Anne H. Janzer's Blog, page 30

Balancing Frequency, Length, and Substance in Writing

Why I’m Changing My Blogging/Email Frequency

When I started out writing blog posts, the standard advice for building an online presence was to publish frequently, to encourage audience engagement. Experts advocated blogging daily, or at least three times a week.

Heck, I figured once a week would be a stretch. And at first, it was. The frequency became a personal challenge: Could I come up with something to say every week?

The answer was yes, I could. Challenge accepted and lesson learned.

Gradually, I came to cherish the discipline of publishing a blog post each week. These blog posts become emails to my Writing Practices email list, going to writers of all types who sign up on my website.

But the commitment came at the expense of time on other writing projects, including guest blog posts and larger projects like books. Lately I’ve been thinking that this schedule doesn’t serve my readers’ needs, or my own. Perhaps, in this situation, less is more.

The Three Variables: Length, Frequency, and Substance

Any writer who blogs or sends emails to followers must find their personal balance of these three variables: length, frequency, and substance. There is no single right answer – just one that works for you and your audience.

Here’s how I’m juggling those variables:

Length: I’m a long-form writer at heart. I love writing books, and enjoy composing long, substantive posts. I can’t help myself. But these posts take more time to create, and for the recipients to read.

Frequency: Forget about all of the truisms of how often to publish – consider what makes sense for your audience. You want to show up:

Often enough so that people remember who you are and why they subscribed to the blog or email list in the first place.
Not so often that you are annoying.

These are subjective measures, based on your content and your audience.

This second point (not being annoying) is particularly important for people who subscribe to your blogs by email. There are few people outside of my own family that I would want to get emails from every day.

Substance: What value do people get from opening your emails or reading your blog posts?

My primary, personal goal is generating content that helps other writers. That means investing thought, care, and research into the content I create. Publishing weekly leaves me less time available for creating substantive work.

Three Reasons I’m Cutting Back to Every Other Week

With that background, these are my three key reasons for cutting back to every-other-week posts on writing.

#1: The Next Book

Time spent writing blogs is time not spent working on the next book.

I have heard people recommend that you “blog the book.” I don’t agree. Unless you’re Seth Godin and can package blog posts into books that sell, don’t try to blog the book.

We read differently online, hence as authors we must write differently.

This post from Jane Friedman basically says it all: Please Don’t Blog Your Book.

Blogging can be part of the writing process, giving you an opportunity to work through and explore topics or share research you discover. But the weekly drumbeat of blog production can steal time away from the deep work of researching, drafting, and revising a book.

#2 Information Overload

A friend told me recently: “I save your blog posts in my inbox, then read them on the weekend when I have time.” My email open stats indicate that she’s not the only one.

One person’s words of wisdom are another person’s overload.

I feel guilty when I delete emails without spending time on them. So it pains me to think that I’m inflicting that problem on other people. That’s a strong argument for dialing back on frequency.

#3 It’s Trendy  

Hubspot published a list of 8 Digital Marketing Trends Set to Expire by 2018 recently. #3 on their list of obsolete practices is focusing on quantity instead of quality in blogs.

We’re all feeling these same pressures. Content Marketing Institute isn’t publishing blog posts on the weekend anymore.

This is one bandwagon that I’m happy to jump on!

It’s Your Turn

What important projects do you hope to accomplish, whether writing or something else? Can you find something to pare back on, to make room for that long-term work?

To do more work that matters,  do less of the ordinary.

 

Related Posts

Why Writing is Good for Your Career

Two Books to Build Your Writing Resilience

 

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The Gift of Subscriptions: A Mixed Bag (or Box)

Every year, around this time, I struggle with that age-old problem: shopping. What should I get family members who are distributed around the country?

(My own needs are quite simple: books, chocolate, and tea, in case anyone asks…)

I spend a fair amount of time thinking and talking about subscription businesses – I even wrote a book about them. So, it’s only natural that I think of subscriptions as potential gifts.

My mother has given me a subscription to The New Yorker for my entire adult life. (Thanks, Mom!) So I know that this model works.

