I recently received my first royalty statement. There was a category for TRADE SALES, CONSUMER SALES, and FOREIGN SALES. There was not a category for SOCIAL MEDIA SALES. This should not be interpreted to mean that there were NO sales because of my online presence, just that those sales are rather hard to quantify.
My recent post The Number One Marketing Hurdle: YOU received a decent share of retweets and positive reaction. And then this…
I guess I have a problem with this whole friend=customer or blog-follower=fiction fan type of marketing thing and it’s probably why I’m not good at it. I don’t buy that way and I have trouble seeing it from the perspective of people that do, which in turns makes it very hard to supply whatever it is I’m supposed to supply in order to attract those people. What did authors do before social media and blogs? Must have been nice.
The comment was left by author Caprice Hokstad, and you can read it in its entirety HERE. Caprice and I have discussed this issue before (online) and she makes some relevant points. Her comment was followed up by C.L. Dyck:
…social media alone is pretty ineffective in author marketing.
It acts as a replacement or substitute for interaction, and so is best as a bolstering tool in a range of others. Nothing replaces our natural instinct for face-to-face. And its blunt democracy–accessible to one and all–renders it a lower status tool. Social authority is still carried through traditional media.
Cat (who is the C. in C.L.) and I have also talked before. She’s a wonderful thinker and blogger. So before I start I want to make sure you understand this is not a personal attack on either of these commenters, but levied in the spirit of conversation.
Is social media really that effective in author marketing?
A couple of quick responses.
Cat and Caprice are right to question the social media phenomenon. There is a “bandwagon effect” in relation to social marketing that cannot be denied. New authors are jumping on board for the wrong reasons, with bloated expectations, without having counted the cost, and without a philosophical foundation for continued success. It is not wrong to approach this question critically and more authors would be better off if they did so.
However, it cannot be disputed that the publishing industry is changing so, it would translate, that an author’s approach should change also. Sorry, but authors who hedge against blogging and social networking remind me of those who decried electricity, the combustion engine, and air travel — they are living in a bygone era.
Using big name authors or famous authors of the past as a reason to forgo social media is misguided. “Does JK Rowling have a Facebook account?” Caprice asked. “C.S. Lewis never Tweeted.” This, to me, is like comparing Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds — it’s two different eras. Almost everything about the game has changed. Besides, there’s a certain “critical mass” that an author reaches where social media becomes a wash. Why should Rowling or King or Grisham or Meyers worry about Tweeting? Problem is, I don’t personally know any author that has reached that status. And in today’s market, if they do, my guess is that some form of social media will have played a part.
Using “computer illiteracy” as an excuse to not blog or Tweet is a cop-out.
Just because some authors abuse their platform doesn’t mean authors don’t need a platform. As Cat put it, “I’ve seen some very uncool behaviour from writers, mostly on Facebook.” I have too, Cat. Which is why I usually unFreind authors who just bombard me with reminders about their books. But saying that social media is largely ineffective because some authors don’t do it well is like saying that auto mechanics are worthless because mine gouges me.
Perhaps the issue was better summarized by Katherine Coble in her comment:
“My favourite authors of late are also the ones who have the most genuine-seeming web presence. Patrick Rothfuss’ blog reads like that of a buddy you could’ve had in college. George RR Martin’s is like the guy you want to hang out with at a party.
…I guess the short version is: don’t be pushy with sales and don’t be arrogant about your job. “
I know for a fact that some people have purchased my book because they stumbled upon my online presence. However, that “stumbling” was the result of a very intentional effort on my part to have an active online presence. Furthermore, both Cat and Caprice have only heard about Mike Duran because he has got himself out there and worked hard to do so. In fact, you are reading this because of that.
That wasn’t too pushy or too arrogant, was it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Is social media really THAT effective in author marketing?
Testify. No way I would have ever even known to seek out The Resurrection if I hadn’t “met” its dashing, crafty author years before…online.
Reasons why:
1) I wouldn’t have found it in the very narrow fiction subsection in the bookstore I frequent.
2) I wouldn’t have found it in my Amazon searches: “religious horror” or whatever it is classified under doesn’t, as a general rule, trip my search triggers.
