The Reasons Why you wrote your book or books discussion
PR experts define social media value
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I just wrote some about this in my blog earlier in the week about author 'judging how their work is received' and will be covering social media sites next week.
I wholeheartedly agree that word of mouth is more important.
http://allonbooks-thekingdomofallon.b...
I wholeheartedly agree that word of mouth is more important.
http://allonbooks-thekingdomofallon.b...
Shawn wrote: "I just wrote some about this in my blog earlier in the week about author 'judging how their work is received' and will be covering social media sites next week.I wholeheartedly agree that word of..."
Word of mouth, by itself, likely will fail. Statistically it is impossible for an author to directly talk to enough people during the immediate post-publication period to make a significant sales difference. I have a lengthy section in my book on how difficult in can be without synergy from other elements.
I didn't say word of mouth "only" - just that I believe it is more valuable than the rest of the social media combined. Statistically, more people throw out unwanted emails using spam filters or have pop-up ad blockers on sites like FaceBook, since too much becomes noise.
As far as an author talking directly to enough people, I believe it depends upon the appearances. Book signings are limited and the average author sells 7-11. But I mostly attend multi-day events and can speak to hundreds of people during that time. And when I visit schools, I can deal with up to 200 kids at a time. Example - I can sell 150 books at 3 events, which equals 6 days of work.
As far as an author talking directly to enough people, I believe it depends upon the appearances. Book signings are limited and the average author sells 7-11. But I mostly attend multi-day events and can speak to hundreds of people during that time. And when I visit schools, I can deal with up to 200 kids at a time. Example - I can sell 150 books at 3 events, which equals 6 days of work.
Okay, at least for the short haul it's working for you. That's what counts. There are no hard and fast rules in promotion, just as there aren't any in fiction writing. At long last I've bought and am reading Stephen King's book "On Writing. Meant to do it years ago and a lot of things got in the way, including severe ongoing breathing difficulties (COPD)coupled with some rather poor medical advice. With better doctors I'm now more able to resume a semi-normal(?)life.
Anyway, I was struck by the aptness of King's Second Forward (yes, he has three) In it he says: "This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit. Fiction writers, present company included, don't understand very much about what they do -- not why it works when it's good, not why it doesn't when it's bad. I figured the shorter the book, the less bullshit."
Somewhere deep inside me, I think that's why I kept my own book on self-promotion brief rather than looking like something penned by James Michener.
LOL -with King. I studied for years going through Donald Maass and Sol Stein's books and almost every other fiction editing guru you can name. To me, their Show Don't Tell benchmark would eliminate so many fantastic authors it's ridiculous.
Just like with promotion and marketing, there is success and good to be found in variety. One size fiction and/or marketing doesn't fit all. As long as both work for an author- great, don't change. Goes with the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
I've found events to be my best selling venue. And I write YA fantasy! One of the hottest selling genres, but the traditional methods weren't working as well.
Glad to hear you finally got good advice to improve your health.
Just like with promotion and marketing, there is success and good to be found in variety. One size fiction and/or marketing doesn't fit all. As long as both work for an author- great, don't change. Goes with the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
I've found events to be my best selling venue. And I write YA fantasy! One of the hottest selling genres, but the traditional methods weren't working as well.
Glad to hear you finally got good advice to improve your health.
“There’s no question that people's social media circles affect their actions. Still, marketers and PR pros shouldn’t ignore some of the tried-and-true methods.
“The main source for information about causes and social issues for Americans ages 18 to 29 is word of mouth from friends and family and TV programs, according to Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Ogilvy and Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication studied cause involvement.
“The resulting Dynamics of Cause Engagement study shows that younger people are more likely to get their information about social causes from social media sites, but family (48 percent), friends (46 percent), and television (45 percent) combined outweigh sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
“Perhaps most telling in the study: ‘Nearly two-thirds of Americans (62 percent) report that being told in person is the way they are typically informed of causes and social issues in which others want them to be involved.’”
People love to talk about the importance of social media, but this study points out that social media fails to reach some audiences. It also demonstrates that book publicity still needs to target specific audiences with informational rifle shots rather than scattered shotgun blasts. It also emphasizes the need to know the age range of potential book readers. For instance, it would be a waste of effort to blast social media about a book that is designed to be read by senior citizens. Conversely, concentrating on social media might be right on target in a books is for young adults or those in their 20s. It’s an old PR principle I learned decades ago, but apparently bears repeating. Hope it helps.
PR experts define social media value