There have been a few posts circulating recently about how authors who self promote are basically assholes, because self-promotion doesn’t work to sell your books.
I agree.
Wait, before you freak out on me, She Who Is A Marketing Person, let me explain…or as I always say, let’s deconstruct.
YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG
You shouldn’t be ‘self-promoting,’ you should be marketing smart. Marketing your work correctly. Branding yourself with focus, sharing interesting content, articles, blog posts, quotes, graphics, throwing in the occasional humor, i.e., cat videos, Nutella pictures, whatever, NOT ‘Buy my book!’ posts repeatedly, ad nauseam, until we want to poke you (or ourselves) in the eye. Repeatedly.
Sadly, most people on Twitter or other social media channels tend to leave messages (DMs or tweets) like these (actual examples from my timeline just today):
Hello Friend, would you be so kind to give my book trailer a like/comment? I’d appreciate it. Thank you! http://linkblahblahblah
Hi @RachelintheOC! I’d love it if you would buy my book, review it, and tell all your friends! http://linkblahblahblah
Love your site! Please like mine, buy my books, and let’s party!!!! http://linkblahblahblah
(don’t even get me started on all the exclamation mark cheerleading)…
It doesn’t take a genius to see that these are not effective ways to sell books and there’s a really good reason for that: Twitter (and other social media channels) are ineffective channels for selling books. They are, however, quite effective for networking, relationship building, listening (if you are doing any listening, which these writers are clearly not), and sharing information — all of which can lead to sales.
STOP SELLING AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
When people start on social media, they see millions of potential book buyers (wrong. who is their demographic? not everyone on Twitter), so, like an excited puppy who pees in the house, they decide to run amuck and leave messages of all kinds, everywhere, with no focus, no strategic marketing behind them, just a brain dump of random ‘buy my book!’ messages. Very few even look at the Terms of Service each channel provides where spam guidelines are clearly defined.
In the examples I give above, those writers sent the exact same messages to hundreds of others victims, er, people, clearly in violation of Twitter’s TOS, of which they are blissfully unaware…til enough people report them for spamming and Twitter suspends their account. Boom. We are all subject to the same TOS, and yes, Twitter does refer to them as the ‘Twitter Rules.’ I’m not the Twitter police — I’ll report spammers because they are annoying and should know better (doesn’t anyone read anymore?).
Tip: Instead, put your link on your bio. Here’s mine:
Share a quote from your book, and say ‘link on bio.’ I do this all the time (if there’s room) and it works. How do I know? I track clicks from Twitter to Amazon using bit.ly. I know exactly how many clicks come from Twitter, and I know that I’m getting hundreds of clicks from Twitter to Amazon each month. Sometimes, thousands — more than if I repeatedly spammed my link in every damn tweet. Does each click result in a sale? No, of course not (and there’s no way to track if it does anyway.)
The only time I suggest that it’s okay to be slightly more self-promotional? If you have some kind of promo going on, i.e., a free book or low-price limited time promotion.
Tip: Pin that promo tweet or FB post to the top of your timeline so it’s the first thing people see (for a limited time, anyway). Once your promo is done, change it up. I usually keep a quote from my most recent work pinned to the top of my Twitter timeline or Facebook page — kind of like a tease — with a ‘link on bio’ mention.
More Tips: You can also spend a few bucks on paid advertising (Google AdWords — not AdSense which is totally different and not at all effective for what we are discussing here — or Facebook or Twitter ads), put out a newsletter (email marketing is still extraordinarily effective as long as, again, you’re not spamming people and hey, Mailchimp is free), run a contest of some sort, start a street team who loves and supports you and your work and is willing to put out the word for you…it’s almost laughable how many options there are other than spamming your ‘Buy my book!’ tweet repeatedly.
Don’t be that clueless writer and if you are, don’t rationalize your cluelessness because your transparency is showing. Educate yourself, be a smart marketer, do the thing. Work on your entire author platform and be professional.
And think about this: aren’t you a writer? If you can’t write more than ‘Buy my book!’ in a tweet repeatedly, why would anyone want to buy said book? Duh.