3) It was launched during an incredibly busy (like, life-altering busy) time in my life. Because I “knew” Mike, he had the “pre-busy” reach to remind me. Resurrection was the only book I purchased between January and April of that year, light years below my average. (For example, in the following May, I bought at least a dozen.) My life would have prevented the “traditional” crossing of paths, at least until much later.
That’s just three reasons off the top my head authors ought to build direct connections to potential end-users: availability, awareness, and reach.
Also, its just a sound business practice to pay homage in public to Cthulhu.
Definitely effective. Off the top of my head, I’ve read (and bought) books by at least six authors thanks to “meeting” them through social media, and just yesterday got a book from Amazon after the author responded to one of my tweets to him.
On the flip side, though, there are at least three authors I’ll never read, one because she flipped out on her blog about fanfiction, one because responding to a comment I made (on an off-topic forum) she told me to “get a hobby”–when we were both talking about a hobby we shared–and one because she said two of her least favorite songs in the world were [insert two songs by my absolute favorite author]. I’ll grant, that last one is petty, but still.
I’ve found several authors I like due to their online presence. Some I found due to their agent‘s online presence. (There’s one blogging agent whose authors I look up whenever I’m in the mood; I’ve not been disappointed by one, yet, even when the book’s outside of my usual genre.)
Most of that “finding” has been due to their blogs, but Twitter’s still new. I’ve only been using Twitter for a few months, and I’ve found some authors I like that way, too—but for me, Twitter seems to work best to market the blog which then leads me to the blogger’s book, if that makes sense.
Misti, interesting point about finding authors through blogging agents. I know some dispute whether having an agent really matters, much less having an agent who blogs.
I second xdpaul. I know of you because of your online presence. That’s how I know of any new author these days.
I understand the hesitancy of some. I admit I’d rather be writing than social media-ing. However, it’s not a matter of whether I ‘want’ to blog, or ‘want’ to have an online presence. For me, there’s no philosophizing required. The online presence is a job requirement. Like it or not.
People behave online the way the behave in life — pushy, obnoxious people in real life are push and obnoxious online and intelligent, respectful people in real life… well, you get my point.
I Tweet and have a Facebook page but am not sure if either of them make much difference in selling books. I do know that Goodreads and Amazon Discussion groups have sold a lot of books for me. It’s all a mystery why people buy books the way they do but when I encounter the pushy, over-bearing ones I just block them – problem solved.
I’m not an author – yet. I’m working on my first novel now but still operate a blog and am active on Facebook, Twitter, and G+. I do it now as an easy way to keep up with the writing community, other beginning authors, and people who gratefully lend their support and encouragement to those of us just starting. I don’t consider it a job “requirement” as much as something that I enjoy doing that has the added benefit of being a platform for promoting whatever results from my daily struggles. I think that the blogs that are essentially just the personality of the author are more enjoyable and the reader is interested in their books because of them and their material.
The online presence is making authors more public faces and I think that is uncomfortable for some people. Your personality will be held against you now, where who you were didn’t really matter as much before. People buy the author as much as the book these days. There are lots of authors that I read merely because I followed their writing online and said “this sounds like a fun person, I’ll see if that transfers to the book.” There are also some books I’ve been interested in and visited the author’s online presence (which I do for everything I buy) and decided that it wasn’t for me because he sounded boring or like someone I wouldn’t enjoy meeting so I decided I probably wouldn’t enjoy meeting his characters either. This is the world now – for better or worse.
JD, great point about social media transforming how we percieve authors… for better or worse. What an author was like just didn’t used to matter as much as it does now. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you, thank you for addressing this issue. Too often an author’s use of social media looks like an Amway sales pitch–an attempt to push a product on friends. We need a lot more discussion about effective ways to do it without annoying everyone we know.
Another question that needs an answer: how do I most effectively use time on social media? I think we’ve all discovered what an enormous time-sucker it can be. If you’re trying to hold down a job, write a book and care for a family, you have to maximize those online minutes.
But here’s a spark of hope–I follow this blog not because I know the author but because his writing is excellent. That’s a great start.
Mike, I found out about your work when I joined the CSFF blogtour. I suddenly found this huge online presence of authors of speculative fiction and now I follow your blog, and several others religiously. I would never have found you if not for social media.
Now, having said that, after I became a Realms author, I discovered you and several authors through my association with Realms. But, I found you and Greg Mitchell and Mike Dellosso through CSFF blog tour and the authors’ blogs first.
