My father always told me that it's okay to make mistakes, it's how you learn. Well, I'm about to tell you the mistakes I've learned while marketing and promoting my books so that you don't have to go through the same things when you market and promote your books. I'll put them in list form so it's easier to digest.
Number 1. When posting on forums don't just promote yourself with no other redeeming information. When I first started out I'd post summaries of my books and links to buy them on sites that specifically said no self-promo. I didn’t listen. The result: I got banned from these sites and all the networking they could have provided.
Number 2. Don't write articles that tell people how they are going to feel about your book. For instance, don't write a blurb that says, "this is the best book you'll read all year". Statements like that really turn off the reader.
Number 3. Don't believe the hype that paying for click advertising or putting up banners are going to increase sales. The most important driver of sales is word of mouth through social sites and networking. It's a very small percentage of people that actually will buy the book through a paid ad.
Number 4. Don’t think that by spamming social network sites that you’re somehow going to go viral and sell a million books. I’ve had a few tweets and postings that went viral (meaning tens of thousands of people clicked on the info) and it led to just a small increase in sales. It’s a cool feeling knowing so many people have checked your stuff, but not profitable.
Number 5. Just because you wrote a book, published it, and sold a few copies, don’t think you’re going to be able to quit your job and retire. That only happens to a few lottery-winning writers.
Number 6. Write for yourself and don’t try to copy what’s out there just because what’s out there is selling now. Be original and write what you want.
So there you have it. These are the mistakes I made and that cost me loads of time and damaged my professional online persona. Do the exact opposite of these six things and I guarantee you’ll see your sales rise and people will begin to notice you.
Number 1. When posting on forums don't just promote yourself with no other redeeming information. When I first started out I'd post summaries of my books and links to buy them on sites that specifically said no self-promo. I didn’t listen. The result: I got banned from these sites and all the networking they could have provided.
Number 2. Don't write articles that tell people how they are going to feel about your book. For instance, don't write a blurb that says, "this is the best book you'll read all year". Statements like that really turn off the reader.
Number 3. Don't believe the hype that paying for click advertising or putting up banners are going to increase sales. The most important driver of sales is word of mouth through social sites and networking. It's a very small percentage of people that actually will buy the book through a paid ad.
Number 4. Don’t think that by spamming social network sites that you’re somehow going to go viral and sell a million books. I’ve had a few tweets and postings that went viral (meaning tens of thousands of people clicked on the info) and it led to just a small increase in sales. It’s a cool feeling knowing so many people have checked your stuff, but not profitable.
Number 5. Just because you wrote a book, published it, and sold a few copies, don’t think you’re going to be able to quit your job and retire. That only happens to a few lottery-winning writers.
Number 6. Write for yourself and don’t try to copy what’s out there just because what’s out there is selling now. Be original and write what you want.
So there you have it. These are the mistakes I made and that cost me loads of time and damaged my professional online persona. Do the exact opposite of these six things and I guarantee you’ll see your sales rise and people will begin to notice you.
This so helpful. Thank you for sharing these wonderful tips :0) Oh and I'm so happy to be following your blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat post - I've also noticed a number of new authors creating fake personas on social networking sites and then having this false identity recommend their book. A lot of people can see through this tactic and find it extremely irritating. These authors don't realize how obvious it is and how much it hurts their credibility. Readers value authenticity in writers.
ReplyDeleteI'm going on so much - Maybe I should write my own blog post on this! :)