But today’s shoppers have many more options, particularly with the growing number of Subscription Boxes. For inspiration, check out the site MySubscriptionAddiction. You might be surprised at the range of possibilities.

Unboxing a Subscription Holiday

This year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday had a new companion: Subscription Box Sunday. Created by the Fosina Marketing Group, companies like CrateJoy embraced the idea of setting aside a day to pick out subscriptions to give as gifts.

But wait – before we jump on this, let’s ask two questions:

Do subscription boxes really make great gifts?
If you sell subscriptions, should you invest heavily in marketing campaigns promoting gifting?

The answer to both questions is a resounding “It depends.”

The Pros and Cons of Giving Subscriptions

From the gift-giver’s perspective, subscription boxes have many upsides.

Variety: For people (like me) who wrack our brains to come up with meaningful gifts every year, subscription boxes might be a godsend. There is a box for nearly every interest and type of person: pet lovers, readers, exercise nuts – you name it.

Ease of giving: Someone else curates the goods. The business does the work of wrapping and shipping, saving you time in Post Office lines.

Duration: Instead of a single gift, your recipient may receive multiple installments, depending on the length of the subscription. The impact of your gift can extend beyond the holiday itself.

Happiness: Cognitive scientists report that we derive more happiness from experiences than from stuff. Well, the subscription box is itself an experience, complete with anticipation, unboxing, and the element of surprise.

But–and there’s always a but–subscriptions gifts can backfire as well.

Some subscription services require an investment of effort and time on the part of the recipient. Like pets, they are fun at first, but a handful to take care of.

If the recipient doesn’t have time to read, cook, consume, or manage the subscription, gratitude can turn to guilt, or even resentment toward the giver. For example, I would only gift a Blue Apron or similar food preparation box to someone who had explicitly expressed a desire in the service.

Physical subscription boxes also present package shipment issues. If the recipient travels frequently or doesn’t have a secure place for receiving packages, this gift could become a hassle.

Some even say that subscription boxes are an addiction. Perhaps you’re feeding or creating an addiction. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!

Here’s the important point to remember about any subscription: it’s not a one-time thing.

A subscription is a relationship.

When you sign someone up for a subscription, providing their mailing address or email, you enter them into an ongoing relationship with the business. So, think carefully.

Before giving a subscription, make sure you can answer these questions:

How does the recipient feel about their information being provided to the vendor?
Who will the vendor contact for renewals – you (the gift-giver) or the recipient?
Is this something that the recipient has time (or desire) to deal with?

Gifts are a Mixed Bag for Sellers as Well

While the holiday season may represent new business opportunities for subscription businesses, make sure you understand the economics before investing in major marketing campaigns.

A gift recipient is less likely to renew than someone who intentionally chose to become a customer. The churn rate among these customers will probably be higher, which means that you shouldn’t spend more to acquire this segment of customers (compared to your baseline spending), or you might end up in the red.

Of course, if your avid fans give subscriptions to people with similar interests, they can grow your customer base in a healthy way as well. The trick is figuring out how to manage the growth and find those customers who will stick around, so you don’t end up in a crazy cycle of desperately spending each holiday season to replace the departures from the previous year.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

Help gift-givers align the gift with recipient’s interest. There is such a thing as a bad fit customer, so don’t encourage them.
Segment the customers who are gift recipients, and make sure to reach out during the subscription period to nurture their experience of value.
Determine when and how to request renewals for these subscribers when the subscription period has completed. You might contact the giver to find out if they want to renew (if this is a yearly gift). Do this early enough so that, if the giver isn’t continuing, you can contact the recipient and gently notify them of the end. Also, let them know the options available fo renewal.
If gift recipients choose not to renew, let them go gracefully and make sure they feel good about your business. Who knows, they might refer it to someone else.

Whatever your gift-giving solutions, I hope you unwrap a joyous and peaceful holiday season.

The post The Gift of Subscriptions: A Mixed Bag (or Box) appeared first on Anne Janzer.

Books for the Writers in Your Life

One of the greatest gifts you can offer someone is a book that changes their life or shifts their perspective in a meaningful way.