I agree with other comments. A blog shouldn’t be about pushing your book. I follow blogs by authors who are interesting as themselves. I love the issues and ideas you bring up. Social media for me is more than a marketing tool, it is SOCIAL — a connection and network among authors and readers who like the same kind of writing!
Keep it up!
One of the reasons I used Rowling and Lewis is that they are/were recognizable names by most people. But you want smaller, more obscure names? Okay. Here goes.
Has anyone heard of Michael W. Davis? I haven’t. I haven’t read his books. But I did read one blog entry I found fascinating. You see, he didn’t just blindly accept what the gurus said. He did the research and collected data to try to find out what really works for him: http://1stturningpoint.com/?p=5036 . Blogging is tenth in his list of benefit-to-reward and social media (facebook, twitter) is 17th. Loved that article. Did not “friend” Mr. Davis on facebook, buy his book, or “follow” his blog.
Or let’s take Mitchell Bonds. A few here may have heard of him, but he’s no Rawling. I bought his first book (Hero Second Class) when Marcher Lord Press started out. Had never heard of him at the time. I bought the book because of the premise and the excerpts posted on the MLP website. Loved the book. But did I seek him out on Facebook to “friend” him or “like” his fanpage? No. Did I look to see if he has a blog? No. I intend to buy his second book and to read it, but I don’t really care whether he blogs. Does he like cats? Does he advocate left-wing politics? Don’t know. Don’t care. It’s irrelevant to me.
I would never tell another author not to have facebook or a blog, especially if you can do it well, like Mike does. BUT, that if you have to spend inordinate amounts of time coming up with blog posts, then you’ve taken time away from another, potentially more productive effort, that could have worked just as well or possibly even better for you. As yet, no one has proven to me that online presence activities are an absolute necessity. Helpful maybe, but I’m not even convinced they are as beneficial as most have touted.
Last point: I love you, Mike. I often read your blog. I like reponding here because I feel like you respect everyone’s opinion. But guess what? I haven’t bought your book and I probably won’t. And it isn’t because it’s CBA, although as a rule, I tend to shy away from them because they have so often disappointed me. I’m just not interested in your book and no amount of healthy debate on marketing (even if you lifted me up to genius stature) would convince me that your book was my cup of tea.
So now have you failed? You’ve told me that you enjoy blogging, so I would guess not. But if one is only blogging to appease one’s publisher, because the marketing gurus have said it’s absolutely necessary to do in order to sell any books and THAT was the only reason or the main reason you did it, then yes, it would be a failure, no?
There have to be others out there like me, who buy their fiction based on the BOOKS, not the author’s blogs or social media. I identify with that kind of buying behavior and can understand it. And those who do not behave like me, I am trying, really trying to understand you, but you’re foreign. I guess the first step is accepting that people do this even though it doesn’t make sense to me.
So what am I accepting? Some readers (someone please gather data on this to see how many) desire some kind of connection to authors outside of their books and this desire heavily influences what books they buy. Have I stated this correctly? Can anyone add to that?
Thanks, Mike, for the mention.
If a business person divides his end-user market into segments, you would most certainly fall into a “bucket” of targets that are at the opposite end of the bucket made up of individuals who actively seek authors through social media.
You are missing a bucket, the one I’m standing in. I read weird fiction, I seek weird fiction, and Mike’s book is in the wheelhouse.
BUT, I never would have heard of the Resurrection without his site. Same way that I wouldn’t have found a ton of favorites in the last decade: Summa Elvetica, Demon, Kingmaker, Black Gate, and so on. Because weird books are weird, they sometimes get wedged in markets that would otherwise pass me by. I think when I first tracked down Demon (a horror book) it was in the Inspirational Section. When I came across Kingmaker, a fantasy retelling of King Arthur, it was in the urban contemporary section/literary section at B&N!
If these authors didn’t have an online presence, I would have never found the books that I wanted to read.
I’d argue that in addition to the bucket you don’t understand, you are also overlooking the bucket that you didn’t even mention!
Caprice, thanks for joining the conversation. And for the link. It’s a terrific article that every author should read. I’m not sure how much of the author’s findings are viable for one reason — so many of them involve some form of social media. Number one was awards and AFTER he spread the news through his social media circles, sales went through the roof. So was it the Award or the Network that resulted in sales? Or both?
