It’s the miracle that the world’s been waiting for… or at least authors who hate having to sell themselves like some cheap pen salesman. The future of marketing is here, or it is to me anyway.
I’ve hated selling my own books ever since I finished writing the first one. And, all of my attempts have been so inane and annoying that I’ve actually irritated myself by doing most of them. But now, I’ve seen another way…
Unfortunately, it’s probably not another way for most of you. I read this blog post the other day by Derek Murphy and it’s finally sunk in. No one ever buys a book by someone telling them to on Twitter.
Let me repeat that…
NO ONE EVER BUYS A BOOK BY SOMEONE TELLING THEM TO ON TWITTER.
(and for Twitter you can also replace with Facebook, Blogs, Goodreads, market stalls and megaphones)
I have never bought a book by someone reminding me about it online. Buying books is not like buying consumables. Reading has value, people want to read things that they’re going to enjoy, or at least that they think they’re going to enjoy. The value and the perceived enjoyment comes from building relationships with your readers. As Derek Murphy says, it’s about building a brand rather than selling a book.
Of course this is true. Just look back at the last ten books you’ve read and think about how many you’ve decided to read just because of someone you’ve never heard, shouting about it on Twitter. Not many, huh?
But, we all fall into the trap because we see others doing it. We want our careers to take off, we want success, we crave it, and we think that this constant peppering of our products will somehow develop some kind of tipping point. It doesn’t. It just annoys people.
The most important thing in marketing is to build those relationships. If you stand for something that people trust then they are more likely to read everything you ever write. So, don’t put them off, just get on with writing and creating great products, some of which you can provide for free just to prove how great a guy you are. It’s time to make friends and influence people.
