One of my lovely facebook friends posted on my wall that she had no idea I had so many books published, congrats! sigh. I am marketing daily and trying to walk the fine line between the annoying "look at me--buy my books!" and "wow, I didn't even know you were published." It's a difficult line. We have all been annoyed by the author who is about nothing but "buy my book" or "new book out" or "new review." I mean, we get it. We'll buy the book if we're interested. If we haven't added ourselves to your fan page by the 10th or 50th time, well, we're not going to. Social media is great for getting your name out there but should not be a 24/7 infomercial.
Still, it is clear that I don't announce my sales, reviews and contests enough or I wouldn't get lovely surprised posts. *head bangs on desk* In my observation, building a community around your author name is the best way to build sales. People feel a part of your life and are not afraid to comment, ask questions, talk about your work and most importantly remember your name when they want to buy a book. So, community building has been my goal in blogging, tweeting, facebook, myspace, bookblogs, goodreads, etc. Perhaps I need to work a little harder or be more obvious.
Please tell me, as a reader, what annoys you the most about marketing through social media? If you are a writer, what tips can you share that will help prevent lovely surprised posts?
Nancy, I get that, too. It's like - where have you been???
ReplyDeleteWhen every comment or post refers back to the person's books, etc., it drives me nuts. Not everything relates to your book, people!
L. Diane, I don't feel so bad if you get that, too. Your marketing is the kind I admire. Thanks!
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