There’s probably lots of authors who are exceptions, or who can tout one method over another. I’m just not sure, in this market, that aspiring authors can compete without a part of their platform involving social media. Perhaps blogging is not for everyone, you’re right. But even if you don’t buy my books, I haven’t failed. Expressing myself, connecting with others, making folks think, and growing in the craft is far more important to me, right now, than winning awards and becoming a best-seller. Call me idealistic, but this conversation is evidence that something in there is working. Blessings, Caprice!
The only thing I don’t like about social media is the extra focus on image. I’ve seen one too many Christian authors with straight, white teeth, the right haircut, the professional photos, and the right balance in their blogs of bland humor and feel-good Christianity. Authors become a physical marketing package like actors or models. And I know it’s always been this way, but now it’s this way to an extreme–when authors, themselves, become the brand. This will necessarily change the style of American literature because the type of person who is good at image is a different kind of writer.
Caprice, I don’t think anyone who believes social networking is the way an author should go is discounting the need for quality work. Or do they believe that every author who blogs will find a buyer for their books in each of their visitors.
The truth we know, however, is that no one will buy a product they haven’t heard of.
Social media has replaced a lot of the face-to-face buzz we used to rely on — church socials, potlucks, coffee klatches, water-cooler conversation, and so on. As the publishing industry stands, a lot of the “getting the conversation going” is up to the author.
I personally think social media is a huge boon. Not so long ago, the only way an author in California could find a readership in Indiana was to go to Indiana, speak, and sign books. Now it’s possible to find readers anywhere in the world without leaving home. Who wouldn’t want to tap into that?
Besides, blogging or Tweeting or Facebooking (we need a better verb for that) gives a writer an opportunity to impact others in ways their books may never be able to. For one, as you pointed out, not just book buyers are reading what Mike writes in his blog articles. I think it’s a fair assumption that the same is true about his Facebook updates, which can generate some lively discussion. Consequently, in the writing he is “giving away” he’s having an influence on people.
As a result, they may not buy his book themselves if his genre is not to their liking, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t think of him and/or recommend him whenever they talk to someone else who likes the kind of story he writes.
That’s the thing that is unmeasurable about social media — how many people buy books based on the recommendations of someone who has had an online interaction with the author.
Becky
With the move in the coming years to more ebooks, and the increased importance to social media for getting the word out, I do think it is important to have some type of online presence. The primary point is to get your name out there. Sure, not everyone who reads your blog is going to buy your book. But many will. And I will admit the way I know about Mike Duran is because someone on Facebook posted a link here, and I checked it out, liked what I read, and subscribed via RSS feed. There are also several author’s blogs I follow, and to tell the truth, so far, there is only one of them I’ve bought any of their stuff. And that was some books on writing.
I’ll confess, when I started my blog several years ago, I primarily thought of it as a way to tell everyone what was going on with my books and shorts stories. Over a period of time, I learned that it can’t be just that, and I try to write some interesting articles as well. But I break several of the blogging rules Michael Hyatt listed on his blog one time, including: I don’t usually put up a picture with the blog, they are often too long, and I don’t post as often and regularly enough as I should (I try to do once a week, but life gets in the way of that often). But I do try to put up articles of general interest, often to writers themselves, and I think that has helped.
My problem is I’m not naturally a social guy. When I first signed onto Twitter, I just couldn’t wrap my head around why anyone would care what I’m eating, what my kids are doing at the moment, when I go to the bathroom…stuff like that. I did post once, “I’m sitting in my office” just for the fun of it. But I don’t even tell my wife all that info, why would total strangers want to know that? Maybe a thief might be interested in when I’ve leaving the house.
So like someone has said, I tend to use Twitter mostly to notify folks of my blog post and some publishing news if I have any. And I know I don’t utilize Facebook as I should. Like Twitter, I rarely can think of things to post status wise. So mostly my “socializing” is limited to responding to things my friends have posted. So I’m hoping that offsets the feeling of I’m just posting about my books all the time. Though obviously I can’t respond to everyone on the friends list, so I’m sure some of them feel that way. So I really should break out of my normal personality and post some interesting content on occasion…but then I feel it will be obvious I’m forcing it. That I’m like the guy on a date who just says something because he’s expected to say something, not because he has something to say, and so sounds all awkward. lol.