LOSE THE ENTITLEMENT
When I asked a writer recently not to spam me, she YELLED AT ME IN ALL CAPS that I should share my good fortune (that I’ve spent seven years building, day in and day out) with all the newbie authors out there (apparently, she’d not heard of #MondayBlogs, my stupid cheap promo sites, my free blog posts (on BadRedheadMedia, BookPromotion.Com, IndieReader, Huffington Post), or the many other advocacy projects listed on my bio), and by me not sharing her free book promotion (again, I offer free book promotion on my promo sites if she’d bothered to read my bio), I am a selfish bitch and other choice names I won’t repeat here.
That kind of entitlement has zero place in the author community, and buys zero happy points with me. As I tell my kids, ‘you get what you give, and you give what you get.’ I give of myself in so many ways, and in return, these relationships have more than given back to me in ways I never imagined — personally, in business, in advocacy, and yes, in sales. But I never once have demanded anyone do anything for me, ever. I am not a princess who stomps her foot and tells others what they need to do for me or off with their head!
I no longer ask people not to spam me simply because I won’t take the time to educate them anymore — the abuse and vitriol these spammers direct at me just isn’t worth it. So I block them. Who has time?
Tip: Follow readers, bloggers, reviewers, as well as other writers but not only other writers. I see this happen far too often: authors hitting up other authors. Who is your demographic? Who is your ideal reader? Is it another author? No. Then you’re doing it wrong.
BE HUMBLE AND BE PROUD
Wait, what? How can you be both? It’s a fine line.
When Broken Places went free last week, I was shocked, truly and deeply shocked, at how many wonderful souls shared my free promotion without me asking them to do anything at all. I thanked as many as I could, and ultimately, was honored by the results — #131 on Free overall, #1 on Poetry and Women Authors. Without that amazing support, I don’t know that my book would have done so incredibly well. Now that it’s back on the Paid lists, it’s still ranked quite highly and selling well.
When you do (retweet, share, guest blog, invite them to guest blog, interview, etc.) for others, inform or promote others, offer your platform to others, they are more compelled to return the favor because you have helped them. Don’t do it to get something back for manipulative purposes — I wrote my books to give survivors a voice, not to make a living or to have people begging me to work with them. The more notice my book gets, the wider the audience, and the more survivors it reaches — that’s purely a win/win.
If that helps give a wider audience to the Gravity Imprint I’m now directing for Booktrope (stories of trauma and recovery), great! I’m happy to wave my pride flag. The authors in this imprint are extremely talented, and their stories are incredible. I can’t wait to bring you their books. Our first releases, out very soon by Lindsay Fischer, Dana Leipold, and Beth Stoneburner, are all compelling and I am so fucking proud of the work they’ve done.
BE BRAVE
You have given yourself permission to write your book…now give yourself permission to market it. If you wait until after you release your book to start creating buzz, you’ve waited too long. Start long before you release the book — I started two years before I released my first book with blogging and social media — because remember, the focus is not on selling, it’s on building relationships with readers. Are you tired of me saying that yet? Even I’m getting sick of me saying it. Maybe people will get it and I can finally shut up.
Bottom line: look outside yourself and your own work, embrace and follow readers, and don’t be annoying. Market smart, have a damn plan, and be focused. Golden rule, my friends.
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Pictures courtesy of pixabay
Barbara Radisavljevic says
April 15, 2015 at 11:48 pmRachel, I so appreciate you starting the #MondayBlogs hashtag. I have been introduced to a lot of bloggers I never would have found otherwise. Since I’m really just starting a serious blogging journey, it really helps to read the blogs of others — not only for the hints and information they provide, but also for the ideas they give me about what is possible in a blog. I totally agree with you about the “Buy my book” Tweeters. That kind of promotion tends to have the opposite of the intended effect. I would much rather read a book after I have developed a relationship with the author.
Rachel Thompson says
April 16, 2015 at 2:27 pmHI Barbara! Thank you for participating in #MondayBlogs — it’s grown so much since I started it late in 2012 — over 2.5K tweets are generated weekly. More than I ever dreamed, that’s for sure. What’s truly amazing is the increase in traffic people see — I know that it’s anywhere from 4 to 10 times higher for me on Mondays.
As for blog ideas, that’s another great benefit. And connecting with bloggers (many of whom are readers) is a fantastic way to develop those relationships. It’s a win/win all around. Thanks again.
