Tag Archives: sales

Like Me!

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It seems recently that never a day goes by without an email or a direct message from an Artist or a Writer begging me to like them.

Apparently it’s irrelevant whether or not I even know them, or their work. And the question of whether I actually like what they do is, well, that was never on the table was it. You see, no one is asking for my personal opinion ( It’s a shame, I have good opinions. ) What people are actually asking is for me to give them more visibility in the market place so that they can sell what they do.

 I have no objection to people selling what they do. In fact I’m all for it. I sell what I do for heaven’s sake. But I’m not sure anyone’s career can be greatly assisted by a lie, however well intentioned. 

Before anyone gets hugely upset let me just say that I don’t ever ask anyone to validate anything of mine. You don’t have to like it unless you like it. And I don’t assume that I will dislike what people do, I am charmingly non-committal until I have read a thing. If Facebook swaps is how you work then it is how you work but please remember that this is false data. It is a manufactured marketing tool and  not opinion. The numbers will go up and down based on the hours spent rather than quality of your work. There will be times when you write something wonderful and you don’t get the “likes” you are looking for. Don’t be disheartened. The numbers are a fiction. We are writers. We understand fiction.

The other despairing communication I get is that “Nobody is following me.”

That is an easy one.

What are you doing for them?

People are busy. People have complicated, wonderful, disorganised lives. But people will follow you if you give them something they want. What are you giving them? Some people write a weekly book review. Some people provide pictures of beautiful Art. Some pictures of funny cats. Some provide intelligent comment. Some provide silly comment. It doesn’t matter what it is, you will find a niche market, but it has to be consistent and people need to know what you do.

If they truly LIKE you, they will follow.

So decide what you provide.

 

When All is Said and Done

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Why do I write?

It’s a question that I’ve been giving a lot of thought over the last few days. People write for different reasons. For some it’s catharsis. For others it’s communication. Some people have a clear audience in mind and others have no audience in mind, they simply have words which need to be said. Some writers want to explore complex ideas and emotions and some have no idea what they are going to explore when they sit down. I don’t think there is a right way or a wrong way to approach a writing project with the possible proviso that finishing is always better than not.

I have come to the conclusion that I write because I love it. I write because there are stories. When all is said and done and on the page, I am finished and I move on. I don’t hunt readers because it isn’t about the readers. In a sense it’s a very selfish joy. I try to put each story on the page to the best of my ability. I consciously try to improve with each one I write. I complete it and I check it and then I let it out into the world to sink or swim on its own merits.

The joy is all in the writing, and it’s this joy that keeps me coming back time and time again to put more words on the page. Even in the difficult times, the wordless days. The moments when I have to pull my ideas kicking and screaming from my imagination or seek them out in the darkest corners of my mind.

It isn’t an easy job and it isn’t often a well paid job. It’s mostly a very heavily criticised job where everyone you meet feels qualified to give you a performance review, but it’s my job and I love it.

And Readers, before you leave feeling unappreciated, you should know that even after all this time I am still amazed, surprised and gratified by every single reader who takes the time and the trouble to read my work. It’s a gift I don’t demand and I never expect.

Thank you

 

 

Spam I Am

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Marketing is all about putting your work in front of those people who will buy. It’s also about persuading those on the fence that it’s worth parting with the hard earned cash in order to have your product. It’s all about place and persuasion.

Sadly there seems to be a new plague of poorly based marketing at the moment, brought on no doubt by the new leap into self publishing. There is good marketing material and poor marketing material but unless it is properly placed it is equally useless and on some occasions may even do harm to your reputation.

Writers. Please don’t Spam.

An example of poorly placed marketing : An author has excitedly completed a novel. It has a glorious digital front page; I mean full spectacular colour. They have a twitter account that they have built by following mostly those people who interest them, Publishers, Editors, Writers, Bookstores and such like. They decide to incessantly tweet about their creation begging people to read their work. They send DM responses asking for downloads and sales. 

People will get very frustrated with that author. He may even lose business. You see, he is confusing the target audience with his creative peers. Don’t sell books to writers. We have books. We also have no money. Sell books to readers who have no books and the sense to get a job.

 Twitter for authors. You really need to have two accounts.

One for the relationship with business professionals: publisher, editor, copy writer, cover artist, authors, peers.

One for the relationship with your audience: readers, book clubs, book stores, people who like other works in your genre.

You need to build both audiences in a different way. Please be considerate of other people working in your field. Editors, publishers and authors get a lot of marketing information and you can do a lot for your reputation by being polite, brief, and directing them to your marketing feed rather than spamming them.

Marketing: Think Place. Think Persuasion