A marketer? No. THE marketer, along with Guy Kawasaki, I think these two guys are the best out there.
The Domino Project - Seth Godin
Those of you who have followed me for any length of time know that I am not the biggest fan of the way marketing is done by many of the so-called marketers out there. Especially the ones online and in social media. I monitor my Twitter and Facebook accounts carefully to limit, as best I can, how many and what types I allow. Early on, in my Twitter and Facebook life I allowed almost any of them because I thought quantity was good. Wrong. It took me a lot of hours, and still does, to delete accounts from following me. I've probably deleted several times more followers than most people have. It's definitely over ten thousand but that includes the weirdos and porn people too. I don't take my end of social media too seriously but I take it serious enough and you should too if you're going to do it. Just don't invest you identity to the point that you flex you creative soul from the ups and downs or trends in social media.
(I often wonder why more of the major authors don't engage fans in social media. I'm not saying hang out all day but I am saying I think they should connect. I'm convinced they could add a couple zeros on their sales figures and make a lot of people happy to be in direct contact with them too.)
The article at the end of this link brings up some good points. I want you to click on the John Mayer link too, although I think Mayer thinks he's a bigger star than he actually is, he brings up some very good points and I'm happy to see him going back to what made him such a gifted song writer and performer in the first place. He lost his way and he knew it AND he did it in front of the whole world in social media - on Twitter.
Seth gets to the point I think, with this article and this is something I must say, dawned on me awhile back and this is essentially the point: Work the writing. Don't detract too much from the writing and the development of the writing. I myself have been guilty of this and it's a pitfall that many thousands of writers are falling into at this very moment. You are NOT you're Twitter or Facebook identity, it is you, and if you intend to be a respected(whatever that really means....) and bestselling author then you need to be about the writing not the 'telling' people you're a writer. I mean by this that don't give it too much credence. You'll get a lot more famous a lot faster if you crank out a book that creates buzz and money than you will developing a huge following or doing a serious amount of hustling and ass kissing in and on social media or in the blog-o-sphere. Besides, and keep this in mind; many people will only, if ever, give you any thought or tweets or whatever if you can help them. Others will see your sincerity, if you actually have any, and reciprocate any and all effort you make on their behalf. And almost no one does that, un-selfishly anyway. That is the key to what social media activity you engage in, in my view. That's the deal out here in the jungle.
I have 2 Twitter accounts, 4 or 5 actually, but my two main ones started out as completely separate in terms of what I needed or wanted them for. Now the're pretty much close in content, I even use the same photo, which is a bad idea in some ways but I do have a lot of different friends on each. TWR will end up being the more technical or professional side of me and my writing while my DA Twitter page will be just me, Daniel. Yes, there is a difference. I help my friends and or people whose work I admire every single day. I've heard from a couple major author friends that my blogging, social media activity and reviews have actually influenced their sales noticeably.
In case you're wondering, I started blogging over 3 years ago in an industry where there was a need for good writing on issues that needed attention. Then a couple of years into that I went on radio. I have some background so, going into social media I brought a lot of people with me and found even more. It's simple but not easy. Any way you want to look at promotion or self promotion or branding(I hate this term) or whatever it means to you I will strongly caution you to think carefully about using dis-associative terms and tactics in trying to endear yourself to the world. If you're a writer then BE a writer who drops in to give a little support to other writers and your industry as a whole. Marketing expertise is not going to impress anyone, at least not anyone looking for literary superstars to read and enjoy, or say Hi too. Most of the marketers, the big ones, are making their money from selling books on marketing. Books they release in stages. Very few of them do anything else, with the exception of sidebar money streams connected to the "brand" they've built. Clever if you like that sort of thing. For me, being a creative writer appeals a lot more and that's the route I've taken. This is why, though I could have been, I am not a marketer. I don't even like sitting here at the computer, believe it or not.
I'm a writer, an artist, working on my craft who makes time for friends and other writers.
I recommend you read this article, click on all the outlinks and meet the people Seth hangs with. You'll get a really good insiders view of what makes the ENTIRE internet tick and as a writer you'll be able to determine the best route to take on "the writer's road." OK?
YOU can do this....
...you know where to find me......
LUVU
4 comments:
I heading over now to read the article, but I agree. I'd rather spend my time writing, but I know it's also important to connect.
It is Miranda. The more I network, the more I realize it's the writing that matters. I've been a blogger for awhile, though, now I'm not so much promoting my blog sites. Later on when I have a book out I will by re-launching an interactive .com site again. My point with directing people to Seth and Guy is that I want writers to understand network style marketing so they have a better picture of what goes on with in the publishing world. Both Seth and Guy have books out and how they market is a case study and relevant for authors. There's a dizzying amount of book reviewer sites, writing blogs, "how-to" blogs, book tour and other types of promo blog and website options, most of which give too little info. I'm also seeing an entire new crop of startups that will help authors promote their books. I think the co's that truly have expertise in the author promo areas will do the best if they have good insight and oversight of the hot spots to be seen. I could have written another 2,000 words on this, easily but I just wanted to convey some food for thought. My time is getting more and more compressed as I get through my first formal novel effort, while at the same time trying to get a short story formatted with cover art. If you're in a money crunch like me, then you know the stress this can cause when you know what you want and need to do but can't. I can tell you also this: These 'do-it-yourself' options often come across cheesy and amateurish, especially when it comes to cover art. I'm holding off on doing my own because of this. As I learn and develop more avenues for my work I will pass them onto my friends. To learn to understand marketing from an outside perspective was the point of this blog post.
Following ur blog, and will be coming back to read more posts as u share ur journey of writing with us (readers). Since u r going to publish your work soon, why not drop by my blog and read another writer's tale of getting published ?
Here is the link: http://komzreviews.blogspot.com/
Hi KTRG, I was on your site yesterday. I will be there today too looking over what great posts you have there! thanks for the comment.
Post a Comment