Book Review: Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers

Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers: Tweaking Your Tweets and Other Tips for Integrating Your Social Media
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
Copyright 2010
ISBN: 9781451546149
Paperback, 130 pages, $12.92
Nonfiction

When I was approached to review this book, I warned the author that I have a strong resistance to Twitter. At various times, I’ve decided I would start tweeting, only to change my mind before I actually followed through. She was brave enough to want to know my reaction to the book, anyway.

First, although the book is part of a series of books for retailers as indicated by the title, you don’t have to be a retailer to benefit from the information. Anyone who wants to promote a business, service, or product (such as a book) can learn to do it following this guide.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has written a number of how-to-do-it-frugally books for both retailers and authors, and she’s a pro at it. Her writing voice is friendly and conversational, and she explains each step of the process simply but thoroughly. I really appreciate that she not only tells the reader how to do something, but she also explains why it’s important.

For example, in describing how to write a Twitter biography, she says:

YOUR TINY TWITTER BIOGRAPHY is the most important of your Tweeting tools because it is what you say in your biography that will have the greatest influence on Tweeters who are deciding whether to follow you. A bio should establish your credentials and make you and/or your store come alive for your homepage visitor.

The book is only 130 pages, but those pages are crammed full of step-by-step instructions and details. She suggests you go to twitter.com and actually take the actions rather than just reading her advice. I’m confident that if you did that as a beginner, you would be up and running on Twitter in no time. If you are experienced on Twitter, you’re bound to learn some new tips and tricks that you didn’t know before.

The appendixes include samples of tweets, blog posts, and media releases as well as information about applications that can enhance your Twitter experience. A table of contents and an index make it easy to find specific information.

If you want to get started on Twitter or use it more effectively, you will find Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers invaluable.

Did this book convince me to get on Twitter? Well … no, it didn’t. However, if I ever decide to start tweeting, I will certainly use this guide to do it right!

Disclosure: I received an electronic copy of the book from the author. I have not accepted any compensation for this review and made no commitment to give a favorable review. The link to Amazon.com is an affiliate link.

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