But I think the effort is worth it, and I do enjoy coming up with interesting blog post. I guess that’s why I signed on to do regular monthly columns at Grasping for the Wind.
Oh, I should note, a good percent of my books (exactly how much, I don’t know) are sold to people I have an online relationship with and have never met in person face-to-face. I know as a writer that I’m much further along today because of the social contacts I’ve made on line than I ever would have been without it. I doubt I would even be thinking about writing much today if not for the online friendships and contacts I’ve developed over the past six years.
When I started blogging all I had was a complete manuscript (that needed lots of editing, but I didn’t know that back then….) and I felt like I was really putting the cart before the horse. I thought author blogs were for authors, not aspiring authors, but I wanted to “practice.” I put up a sample chapter on that blog and links to short stories as I sold them–and lo and behold, I began to get a following. People sought out my blog because of my writing, so I was glad to have had it in place.
As for things like Facebook, I resisted strongly at first. But it has been a venue for me to make some serious writing contacts. Without my blog and FB, I would not have found authors to endorse my book. I would not have landed a spot on the New Authors’ Fellowship blog. I would not have found the critique partners I have who have helped to make my novel shine.
But that’s not book sales. This is–> The other day when I posted on FB that the Kindle version of my novel released early, several people immediately headed over to download it. These are people whom I know, and would *maybe* have bought my book anyway…if they had known about it. They knew about it because I post about my writing on FB. I’m NOT going to send emails to people, updating them on everything, like some new mom who sends photos of the baby every week to all the distant relatives. FB lets people know what you’re doing on their terms–so long as you are not being one of those pushy, look-at-me authors who do nothing but post about their books. But if you are open about it, and are yourself on there, people get excited about your writing right along with you.
That said, I don’t see how I could *rely* on FB and blogging to glean sales. I’m going to have to do about 1,000 other things along with them. But what I DO think FB and blogging do is give a meeting ground for the author and readers. I have found books I love and sought out the author’s blog so I can know when their *next* book comes out–and in the meantime I come to really get to know and like the author, or maybe find their blog entertaining or informative. Maybe because I love *their* writing, when they blog about books they love I go hunt down those books. There are a lot of reasons to blog and follow blogs.
I think the biggest key is to not treat your FB page and blog as a constant billboard for *your book*–but rather think of it as a place where people can find *you* and your writing. This is especially true for small press authors whose books are most likely not on physical bookshelves.
After reading Ms Hokstad’s explanation, I would say that I agree with her, though I read the comments because I agree with Mike. While I am a writer, not a published author, I anticipate the day when I am able to become the later because as a part of what I do as the former I was able to gather a social media following. The main reason I have this feeling is from following some authors, agents, and especially Michal Hyatt. When I started following him he was the Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson.
Do I expect to sell book because of my Twitter and blog presence? Some. Will I be the next Rowling or Lewis because of my tweets? No. My social media presence is to get my foot in the door, then it will be to stay connected with my audience. Have I bought books because of blogs I follow, Twitter followers or Facebook friends? Heck yeah! I have also added many to my Amazon Wish List (I didn’t even HAVE an Amazon Wish List until I started following blogs).
Three of the five authors that most heavily influenced me are dead, despite having been alive for a majority of my life. One (Douglas Adams) would be in the absolute center of social media if he were alive. Another (James Michener) would probably not. I follow one author who’s social media presence is turning me off of following him in Twitter and Facebook, but I have read everything he has published and will continue. Like it or not, social media is becoming a part of the publishing and book marketing world.
As for Mike, I stumbled upon him in a different blog he guest posted in, read a few of his posts and said, this is a guy I want to keep up with. Without social media, I wouldn’t have found him at all.
One question I had was what you meant by the statement about the “bandwagon effect”. In particular, when you say “New authors are jumping on board for the wrong reasons, with bloated expectations, without having counted the cost, and without a philosophical foundation for continued success.” Can you explain that a little better, please?
Jonathan, I think many aspiring authors approach the business in a formulaic fashion. You know, Ten Steps to Publishing, 90 Days to Write a Novel, Three Keys to Building a Platform. It’s dangerous because there really isn’t a silver bullet to literary success… especially if “success” is measured simply in terms of financial remuneration. I think social media has become one of those “keys” that we throw out there as necessary to a writer’s career. So what you have is a “bandwagon effect,” a whole bunch of writers doing the same thing (FBing, Tweeting, Blogging, etc.) w/out having counted the cost and/or overestimating the return of their investment. So in this I think Cat and Caprice are right to be suspicious.
