When it comes time to market your book, a great way to further generate buzz and get your title out there is with the help of social media influencers. Aligning your work with the audience of a well-known blogger or social media guru works to both expand your own audience and social following as well as drive sales for your book. Approaching these influencers can often be tricky, but the editors over at SheWrites.com have come up with a few ways to make the process a bit easier.

Here are a few tips for partnering with influencers, from the pros at She Writes:

1. Know who you’re talking to – check their preferred genres and overall style to make sure it’s a good fit.
2. It’s about building a relationship – engage with influencers that you can see yourself working with long-term.
3. Don’t be just another e-mail – focus on building a professional relationship that makes you stand out from others who contact them.
4. Their follower count doesn’t mean as much as you may think – reach out to influencers with millions of followers and influencers with a couple hundred.
5. Time is key – show influencers that you respect their work by giving them enough time to form your post or write a review.

Learn more about how to do each of these things effectively and how to craft your perfect partner pitch over at SheWrites.com.

Want more dos and don’ts for working with influencers? We spoke with five bookstagrammers to get their personal advice on how to best work with them. Read our dos and don’ts here.