Scarlet Darkwood says
April 16, 2015 at 4:12 amI own my own bricks and mortars store and have one of my books at the checkout counter. Even I don’t promote my books to every customer as they come to check out. If someone comments or picks up the book, then we’ll talk. There’s NEVER any push to buy.
On rare occasions, I might point out that if the customer reads or knows someone who does, I do have my book to consider. Again, this is after conversing with them a bit, and never a push to buy. And this is in my OWN store!
Rachel Thompson says
April 16, 2015 at 2:28 pmThat’s so cool, Scarlet. I had no idea! I always wanted to own a bookstore. I worked retail in high school and college and hated it LOL — it was a drugstore though — totally different. But I will say, I did have my favorite customers and really, the concept here is the same — developing relationships, right? Great example! Thanks for sharing and weighing in.
Norah Colvin says
April 16, 2015 at 4:15 amI always enjoy reading these posts, Rachel. Thanks for offering your support so generously. #Mondayblogs is my favourite time of the Twitter week. 🙂
Rachel Thompson says
April 16, 2015 at 2:29 pmThank you, Norah. At least it makes Mondays more fun, right? xx
Lindsay Fischer says
April 16, 2015 at 7:30 amEven though I fell off the wagon for a bit, I have to say that #Mondayblogs is a phenomenal resource for anyone with content. The more I give away (time, sharing, conversations), the more likely people are to buy the book anyway, especially hosting #domesticviolencechat. But beyond that, if marketing were as simple (read: boring) as “Buy my book” can you imagine all of the great conversations we’d lose with people via social media?
Some of my favorite entrepreneurial moments come from conversations that have nothing to do with my book or speaking (which is how I make money). Raving fans promo me far better than I can promote myself, and I’ve made some pretty great friends from the connections.
Great read.
Rachel Thompson says
April 16, 2015 at 2:30 pmHi Lindsay, so glad to see you here. Listen, we all have moments where we ‘fall off the wagon’ and you have good reason — getting your book out there! I can’t wait for folks to get it in their hot little hands. They will LOVE it. And what you’re doing meanwhile with domestic violence awareness is admirable and SO important.
Proud of you, girl.
Alan Denham says
April 16, 2015 at 11:02 amOK, I read the blog . . . particularly the parts that stress the negative effects of being too pushy, and the advice to build relationships.
This advice sounds to me like common sense, except for one thing – I have been trying to do it, mostly via Goodreads for the past three years, backed up by similar processes through Twitter for the past six months or so.
Result? What result? The Fantasy books that I would like to sell still have negligible sales. The only advantage I have seen is in website visits (still very low, but better than they were).
What really hurts is that in the past few months a book written entirely by my usual co-author and advertised on my(our) website as having ‘adult content’ has already outsold the Fantasy – which is not perfectly clean, but pretty close.
So the message I am getting here is “Write some ‘adult material'”. Or even soft porn. That is not a message I wanted to hear, but it seems to be working better than ‘building relationships’.
I can’t help but feel that plain old-fashioned luck has a major (overwhelming!) influence here!
Rachel Thompson says
April 16, 2015 at 2:38 pmHI Alan — well, a few things: looking at your site, I would suggest an upgrade to WordPress.org. Alexa doesn’t recognize your site at all at this point — not a good thing for your SEO and visibility. Your Amazon book description is more a poem than an actual description of the book itself — readers want to know what they are buying. SHADES OF MAGIC has been out since October of 2013 and has zero reviews — nobody will take a chance on a book with zero reviews. I have PLENTY of articles on my http://BadRedheadMedia.com site about getting reviews: connect with readers, do promotions, do a low-priced blog tour, approach book bloggers (http://bookbloggerlist.com), build a newsletter and ask people kindly and not in a spammy way to review your book. I would also invest in more professional looking covers.
None of this costs a lot of money — it will take time and effort and some education on your part, though.
It’s not luck — this is all work and smart marketing. That said, put in the time and effort, and good luck!
Alan Denham says
April 17, 2015 at 10:57 amThanks Rachel.
Your advice will be studied – and probably acted on (when I can persuade my co-author about what needs to be done).
Alan
Veronica Sicoe says
April 28, 2015 at 12:35 pmHow refreshingly straightforward! 😉
Ann Massey says
April 16, 2015 at 1:38 pmI’m so glad I clicked on this post I found on FB. It could have been written especially for me.. I’ve now subscribed to your email list and intend to read all your old posts because I want to be a smarter marketer.