The challenge, of course, is matching the book to the recipient. Of the millions of volumes to choose from, which ones will speak directly to the people that you care about?

This is my highly personal, biased guide to books to give the writers in your life, based on their personalities, problems, or situations.

Note that many of these works aren’t explicitly about writing. But most have had a significant impact on my writing life.

Oh, and I slipped two of my own books into the list. As I said, it’s a highly biased collection.

For the writer who never feels their writing is good enough

Shut Your Monkey by Danny Gregory

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Gregory likens the inner critic to a noisy monkey in your head. That image alone can help you conquer it. His book is filled with advice for creative people on shutting up that monkey. My favorite quote: “The only people who don’t have monkeys camping out in their heads are sociopaths.” Read my review here.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

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Successful writers must develop a healthy amount of grit. Angela Duckworth presents solid psychological reasons for persevering, even when the going is tough. This readable and inspiring book includes practical advice for nurturing your own grit.

For the aspirational writer who wants to write, but isn’t doing much

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

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Steven Pressfield describes the epic inner battle between the Muse and Resistance. Pressfield’s words have inspired countless writers, myself included.

The Writer’s Process by me…

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Instead of a battleground, The Writer’s Process suggests that your goal is to achieve a delicate balance of the mental systems and cognitive processes involved in writing (the Muse and the Scribe). It offers practical strategies for optimizing your own practice. As one review testimonial suggests: “Not only did the creative part of my process begin to bear new and interesting fruit, but I also became more productive.”

For writers who are uncomfortable talking about their work

Quiet, by Susan Cain

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Introversion isn’t a dirty word. Introverts are all around you – not hiding in closets, but engaging with the world. Introversion, as Cain defines it, affects nearly half the population. But large gatherings take a toll, and we need to recharge in quieter settings.  By understanding and acknowledging this personality trait, we can better protect ourselves. If you haven’t read this yet, run and get it – if not for yourself, then for the sake of the introverts you live or work with.

The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane

[image error]Sometimes you’ve have speak to people in person, even if you’d rather be writing. Olivia Fox Cabane offers practical, inspiring strategies for connecting in real life. The advice is invaluable if you want to be an effective advocate for your ideas.

For the content marketer on the hook for more and more content

Here are a couple of my favorite content marketing books for writers:

Master Content Marketing, by Pamela Wilson

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Pamela’s “lazy but efficient” approach to content marketing warms my heart. She is a firm believer in the power of a regular process – I think we may be soul sisters. Read my review here.

Everybody Writes by Ann Handley

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This books offers practical, beautiful advice about writing in the business context. Oh, and because Ann Handley wrote it, it is both useful and entertaining. Read my review here.

For the person writing in the office

The Workplace Writer’s Process by … okay, me again.

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If you or someone you know and love writes in an office environment, with work that goes through approvals and committees, give them this book. It has all of my best advice for surviving and thriving as a writer within an organization.

For the writer who enjoys cognitive science

The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker

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The book is subtitled “The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century” – and that about sums it up. Warning: Pinker can get a bit geeky in a linguistic sense, but he presents the best explanation of grammar I have ever seen. Read my review here.

Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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This book by the renowned psychologist is a beautiful, even philosophical, discussion about finding the state of flow in your work. After reading it, you’ll be inspired to find your writing flow.

For the science or technology writer

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face, by Alan Alda

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This book is less about writing and more about relating and communicating with others, but writers can certainly find lessons here about connecting with readers. And Alda is an entertaining and personable guide.

This list could easily go on forever. Narrative nonfiction writers might enjoy John McPhee’s Draft No. 4. Fiction writers might love Stephen King’s On Writing. Everyone can cherish Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. You can add your favorites in the comments.

If nothing here strikes your fancy, check out these other reading lists:

Download Recommended Reading for Writers (from The Writer’s Process)

See all of my book review blog posts

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Mind Your Tone of Voice

When you start reading a book or a blog post, you face an immediate choice: Do you continue reading, or put it aside?

As writers, we dance a tango with the reader’s attention and interest.

