Top 5 Most Influential Authors on Social Media 2014

Photo by Jason A. Howie, Flickr

In my humble opinion, these authors rank as the top 5 most influential authors on social media. Other authors should model their social media efforts after the folks on this list. They all have incredibly popular blogs as well as impressive presences on the top social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Most importantly, all of them have also successfully leveraged social media to sell thousands (or millions) of copies of their books, making them bestsellers. Without further ado, here they are!

1. Guy Kawasaki - Twitter: 1.4 million | Facebook: 237k | Google+: 5.7 million 

Guy's impressive following on Twitter and Google+, along with other social media sites, is comprised of over 7 million people. He's probably one of the biggest social media influencers on the planet. He's written twelve books, with his latest three -- Ape, Enchantment, and What the Plus! -- all enjoying great success due to strong social media campaigns.

2. Gary Vaynerchuk - Twitter: 1 million | Facebook: 153k | Google+: 1.9 million

Gary has arguably more experience in social media than any other author on this list. He started his video podcast, Wine Library TV, back in 2006. Crush It!, The Thank You Economy, and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook all focus on the power of social media in business, and Gary used social media to catapult those titles on to numerous bestseller lists. He's also the owner of the highly successful social media brand consulting agency, VaynerMedia.

3. Tim Ferriss - Twitter: 475k | Facebook: 210k | Blog: 25,000+ subscribers

The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef have sold millions of copies worldwide. He aggressively uses his blog and other social media sites to sell copies of his books as well as garner reviews. Not only are his book marketing techniques quite intriguing and helpful, but his work less and live more lifestyle has transformed many lives.

4. Seth Godin - Twitter: 352k | Facebook: 239k | Google+: 123k

Seth has authored fifteen books, twelve of which are bestsellers. His blog is highly trafficked and his loyal followers connect with him there on the blog as well as other major social media sites.

5. Michael Hyatt - Twitter: 213k | Facebook: 35k | Blog: 381k subscribers

Michael's blog "helps leaders leverage influence" and with over 381,000 subscribers, it's one of the most renowned blogs in the world. His most successful book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, is a step-by-step guide to building a successful online platform through the power of social media. The book spawned his Platform University where he uses specialized classes, tutorials and actionable lessons to teach members how to grow their platform. Michael also runs a highly popular weekly podcast, This Is Your Life.

This list has been compiled by J.J. Hebert, bestselling author & president of Mindstir Media book publishing and is accurate as of 2-16-2014. None of the above authors are affiliated with MindStir Media book publishing company or author J.J. Hebert.

Exceptional Customer Service from Authors

Whether you want to believe it or not, writing is a business. It's lots of fun but you should remember in the back of your mind that you need to make a profit in order to stay in business. What do all successful businesses have in common? Exceptional customer service. Great customer service creates happy and loyal customers. Make them happy and they'll keep coming back for more of your books. These sales generate profits. Treat your customers badly and you'll ultimately go out of business. 

Here are some ways to provide quality customer service as an author:

1. Use social media, e.g. Facebook and Twitter, to communicate with current and potential customers. Be polite, always. The key word there is "communicate." Don't talk to them; talk with them.
2. Take Gary Vaynerchuk's approach and respond to negative reviews (on Amazon.com, for example) with an apology and offer to refund. I know this may sound crazy, but you'd be surprised how much respect you will earn. Read this.
3. Throw in a bookmark or some complimentary item with every book sold at your website. Sign the book, obviously, and also the bookmark. Include a short note with your email address. Sign the note as well. Ask the customer to get in touch with you after they're done reading. Let them know you'd love to hear from them. When they email you, make sure to respond. This type of personal customer service will gain you many repeat customers!

Any other ideas? 

How Should Authors Respond to Negative Reviews?

If you're an author and you find yourself wanting to respond unprofessionally to a negative review of your book, shut down your computer, walk away, and never look at that negative review again ... Today I came across an instance where an indie author received a 2-star review by a blogger and then decided to go on a tirade in the comments section of the blog (click here and scroll down a bit to see what I mean). Commenters greeted the author with criticism for acting so unprofessionally in a public forum (I should note that some of the commenters weren't professional, either). Eventually, things got really ugly when the author cursed at one of the commenters for stating the truth. This author lost respect and sales (many commenters actually said that they would not buy her book because of her response). Now her book has attracted nearly fifty 1-star reviews at Amazon.com. Some appear to be a direct result of her conduct at the blog. Ouch. What a mess. As an author, you're better off not responding!

On the other hand, you have Gary Vaynerchuk (Vay-ner-chuk), a New York Times bestselling author, social media consultant, and owner of the multi-million dollar company Wine Library. He's taken a totally different approach to negative reviews ... In most cases, he comments by offering the reviewer a refund and asking if there's anything he can do to rectify the situation. This comment thread from Amazon is a great example of how authors should respond to negative reviews...if they decide to respond at all. Gary has gained a ton of respect from his professional approach and rightfully so! If you're going to respond to bad reviews, this is how you should do it.

How do you respond to negative reviews? Join the discussion here.