Monday, October 16, 2017

How To Promote Without Being Obnoxious


We've all seen it:

1.  The author who turns their website or blog into a giant advertisement.

2.  A social media post for their book every waking minute of the day.

3.  Conversations somehow include the title of their newest book.

Advertisers are getting the message about soft selling their products. They engage a viewer/reader with a story and characters that make us laugh, show rather than tell the advantages of an item, and hold our attention.

While some writers avoid all mention of their work, the fact remains: marketing is necessary to make people aware of our offerings. How do we accomplish this without alienating the folks we want to reach?

1.  Name recognition is an important factor. By participating on social media, people are getting to know you as a person.

2.  Back in the day, I followed the local baseball team. One of the things that made the games exciting was knowing about the individual players, their families, and their careers. The same is true for writers. People like to know how we started this journey and what influenced us.

3.  Along with number two above, readers want to be able to relate to authors. They want to know we care about them as individuals and not a cha-ching of the cash register.

Be friendly, be nice, and be real!

Writers:  What are some of the ways you promote your books?

Readers:  What do you want to know about your favorite authors and writers?

Photo Credit:  Jamie Harris

6 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan - couldn't agree more ... I don't want to be bombarded with advertising for books etc ... gently does it, the soft approach works wonders ... it may take a little longer, but you'll be winning all the way in the end - cheers Hilary

Karen Lange said...

Good advice, Susan! I have a tendency to remember the ones who aren't all "in your face" about their products. Have a good week! :)

quietspirit said...

Susan: I am learning how to promote my book. I have two book signings this week, one tomorrow, Tues. Karen Lange has interviewed me today on her blog. I have created a display board to use at my book signings. I have bookmarks and business cards I have placed inside each of the books I have. I have had some newspaper briefs in our local paper. I will have two book signings in November. One at the Artisan Fair at our local library. The first one at a gift shop downtown. There is another gift shop in a neighboring town that I have to contact again and take a book up there for the owner to evaluate. She is a nationally known woman and I have had some fear about approaching her. Most of the ones I have sold have been "face-to-face" to friends who have expressed interest in seeing a copy. I have also had two online blogs review the book earlier.

Jeanette Levellie said...

OH, so true, Susan. Thanks for this wisdom.
I try to strike a happy balance between pushing my books in people's faces and simply sharing my life.
Jen

Marja Verschoor-Meijers said...

To be honest, i struggle with it as well. I do not promote much, only when one of my books gets translated in another language I will post it on social media. Very seldom I will write a blog post on my own books, only with a new release I dear to spam :)

Patsy said...

It's difficult. We do have to mention our books sometimes and I'm sure people realise that and accept a certain level of promotion. Trouble is, if they've had enough they'll just stop following us, reading our blogs etc. What's too much for one person, won't have been enough to get the message across to others.