A couple weeks ago I wrote about connecting with the reader’s curiosity (What makes you curious?) But once you have someone’s interest, you must maintain it. This is where your writing chops make a difference.

Nothing kills the reader’s curiosity as quickly as a stodgy, pedantic style.

Nonfiction writers don’t always have the benefit of an ongoing story to keep readers hooked. Mastering an engaging tone and style is critical.

Conversation Without Physical Presence

As writers, we’re not there in person to see if the reader is getting bored. We cannot use gestures, facial expressions, or vocal inflection to make the material more interesting. All we have at our disposal is the words on paper (or on the screen.)

But words are powerful.

A lively or interesting style is one of the nonfiction writer’s most powerful assets. Your challenge: Make the written tone and style match the spoken tone of voice you would like to convey.

I’m a fan of using a conversational voice in business writing, because conversation is a natural human skill. To achieve a conversational tone and style, write as you might speak, then edit it to represent the best version of yourself.

In general, the conversational tone and style is direct. Sentences are relatively short. Don’t use words that are difficult to pronounce, as they may be difficult to read as well. To double-check your work, try reading it out loud. If you stumble, then the reader might as well.

Being conversational is only half the battle. We have all experienced boring conversations. Your writing must do more.

Humanity, Humility, and Humor

I recommend that you enliven your tone and style by scattering in the three H’s of writing style: humanity, humility, and humor.

Humanity: Bots may be writing text, but readers are always human. Even when writing about abstract topics (unemployment, technology, policy), remember that they involve real people.

You might address the reader directly (like I just did), or bring yourself into the text (as I just did again!) Tell a short personal story appropriate, but always remember that you are there to serve the reader’s interests and needs, not your own.

Humility: Nonfiction authors in particular must balance demonstrating authority and connecting with readers. Humility is the key. No one wants to have a conversation with a condescending bore. Even when explaining, never make the reader feel stupid.

The audience may not know what you know, but that shouldn’t diminish your respect for them. You are there to serve the reader, not to earn their admiration.

Humor is the third, most difficult part of the tone and style equation to master. Tread lightly – aim for a smile rather than a guffaw. Business writers can find inspiration in Kathy Klotz Guest’s entertaining book Stop Boring Me!

Humor doesn’t always translate well across cultural boundaries, so use it with care. Gentle, self-deprecating humor is generally safest – you won’t offend anyone by poking fun at yourself. But don’t undercut your authority in the process.

The three H’s are like seasonings in a dish– too much of one or the other can overpower the key ingredient (the subject you’re writing about).  Sprinkle them lightly to liven up your writing.

Related Posts

Writing with Authority

What Makes You Curious?

 

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Digging Into an Abundance of Ideas

If you’re one of those writers who waits until a great idea strikes to write, then you may find yourself running low on fodder. For many of us, the act of writing itself primes the mind to identify insights and create something new.

This is yet another chicken-and-egg writing situation (like writing and outlining).  You must write first to get the ideas to work with.

Coming Up With Ideas

This post is inspired by one of my email list subscribers who, responding to my question about her biggest writing challenge, sent me this:

Coming up with fresh, inspiring content

I hear you.

Marketing professionals in particular often suffer from this problem. They are tasked with creating fresh ideas for businesses, to fuel content marketing goals. Creating content for the marketing machine is like feeding a teenage boy – there never seems to be enough.

Here’s the advice I shared with her: Commit to writing regularly, even when you feel empty.

Ideas are truly abundant, but we have to be open to finding them.

By sitting down regularly  to write, even when you have nothing inspiring to say, you signal to your brain that you are serious about the work. Eventually, your mind comes through with the content you need. It notices connections, identifies patterns, or even overhears snippets of conversation that lead to an insight.

Louis Pasteur said that chance favors the prepared mind. The same is true for writing.

Creativity favors the writer who is writing.

Eventually you may suffer from the opposite problem: deciding which ideas to dedicate your time to writing. But that’s another post.

A Challenge for the Holidays

If you are sitting down soon at a holiday table, prepare yourself to be alert and open to ideas relevant to your writing.

