Thoughts on Promotions
It's no secret that to sell a novel you must promote and market it. Every author has to do this no matter the route they've taken, but I want to talk about how Indie authors market because damn it, I want us to be better!
Here are the most notable indie author marketing strategies (specific to Twitter):
Spamming their profiles with links to their books on Amazon.
Spamming new followers with DMs about buying their books complete with a link.
Spamming shameless self promo tweets or writers lifts with links to their books.
Indies, hear me out before you decide to cuss me out for calling you out.
Let's start with scenario 3: Spamming shameless self promo tweets or writers lifts with links to their books.
On the surface, there's nothing wrong with this. The OP (original poster) asked for people to share their links and promote their novels. This becomes a problem when you have an eager beaver who decides the best way to promote their book is to reply to every tweet under the post with the link to their book. Yep. That really happened and the only thing that does for me, is make me not want to buy it. One response is enough, if you've pitched your book clearly enough you don't have to spam people to buy it.
Scenario 2: Spamming new followers with DMs about buying their books complete with a link.
For fucks sake, this one...Whew! I'd like to strangle the person who told Indies this is a good marketing strategy. This is an okay strategy if you already know the person you're DMing.
Do NOT slide into my DMs with a "Hey, hello - here's a link to my book. I'd love it if you'd buy it." Nope. Not going to happen because I don't know you. I've never engaged with you so why would I just randomly buy your book because you sent me a link?
Seriously, ask yourself how many times you've bought a book because someone did that to you?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say - 0 times. I'm sure someone will come to correct me and say they've bought a book like that, but let's be real and honest with ourselves...most of us don't appreciate unsolicited DMs asking us to buy things.
Scenario 1: Spamming their profiles with links to their books on Amazon.
This one makes me want to cry.
Before I decide to follow anyone I check their profile and it pains me when I see someone with endless links to their books on Amazon or wherever, complete with a thousand hashtags. *heavy sigh* How am I supposed to know what you - you as the author - are about or want to support you if all I know is that you promote your book every 2 minutes?
I cannot stress this enough, people will buy your books and support you because of YOU!!!
Okay, Eli, apparently you're the guru on marketing. So please, tell us how many books you've sold?
Fair enough. To date, I've sold: NONE
But I have 'sold' 50+ patron memberships and built a readership. I didn't do this by spamming their inboxes with pleas to become a patron or read my free work on Wattpad. I've managed to do this by being myself and letting my readers and patrons get to know me so they want to support my work. I'm also not saying that I know all the ins and outs of book marketing or that this strategy will work for everyone.
As a reader, I tend to buy books from Indie authors I feel connected to, the ones I've engaged with or follow on social media. That makes me feel good about supporting them and I'll be honest it takes time to build a rapport with people.
All I'm asking is that Indies take a step back and re-evaluate the way you market your books. Think of yourself as a reader and what compels you to buy a book. Work off of those feelings and then create a marketing plan around it.
Of course I wouldn't end this without a few tips I've gotten from my Indie friends:
Scenario 1: Spamming their profiles with links to their books on Amazon.
A good rule of thumb is to schedule promo tweets to post once a week. This gives you a chance to tweet about other things like life, your writing process, a funny meme - whatever and know you've got a standing promo that will go out to attract readers. You can schedule tweets on Tweet Deck or Hootsuite for free.
Scenario 2: Spamming new followers with DMs about buying their books complete with a link.
Just don't do this, unless you genuinely want to interact with someone without the guise of trying to push your book on them. They can see your profile and the links you've put there about your books. You don't need to be a salesperson like that.
Scenario 3: Spamming shameless self promo tweets or writers lifts with links to their books.
ONE tweet is enough.
I hope this article has shed some light and a little wisdom on marketing and promo on Twitter. As Indie Authors, we can do better and there's a reader for everyone. You just have to find your niche and let people see who you are as an author. It's not easy and I'll never pretend it is, but we're far more creative than using the spamming technique for marketing!
If you'd like more tips and to join a community of Indie Authors consider following @IndieMadHub on Twitter or check out the website www.indiemadhub.com
Happy Marketing and Good Luck!
- Eli