Rachel Thompson says
April 16, 2015 at 2:41 pmI’m glad, too Ann! Thank you for reading. Plenty more marketing advice over on http://BadRedheadMedia.com — I usually post there weekly with articles of this sort, but felt this needed to be said from my author point of view, as it reflects my own experiences selling and marketing books.
Matthew Curry says
April 19, 2015 at 12:56 pmYou’re right about this. And I know what you mean about those automatic DMs. They’re just another form of junk mail.
Gabrielle Smith says
April 20, 2015 at 1:03 pmMy brain is full from reading your posts, but in a good way! I write a public blog, so of COURSE I want others to read it and not because they felt dragged there kicking and screaming. Thanks for great tips here, and on a prior post about working smart by scheduling topics in advance. I couldn’t figure out how to register and comment on that post, so my thanks here is a twofer 🙂
Chichi says
April 20, 2015 at 3:02 pmHi Rachel! Great read. I share your dislike for auto dms and spammy ‘buy my stuff’ — it’s not just books — posts. And I’ve noticed some Twitter users with a large following are doing this too. I didn’t get on Twitter just so I could see an endless stream of spam.
Jennifer Martin (Vino Travels) says
April 21, 2015 at 5:25 pmWay to tell it how it is. Some people need the honesty. I totally agree it’s all about relationship building. I sometimes get stuck into the fact of promoting my blogs and would love to have more time to network, but it’s on my list and I work at it every day.
Ren Reidy says
April 22, 2015 at 4:11 pmI think I love you for this! I’ve been saying this FOREVER! I even wrote a post on it last year. Bravo! I bow down to you
Rachel Thompson says
April 28, 2015 at 1:30 pmHa, thank you Ren. You rock just as much — we believers have to stick together. sending virtual cookies to you, my dear.
Fred Charles says
April 24, 2015 at 2:13 amGreat article! I’ve written similar posts and totally agree! The spam on Twitter is merciless! More people need to read this. I have a group on FB called The Creative Promoter that helps creatives market their work. I will certainly post this there!
Rachel Thompson says
April 28, 2015 at 1:29 pmI’m so glad and thank you, Fred. The more people who write articles like this, the louder our voices carry. Hopefully, some of the spammers will listen. I appreciate your share and support.
Mary Chris Escobar says
April 27, 2015 at 10:11 amGreat article, Rachel! I just wanted to chime in and agree that I have also had really good luck from links in my Twitter bio. I have a link to sign up for my newsletter and receive a free book. Just yesterday I got a super nice “Thanks for the free book.” tweet from someone I had followed earlier in the day.
Thank you for all the resources! I’m a big fan of Monday Blogs!
Rachel Thompson says
April 28, 2015 at 1:28 pmHi Mary Chris — thank you! I’m so glad it’s working for you. I love the soft sell approach and it works — we’re proof of that. One woman, who was aggressively spamming me and another gal on Twitter a few days ago, protested loudly when i dared suggest she back off and try building relationships instead. That stumped her — ‘build relationships? that’s impossible! nobody does that on Twitter!’ LOL. I got a kick out of that, as that’s 90% of how I spend my time.
It just takes effort and thought, and education. But we do it, and it works well.
Veronica Sicoe says
April 28, 2015 at 12:36 pm“When people start on social media, they see millions of potential book buyers (wrong. who is their demographic? not everyone on Twitter), so, like an excited puppy who pees in the house, they decide to run amuck and leave messages of all kinds, everywhere, with no focus, no strategic marketing behind them, just a brain dump of random ‘buy my book!’ messages.”
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Of course. You just put it so quaintly it had me giggle. 🙂
Rachel Thompson says
April 28, 2015 at 1:26 pmThank you, Veronica! It just reminds me so much of an excited puppy who pees everywhere. That visual is always in my mind. xx
Considerer says
May 13, 2015 at 3:08 pmCONNECTION! Yes! I’m so glad to know that this is the right angle to take – I’m a firm believer in it for its own sake, but it’s proven invaluable in helping to promote friends’ books. 🙂 Thanks for writing this (and BOOO to spammers (especially rude ones))