Before you go to (or host) the gathering, steal a moment to think about your writing. Open a file or journal page and pen a few notes about subjects you’d like to cover or a problem you’re facing in a larger work.

Then go enjoy the meal, but keep a notebook handy. Make notes of words, ideas for metaphors, quotes, anything interesting as the conversation passes. By the end of the day, or early the next day if you’re still digesting, look through your notes or recollections.

You’ll probably find something fresher than the leftover turkey to work with. Let me know if this works for you.

Related Resources

Do Not Save Your Best Writing for Later

Videos about barriers to writing

 

 

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Talking Turkey About Subscriptions

The phrase “talking turkey” means to speak frankly, so it’s a perfect fit for this pre-Thanksgiving edition of the Subscription Marketing update.

Let’s Talk Turkey: Subscriptions Are Hard

Zuora invited me to chat with their employees and customers at a Dreamforce-related event (on a rooftop bar, no less!) Zuora’s events are always filled with people who really get subscriptions.

In speaking with Zuora sales people and customers alike, I realized just how hard it is to do subscriptions well – and started to feel a little guilty about not emphasizing that enough.

For example, I have suggested that subscription vendors offer their customers a chance to dial back subscriptions for a month or two. (See last month’s post on subscription guilt.) But if you run that past any finance person, you are likely to see a grimace of pain. You want what? How do we recognize revenue?

Public organizations are under the gun to meet upcoming revenue recognition standards (ASC 606). So, casually suggesting the ability to ramp up and down or suspend revenues is like throwing oil onto a smoldering financial fire.

That’s the thing about subscriptions – they affect every part of the business. Everyone has to get on the same page and work through the challenges.

Amazon’s Knocking – and Letting Themselves In

A subscription relationship is based on trust. Well, Amazon is testing those boundaries of trust more than most subscription providers with Amazon Key. Amazon Prime subscribers can allow Amazon to actually unlock the front door and deliver packages inside. (You need a compatible smart lock, a camera, and a kit from Amazon to make it all work.)

Amazon Key addresses the problem of packages being stolen off doorsteps. Some customers will probably love it. And it’s built on the premise of “trust but verify,” as you can see images of what’s happening at your doorstep.

Still … I’m not sure about giving Amazon the key to my home. What do you think?

Stop Threatening Customers with Subscriptions!

I’m getting tired of seeing companies use the threat of a subscription model to urge a fast sale. So I wrote a blog post about the subscription threat. Let me know if you’re seeing this trend, too.

Interesting Reading and Courses

Words matter. The words you use reflect your mindset, which affects how you treat people. So writes Lincoln Murphy in this wonderful post: Those Aren’t Problems. Those Are Customers! Once you read it, you’ll use more care about how you talk about customers when they aren’t listening.

Customer Service Orientation: To do subscriptions right, you have to deliver superior service, from start to finish. My friend Robbie Kellman Baxter, author of The Membership Economy, has developed a course for LinkedIn Learning on developing a service orientation. Check it out.

Subscriptions and holidays: Is this the year that holiday subscription boxes break out? Jim Fosina wrote an interesting article making that very argument here.

More Fun Subscriptions

Subscription Ramen: Take a hot food trend, put it in a monthly box, and what do you have? Subscription ramen – or more specifically, Japan Ramen Box, which ships ramen from Japan to anywhere in the world. If you’re in Tokyo, you can sign up for Yaro Ramen.

Subscription Tweets: Twitter Promote Mode offers small businesses a $99/month subscription for promoted tweets. Instead of paying per impression or post, you pay per month. That’s certainly a different spin on advertising. I’ll be interested in seeing how it works. Read the TechCrunch article here.

UnderArmour: If you can’t get enough of Under Armour, sign up for a personalized ArmourBox. Maybe after indulging on Thanksgiving turkey, you’ll need to stock up on performance apparel.

That’s all until December – who knows what puns we’ll unwrap for the holiday season.

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What Makes You Curious?