Ah! Well, I am one of those bandwagoners, BUT just last week I came to the conclusion that the importance of social media and blogging is much less than writing good content and pushing too hard to do the former has eliminated some of the later. As a result I have scaled back my online presence greatly in the last week and am pushing forward with my work in progress to make it a finished draft.
I would say where was this post last month, but I haven’t been following you that long, so it all has great timing for me. One thing that I have noticed is that despite the fact that everyone has their own agenda as well as outlook on things, there does seem to be common threads running through the blogs and social media. I decided to scale back and you decided to blog about it. You have the advantage of having achieved publishing, and want that to happen again while I am striving for the first publishing. Our levels of presence should be different, and I think that’s a bit of what your describing: not letting your online presence overwhelm your written presence.
“Furthermore, both Cat and Caprice have only heard about Mike Duran because he has got himself out there and worked hard to do so. In fact, you are reading this because of that.”
I absolutely agree, Mike. However, I haven’t bought your books, and your blogging, tweeting and Facebooking hasn’t convinced me to. (Man, that sounds harsh in text…let me elaborate before anyone pulls out a noose and goes looking for a handy tree limb.)
Not that I don’t believe in social media. I believe in the *effective* use of social media, and that means the intersection of online efforts with real-life things.
Like books, whether print or digital. Like face-to-face appearances such as public speaking. Like having a presence in other media, rather than strictly in self-generated or citizen media. I have heard often in CBA circles that we must have an online presence *before* we ever publish. From the general market, I hear that an online platform (for most of us debut plebians who don’t make national news, that is) that there’s little point until there’s a concrete product with which to co-ordinate it.
So as not to misconstrue Mr. Shelton to the public, whom I mentioned in my other comment, he was very clear that the digital revolution means *expanded* opportunities for authors, not wasted time. It. Helps.
And I fully believe that. I was offered the contract for my literary nonfiction book (coming from Port Yonder Press, 2012) on the basis of my blogging. The offer came via a Facebook message to the effect of: “So, do you think we might consider a book based on your creative nonfiction essays at your blog?”
Additionally, I’ve picked up paying editorial clients from Facebook, and do business internationally with both individuals and indie publishers as an editing contractor through–of course–digital communications. No question, I could not live out in the backwoods of rural Manitoba, Canada, and be a fulltime homemaker/homeschooling parent, and run a literary small business if this weren’t the internet age.
My take on social media comes from regularly reading stuff like this:
http://brandsavant.com/the-uneasy-relationship-between-twitter-and-social-media-measurement/
And this:
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2011/06/best-and-worst-writing-advice-i-ever.html
I try to follow these trends and figure out what actually works and what doesn’t, because I’m already deeply conscious of the burnout potential that so many authors are courting as they manage their own PR and marketing efforts to their maximum ability. It is a hard, hard haul. I want to know what’s actually going to work and kill myself for *that,* not guesswork or fad theories.
The answer Mr. Shelton gave amounts to a wise combination of PR opportunities. It’s the same answer I repeatedly read from PR blogger Dave Fleet (http://davefleet.com): we have to think in terms of goals, strategies and tactics…with a sound sense of their hierarchical interaction and their cause-and-effect relationships. Social media can be strategic…or just a tactic. Without a holistic marketing perspective, wheels spin and we risk falling prey to an excessive focus on a relatively small ROI. (Maybe 4% of total sales…zowee, and how much of our marketing time is budgeted for social?)
Here again, I’m going to be horrifically blunt: What would convince me to buy your books? Uh, well, hmm. I haven’t hit must-read-critical-mass yet in this instance, but I do pay attention to what makes me tick as a reader as part of trying to learn how people navigate this new world. A sample chapter is the strongest influencer for me.
Those usually show up…online. 🙂
I hope this contributes something of substance to the discussion and clarifies my earlier remarks. Always a pleasure engaging with you, Mike. I love these kinds of conversations. 🙂
Terrific links, Cat! But I’m still not sure this is an argument against using social media (not that that’s the argument you’re making), but for being wise, discriminating in how you use it. Once again, I find it ironic that you link to three online articles to make your case. I’m assuming that those online articles are potentially a “selling point” were one of those authors to market a product of theirs (whether online or off) that landed in your wheelhouse.
