Why Paid Advertising Doesn’t Work
AUTHOR’S NOTE: There are follow-up posts to this one here and here.
As an author, if there’s one thing you should avoid, it’s paid advertising.
Well, truthfully, there are a lot of things you should avoid. But most of these things, authors seem to know they need to avoid. At least in theory. Like writing a bad book, or foregoing copy editing. Typos are bad. We know this. Plagiarizing someone else’s work, that’s bad, too. But what about, post-writing, post-production, actually selling your book? That’s where, for the most part, people seem to run into trouble.
The concept of paid advertising represents, in and of itself, a fundamental disconnect. If you show them the book, the reasoning goes, then they’ll want to buy the book. The disconnect lies in the complete absence of a logical tie-in between if and then. If X, then Y–but why? Why should knowing of the book’s existence have this effect on people? People pour a lot of money into advertising without any real sense of how it’s supposed to work. There’s a certain, “and then a miracle occurs” mentality, with the supposed “miracle” replacing logic. Nobody’s really sure how throwing money at the problem is supposed to sell a book, but there’s a general consensus that it does. Most of the “logic” here centers on justifying the decision to spend, rather than on rationally analyzing whether it’s a good one.
In real life, I’m a huge fan, both personally and professionally, of Peter Lynch. His investing philosophies are, of course, very well known and can be summed up in the nutshell statement of invest in what you know. Famously, the basis of his Magellan Fund was all products that his wife used. Living with her had taught him why no-run pantyhose were a thrilling invention, why Tampax was the superior tampon brand and what a wonder bra was and why anyone cared. Investing might be hard, and take a certain degree of specialized knowledge, but it’s also not magic. Behind the layers of financial calculus are concrete, rational principles that make sense. If, then. X, then Y.
What makes you, as a consumer, want to buy a book? If you haven’t personally bought a book, because an ad popped up in your Facebook newsfeed, then don’t sink money into a Facebook marketing campaign. If you aren’t personally already trolling the various “promote your book” services, looking purely for something to read, then don’t sink money into that, either. You, the consumer, are the single best determiner of what actually sells books–because you’ve been buying books your whole life.
Listen to yourself. Yes, every Tom, Dick and Larry seems to have some “sell more books now”-type gimmick, and they’re all hawking it at you. And yes, they’ll all tell you that this works! This produces great results! But, realistically, what are they doing to say? Give us your money, because we want iPads, too?
Recognize that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. People aren’t out to “sell your book” for altruism. If they were, then they’d be doing it for free. They’re trying to make a buck, just like you are. And if this service is really so great at connecting readers and books, then how come you’ve never heard of it purely as a reader? How come you’re not already using it? The temptation is to ignore these questions, because they tend to suggest that there might not be a simple way to ensure sales. Which, of course, there isn’t. And that’s a frightening prospect to new authors. Which is why it’s important, too, to understand that to some degree marketing is always going to be predatory. The point of marketing is to sell something; only in this case, a great many companies and individuals are taking advantage of your uncertainty by selling their products to you.
They’re tapped into what makes you tick. Just like all those Palace Pets ads are tapped into what makes the average Disney Junior viewer tick. Or how I always end up buying the same brand of (Gap) jeans, because they promise to reduce my butt. Or, indeed, how I ended up buying the TreadClimber. These products may work, or they may not, but their pitches all rely on the same principle. Still, common sense is how you end up with a TreadClimber instead of an Abtronic. The statement that “this will work” should never be taken as de facto proof of the advertiser’s claims. Again, what are they going to say?
When you want to sell a book, make like Peter Lynch and go with what you know.
Don’t engage in the same magical thinking that has led people to lose their shirts in the stock market, buying into the fantasy that there’s some “secret formula” for success that you just don’t understand. That’s snake oil. People are always selling snake oil. Recognize that risk is normal and healthy and a frightening, if also necessary, component of success. Anyone who promises to sell your book for you is like someone who promises a certain fixed rate of return: a liar. Your book may sell or it may not; no amount of advertising can fix the game or even the odds.
So what can you do?
You can do the same things that work for you, and on you, as a reader. You can offer a high quality product, at a reduced rate or for free (more on how to do this in the upcoming self publishing guide). You can wait patiently for reviews to come in. You can learn from those reviews. You can build a web presence, over time, relying on meaningful content rather than gimmicks. And you can, of course, keep writing.
None of the marketing tactics I outline on this blog, or in Self Publishing Is For Losers, require money. I don’t believe in paid advertising, because I don’t believe that it works. And, when Self Publishing Is For Losers is released, it’s going to be free for the first five days. So you won’t have to pay for that advice, either.
Why? Because I really am serious when I say that we writers should stick together. That there isn’t enough interest, broadly, among writers, in helping each other. We can be a parasitic bunch, operating on a scarcity rather than an abundance mentality. I don’t want to trick anyone into buying my books; and when it comes to my nonfiction, I really just want to share what I know. What’s going to make my books sell, or not sell, isn’t having access to some secret, specialized knowledge but writing a good book. And I am, first and foremost, a novelist; I want to make a living, because people genuinely like my stories.
I hope this information is helpful.
I know I have a lot of readers out there, but most of you rarely, if ever comment. Tell me: what topics would you like to see me cover? Either craft-related, or about my own books, or about my own life? What would you like to know more about? I’d love to hear your input.