If you’re a nonfiction writer, as I am, then you must recognize that the entire world does not share your deep interest in your topic. The audience of people actively looking to read about obscure topics may be quite small.

How can you reach a wider audience, or get the one you’ve got interested in something you find fascinating? By tapping into the reader’s curiosity.

The reader’s curiosity is the nonfiction writer’s ally.

I’ve been doing some reading on the topic, and it turns out that curiosity is itself a fascinating topic. (Most recently, I read Why: What Makes us Curious by Mario Livio.)

As it turns out, we’re not entirely sure how curiosity works inside the mind. There are two prevailing theories.

One approach defines the state of curiosity as a need to resolve the discomfort of the unknown.

Mind the (Knowledge) Gap

In a paper published in 1994 on the psychology of curiosity, George Loewenstein proposed the Knowledge Gap theory, describing  curiosity as “a form of cognitively induced deprivation that arises from the perception of a gap in knowledge or understanding.” [Italics are mine.]

In other words, when we realize that we have a gap, we suffer until it is filled.

We can recognize the truth behind that theory in some situations – cliffhangers at the ends of television shows, for example.

Or, think of that famous click-bait come-on: “You’ll never guess what happened next!”  These headlines are trying to induce an itch that we can scratch by clicking through.

Click-bait headlines manipulate and exploit our curiosity. Often, the entire experience is unsatisfying, like taking a sip of a tea that smells fantastic, but is otherwise tasteless.

Monkeying Around

As someone who enjoys indulging her curiosity on occasion, this “gap” theory does not entirely fit my own experience.

Other psychologists have noticed our innate love of doing puzzles and figuring things out. Even young children exhibit this kind of exploration for its own sake.

We share this kind of curiosity with other primates, so it runs pretty deep. In the 1930s, Abraham Maslow (of Maslow’s hierarchy fame) and Harry Harlow observed Rhesus monkeys. They noticed that the monkeys enjoyed solving puzzles, without requiring any reward. Wrote Harlow, the task itself “provided intrinsic reward.” (Daniel Pink wrote about this in Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.)

Clearly this is true of people as well. Would we read or watch mysteries if the experience was unpleasant?

How Do You Engage Your Readers’ Curiosity?

Fiction writers hook the readers with a good story; readers want to see how it turns out. Nonfiction authors must find other ways to tap into natural curiosity and earn the reader’s ongoing engagement.

These are a few of the factors that researchers say can trigger curiosity:

Novelty – things we haven’t seen or heard of before
Complexity – things that don’t follow expected patterns
Conflicting information or evidence- things that don’t fit into what we think we know of the world
Surprise – the unexpected

You might consider deploying a combination of techniques, such as pointing out a contradiction or surprise and promising to fill the knowledge gap. Don’t be manipulative, but do find ways to attract and then satisfy the natural curiosity of your readers.

Related posts:

Creative nonfiction is not an oxymoron

Writers and the Myths of Creativity

 

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The Best Book Marketing Advice I Ever Got

 

The best book marketing advice I ever got came from Guy Kawasaki — not in person, but in his book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. Reading that book before setting out on my own publisher adventure, I encountered his analogy about bakers:

“There are two kinds of people: eaters and bakers. Eaters think the world is a zero-sum game: what someone else eats, they cannot eat. Bakers do not believe that the world is a zero-sum game because they can bake more and bigger pies. Everyone can eat more. People trust bakers and not eaters.” — Guy Kawasaki

This was the first time I’d encountered this idea of generosity and abundance in the context of book publishing and promotion. But it would resurface many times.

Book Marketing with an Abundance Mindset

Are you an eater or a baker? Do you act from a sense of scarcity (your gain is my loss) or abundance? You have many opportunities to make this choice. For example:

Do you keep your content under lock and key, afraid that people will steal your ideas? Or do you spread your ideas widely?
Do you see other authors as competition for a fixed, limited market, or as a source of partnership and support?
Do you expect everyone you interact with to purchase the book, or do you share review copies and author copies freely with readers, reviewers, and other influencers?

Choose abundance over scarcity.