And to be clear (since you used my book as an example), what would convince you to buy The Resurrection? It must reach “critical mass”? I’m not sure what that means. And do you use that buying criteria for all your books? Or is the unavailability of a “sample chapter” keeping you from the purchase? (Because Amazon DOES provide a sample chapter.) Just wondering… and seeking clarity.
Once again, thanks so much for joining this discussion, Cat. Grace to you!
Even more ironic Mike is the fact that the link at Kill Zone is for Michelle Grogan. When you click her name at Kill Zone (a blog is social media BTW) you are led to her web site. The first paragraph on her Contact page is this:
michelle@michellegagnon.com
Michelle’s self-worth is inextricably tied to the number of friends she has on social networking sites. Humor her with an “add” at:
Myspace
Facebook
Linkedin
RedRoom
Shelfari
Goodreads
Twitter
“I’m still not sure this is an argument against using social media (not that that’s the argument you’re making), but for being wise, discriminating in how you use it.”
Exactly my feeling. The keyword in my original comment on your first post, which you quoted in this post, would be “alone.” In part, I work with Christian SF. Not a highly published genre compared to other choices within the CBA. That means small pubbing, and plenty of self-pubbing, among the people I’ve encountered over the last 7 years. I have seen writers try to sell books using social media alone. I’ve heard their sales numbers using that approach. Now that’s a recipe for burnout and discouragement.
So, just to be clear for those reading through the comments, “authors who hedge against blogging and social networking remind me of those who decried electricity, the combustion engine, and air travel — they are living in a bygone era” does not characterize my personal position accurately. (Nor has Mike claimed it does, he’s just used my remarks as a springboard.)
I started playing with code when I was 5 years old. For huge numbers of North Americans my age and younger, there is no such thing as a non-digital world. What I advocate is that authors hedge in *favour* of *all possible* PR forms and outreach opportunites, without relying excessively on one tactic or strategy.
“what would convince you to buy The Resurrection? It must reach “critical mass”? I’m not sure what that means.”
It means I haven’t hit a tipping point where my interest outweighs my skepticism. 🙂
I’m not quite your target demographic. As a reader, I’m a sci-fi and general speculative person. Somewhat less a fantasy and genre-mashup person. Experience tells me I don’t generally enjoy supernatural fiction, neither general-market nor CBA, so I’m a hard sell for you. I’ve learned to my chagrin that writers who are friends, whose writing abilities I love and am in awe of…I still may really, really fail to click with their supernatural concept. I hate when my personal preferences interfere with the things I enjoy about another writer.
What it amounts to is, the story concept that the marketing copy expresses didn’t draw me to seek out a writing sample. Kind of the opposite. {wince} Sorry, man. It’s just one individual’s personal tastes. In this case, knowing you as a person and a blogger inclines me not to tangle myself up with your career as a novelist.
I feel like we’ve fallen through the page into Green Eggs and Ham, here. 🙂 I can see it coming: “Say! Do you know what, Sam? I really do like books by Mr. Mike Duran!”
Couple of points:
There’s a difference between social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and online presence (website, blog). Social media is interactive and IMHO, consists of being in a large party where everyone is shouting to get everyone else’s attention, most often with tripe. I have to admit, I am involved in the social media party, but it’s not satisfying to me overall, and I waste too much time scanning people’s Bible quote, saint quote, funny joke and the ever-pervasive urban myth or “awareness message.”
I’ve seen a few folks who say they bought Mike’s books because they met him in a group. I agree that groups are good. I’m a member of several, though lately, many of them have just become depositories for “I’m blogging about” or “My new book is out.” I go to these groups less and less because I don’t have time to wade through everything, even to scan posts.
I’ve been doing the facebook/twitter/blog/yahoo group thing for years. I’m actually not confident that my time has resulted in more than a handful of sales more than if I’d devoted the energy to other things? I have a thousand followers–a handful of which I know well, a score of so I know well enough to place, another score or two whose names I know from other groups I’ve been in. The rest friend-requested me, and while I hope it’s for my writing, I’ve never gotten anything from them–except for the obviously foreign guys who seem to want to practice their English by IMing with me and the few who send me notices about their books or put me in their groups.
