Summary

A writer reflects on the inefficiency of maintaining a presence on multiple social media platforms and advocates for focusing on a few that offer the best engagement and potential for monetization.

Abstract

The article discusses the challenges faced by writers in managing numerous social media accounts, emphasizing the time-consuming nature of content creation and scheduling across different platforms. The author shares personal experience of initially trying to engage on almost all social media platforms, following advice to cross-post content, but finding little return on investment. The Sunday routine of preparing and scheduling posts for various platforms consumed considerable time and effort with minimal results. The author's experimentation led to the realization that selective platform use yields better engagement and financial returns. The article suggests that writers should concentrate on platforms that not only cater to writing but also compensate for views and engagement, such as YouTube and Medium, alongside one other platform of choice. The author encourages writers to work smart by dedicating themselves to fewer platforms for a year to see tangible growth in engagement and revenue.

Opinions

Writers should not spread themselves too thin across numerous social media platforms.
Engagement on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest may not lead to sales or significant income for writers.
It is more effective for writers to focus on platforms that offer monetization opportunities, such as YouTube and Medium.
The 5–3–2 Rule for Writers is recommended for creating multiple streams of income.
Dedicating time to a select few platforms can lead to increased engagement and revenue over time.
The author regrets not knowing earlier about platforms that pay creators for views.
Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) could alleviate the burden of managing multiple social media accounts, but it is not a necessity.
The author suggests that writers experiment with different platforms but also emphasizes the importance of working smart and focusing on effective strategies.

How Many Social Media Accounts Should Writers Have?

Few platforms. Better engagement.

“Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like.” — Brian Chesky, Co-Founder & CEO, Airbnb

When I started, I was on almost all the platforms out there, except YouTube. There were only a few which were left out.

I thought to be on all and let the audience and money flow from all directions. I heard this from some writers I used to follow during my early writing days.

But no one told me how much time they all consume.

They would say, “Just take a screenshot of your tweet and post it on Instagram! Easy!”

“Pins don’t take much time. Just 15 minutes on weekend!”

These were the few tips that were given.

But there were other social media that I was doing. I used to schedule Tweets for a whole week, then prepare posts for my Facebook Page and Instagram Page. I used to use Meta Business Suite to schedule the posts. Then I would change the size because those posts’ sizes won’t look good on Pinterest and so on. It was annoying. Sundays were not the best times for me.

I kept these things on Sundays to give my brain a break. Search for what to post and then realize that you saved it in a PNG file and not JPEG. Now Instagram is not going to like it at all!

How my schedule on Sunday was before I limited my social media presence -

Research and make a list of what to post.
Schedule tweets for the entire week.
Make posts in Photoshop. Each post is saved in different sizes — one for Instagram and another for Pinterest.
Then upload it on Meta Suite (I am happy I don’t do it anymore!).
Then on Pinterest.

It used to take my entire morning just to do these things.

The result?

Absolutely nothing!

Instagram gave me a few followers. But no sales ever.

Pinterest followers are only because of my engagement schedule.

Should writers be on all platforms?

Nope. You cannot be. Experimenting is a different thing. I experimented and decided which I will be keeping for the long term.

If you hire a VA, then it’s a different thing.

Which Platforms work best for writers?

I was of the view before that writers should stick to writing platforms only like WordPress (self-hosted), Medium, HubPages, and so on.

But seeing the limited amount of income that writers are making, I am NOW of the view that writers should be paid for their opinions or reads as well.

5–3–2 Rule for Writers

The new rule for multiple streams of income

medium.com

So according to me, start from these three platforms first-

YouTube
Medium
Any platform of your choice — Reddit, WattPad, Hubpages, Vocal, and so on.

I know I always ask writers to experiment as much as possible but working smart is equally important. If someone had told me about these two platforms where creators are paid for views then I would have made more than I am making now.

One more mistake is to be added to my book.

If you are dedicated to a few platforms for this whole year, then with time you will see an increase in engagement and followers on your profile. With this, of course, an increase in revenue as well.

Few platforms. Better engagement.

If you want to know more about making money on Fiverr, then you can check out my book “Small Ebooks, Big Money”. Happy Writing Journey!