After slaving away for months or years on your book and investing in its publication, it’s only natural that you want to protect your content and maximize the return on your investment.

But the scarcity mindset can cripple your success — particularly when you’re just getting started.

I have heard new and aspiring authors voice their scarcity-based concerns, afraid to take the actions that would support their book’s growth:

A nonfiction author didn’t want to write or speak about the topic until the book was published, out of fear that others would jump on the idea.
A new fiction author expressed a fear of sending review copies because someone might distribute the book on the Internet ahead of its release; she’d heard of it happening to Stephenie Meyer.
New authors lose sleep about others pirating their books. (Read Tim Grahl’s take on this in his article Ebook Piracy= Sell More Books.)

My advice in each situation is the same: Take a deep breath and let it go. You’re getting in the way of your success by keeping the book out of the hands of people who might help you.

People buy books from authors that they like and trust. But first they have to find you. You will need to share your content, make friends with other authors, and rely on others to help you spread the word.

Check Your Mindset

Even if you approach the world with an abundance mindset in other situations, you may find yourself tested when marketing and promoting your book.

Let’s look at a few of the ways that a scarcity mindset interferes with book marketing strategy.

Working with other authors

When you hear about another author in your genre having success, do you feel competitive? If you have a scarcity mindset, you may feel, deep down, that this author’s success takes away from your potential audience.

In reality, authors often help each other. They answer each others’ questions. Many like-minded authors use joint marketing and book bundling to great effect. If you cling to a scarcity mindset, you will miss these opportunities.

Review copies

Some authors view every review copy given away as a lost sale. That’s flawed logic. If people never hear about the book, they won’t buy it.

Be generous with your books. Independently-published authors often have more control over giving away copies than authors working with legacy publishers, for whom review copies are more expensive. Plan on giving away many books to those who can support you.

Sharing content from the book

Authors with an abundance mindset share freely of their content, attracting people who value what they have written. Offer free chapters, worksheets, or other content from your book to gain either new sales or sign-ups to your mailing list.

Some publishing contracts restrict how much copyrighted content you can give away. If you are traditionally published and face those restrictions, you can paraphrase the content and share it. Ideas are free.

Pricing

Pricing is a complex matter with many variables. Your objective is to earn royalties — over time. Sometimes to earn long-term royalties, you sacrifice the quick returns. Experiment and figure out what works for your market.

A BookBub promotion is a great example. Giving away free copies for a day or two can drive sales for weeks or months afterwards.

Resetting Your Mindset

You can recognize the scarcity mindset by the way it feels — a knot in your stomach, anxiety, tension, fear, or jealousy.

Whenever you feel it, take a breath and let it go. Choose abundance. If nothing else, it simply feels better.

Remind yourself that good ideas don’t get “used up” when they are shared. People buy your book because they like your ideas or stories, so spread them.

I read an essay by a nonfiction author — I forget which one — who operated on the theory that when the first 1,000 copies of his book were out in the world, it would start to take off. So he gave away the first 1,000 copies of his book.

Yep, he gave them away. (If you find and remember who this was, please let me know in the comments!)

I think of his story any time I feel the constriction of scarcity creep into my thinking.

You may not want to give away 1,000 books. Fair enough. But the idea of a critical mass is powerful. I saw it for myself, when my first book hit 1000 copies. Things started happening that I wasn’t instigating.

That’s the power of abundance.

Do you see the book publishing and promotion as a zero sum game? Are you fighting for your slice of the pie? Or are you willing to give freely and assume that things will rebound?

Ideas multiply when shared. Let yours out into the world.

You know what I’m going to here say, don’t you? If you like this, share it with others. I’m off to bake more pies.

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The Threat of Subscriptions as a Sales Ploy

Forecast: cloudy with a threat of subscriptions

“Get lifetime access now for only $xxx before it becomes a monthly subscription”

This was the message on the landing page for some software that I purchased a few months ago, and it made me stop and think.

This tactic is subscription marketing turned on its head.

