post and words "#FF check out these great tweeps @___ @___ @___" and so forth. On Fridays you can mention any of your Twitter followers, whether they are politicians, writers, friends, vendors, or anybody that you want to give a shout out to.

These tweets for #WW and #FF can be posted organically as you type them on Wednesdays and Fridays or can be prescheduled through a Twitter-friendly app such as Hootsuite. Just be sure to space them out throughout the day and intermingle other types of tweeps as well because nobody wants to see 20 #FF or #WW tweets in a row - can you say BORING?

After a while, others begin to include you in their #WWs and #FFs and you grow a new group of followers which could lead to a potential new audience of readers. It really is a good way to connect with other writers and keep in touch with upcoming events and trends. Readers are also watching these hashtags and it may lead them to learning about you or other writers with whom they are not currently familiar. My audience grows weekly when I expand my circle of other writers and authors that I include in my tweets.

As always, remember that increased followers doesn't always equal increased book sales, but there are many other benefits of expanding your reach in the Twitterverse, so expand your horizons.