In this case, the business owner was using the threat of a subscription to incentivize an immediate sale.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen this threat. It seems to be popular with entrepreneurs offering online services or digital content. In fact, let’s go ahead and define this as a regular tool in the “growth-hacking” arsenal:

Subscription threat (noun): The strategy of using the threat of an impending revenue model change to drive short-term, one-time sales.

Sometimes the subscription threat works. But it relies on a negative perception: that the subscription is a worse deal for the customer. And using the threat reinforces that perception.

The subscription threat feeds the negative perception of the subscription model.

Some people will respond to this threat, particularly if they are being forced to change the way they have always done something, or if they don’t have a long-term, sustained need for what you offer. Not everything is better as a subscription service!

But if you’re making the transition to a subscription model, consider how you present that option. Why would you want to position it as a raw deal for future customers?

Better Ways to Handle a Shift to Subscriptions

If customers are accustomed to buying your solution as a one-time purchase, then you certainly want to let them know ahead of time about the shifting business model. That’s only fair. But the way that you make this communication says a great deal about your long-term prospects as a subscription provider.

Here are a few better approaches, beyond the subscription threat.

Add value to the subscription.

Don’t just replace the current, one-time purchase with a subscription. Find ways to add value with the subscription, either with constantly-updated content, additional community capabilities, or other features.

Add exclusivity.

If this revenue shift happens early in the product’s lifecycle, you can offer one-time pricing to to your earliest customers, creating a kind of exclusive club. Now you’ve added value through access and exclusivity, rather than “burning” the subscribers who sign up later.

Follow through.

I just checked back: that software is still available for that one-time fee instead of a subscription. This makes me wonder if the subscription was an empty threat after all. This strategy certainly doesn’t build trust – and trust is a prerequisite for long-term subscription success.

Maybe I’ll send the proprietor a copy of Subscription Marketing.

The post The Threat of Subscriptions as a Sales Ploy appeared first on Anne Janzer.

The Threat of Subscriptions as a Marketing Ploy

Forecast: cloudy with a threat of subscriptions

“Get lifetime access now for only $xxx before it becomes a monthly subscription”

This was the message on the landing page for some software that I purchased a few months ago, and it made me stop and think.

This tactic is subscription marketing turned on its head.

In this case, the business owner was using the threat of a subscription to incentivize an immediate sale.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen this threat. It seems to be popular with entrepreneurs offering online services or digital content. In fact, let’s go ahead and define this as a regular tool in the “growth-hacking” arsenal:

Subscription threat (noun): The strategy of using the threat of an impending revenue model change to drive short-term, one-time sales.

Sometimes the subscription threat works. But it relies on a negative perception: that the subscription is a worse deal for the customer. And using the threat reinforces that perception.

The subscription threat feeds the negative perception of the subscription model.

Some people will respond to this threat, particularly if they are being forced to change the way they have always done something, or if they don’t have a long-term, sustained need for what you offer. Not everything is better as a subscription service!

But if you’re making the transition to a subscription model, consider how you present that option. Why would you want to position it as a raw deal for future customers?

Better Ways to Handle a Shift to Subscriptions

If customers are accustomed to buying your solution as a one-time purchase, then you certainly want to let them know ahead of time about the shifting business model. That’s only fair. But the way that you make this communication says a great deal about your long-term prospects as a subscription provider.

Here are a few better approaches, beyond the subscription threat.

Add value to the subscription.

Don’t just replace the current, one-time purchase with a subscription. Find ways to add value with the subscription, either with constantly-updated content, additional community capabilities, or other features.

Add exclusivity.

If this revenue shift happens early in the product’s lifecycle, you can offer one-time pricing to to your earliest customers, creating a kind of exclusive club. Now you’ve added value through access and exclusivity, rather than “burning” the subscribers who sign up later.

Follow through.

I just checked back: that software is still available for that one-time fee instead of a subscription. This makes me wonder if the subscription was an empty threat after all. This strategy certainly doesn’t build trust – and trust is a prerequisite for long-term subscription success.

Maybe I’ll send the proprietor a copy of Subscription Marketing.

 

 

 

The post The Threat of Subscriptions as a Marketing Ploy appeared first on Anne Janzer.