I’m not ready to bow out of the social marketing party, but I am doubting its effectiveness, for me, at least. The question is, what will work better?
Maybe I’m missing something, but “social media” has been taking place since people got close enough to wave flags at each other.
If you’re talking about “electronic social media” that started with SOS.
The question, “Is social media really THAT effective in author marketing?” should be an obvious “yes” — but not for the reason most of the people here are taking it to mean.
In my opinion, a book — any piece of writing in fact, whether scribed on sheepskin or wedged in cuneiform on soft clay tablets 10,000 years ago — IS social media. Libraries are virtual hotbeds of social media and can also operate when batteries run dry and the power goes out.
Faceplant, Google +, Twitter, email and blogging are extensions of something that started long ago. I have NEVER met Frank Herbert. There’s absolutely no chance of me ever meeting him now because he died in 1986. But I can learn all about him by reading his books, by reading his biographies and by accessing interviews with him made by people I’ve never met (conveniently posted online).
The question might be better asked, “Is microelectronic/computer/cell phone/ipad-style hardware coupled with television/satellite/fiber optics using fanatically updated software-using social media really THAT effective in author marketing?”
And in answer to that question, I might be able to say, “So, what else is new?”
Since Cat and I communicate a fair amount and Caprice and I have recently met I feel qualified to jump in here. Caprice and I had an interesting discussion that began on Facebook (social media). Minutes after Caprice shared her doubts about having a blog (social media), I offered to review her books on the three sites I review for (social media). She then emailed me her books which I had never heard of until I joined Mike’s conversation on Facebook (social media). You get the picture. Social media is just a tool. No different than sending a post card, making a phone call, or hiring a skywriter.
As for me, my agent is the direct result of relationships that were formed with people through channels of social media. So I guess, like the whole secular vs Christian argument I say to each his own. If it doesn’t work for your, fine. If it works for others, great.
Well, Tim, in a way, you’ve kind of made a point for me. There’s been a lot of interaction there, but so far, I have yet to SELL a book! I gave you a review copy free of charge. I don’t know how popular your review blogs are, but in the past I have given away LOTS of review copies that resulted in some nebulous “exposure” but not really sales. So the question still remains: was all that social media networking you mentioned effective for *marketing*?
I’m glad I met you and I welcome the exposure, don’t get me wrong. The title of this article was: Is Social Media Really THAT Effective in Author Marketing? The jury is still out. I hope it helps.
Wow Caprice, you are one of those hard sells I would have hated to meet back in the day when I was trying to feed my family making cold calls as a salesman. I’ve had your books two days and you think I proved your point. 🙂
“Marketing” doesn’t sell anything, whatever form it takes. It does just what you said, exposes. The sales part is much more long term. When we interview the big guns so to speak like Joseph Finder, Nicholas Sparks, Jeff Shaara, and Ted Dekker at Fiction Addict their publishers often provide books to give away. So why is Ted Dekker giving away books and trips to Rome when he is already a NYT bestseller? Because marketing is about a long-term view.
My question is simple. How would I ever have even have known about you without some channel to make you known to me? Traditional publishers aren’t helping anyone but the mega names anymore. Whether we use social media, do book signings at the mall, or sell our self-published novel at flea markets (i.e. John Grisham’s Time to Kill) there still has to be some way to expand our reach beyond ourselves. That takes time, trying a number of different methods, and of course providing a product that the end user will want to tell others about.
Mike will never see a category on his royalty report labeled “sold because Tim George reviewed The Resurrection through social media.” But I can name four people right now that bought it because I recommended it. Three of the four only know me through social media. Now what happens once they read Mike is up to him. They have to want to read more by him.
End of my sales talk now. Maybe I’m just one of the geeks who always has to try out whatever is new and shiny.
Funny you would mention Ted Dekker, his online presence is so great that it is actually driving me away from his online presence. Not his books mind you, just his online presence. Oh I still succumbed to the “buy an advance copy get an ebook” hype, but I don’t read all his twitter and Facebook posts. Kevin Kaiser did them for him for awhile. I like Kevin, I met him and had a few email conversations with him, but I wanted Ted, not Kevin. Now it appears Ted is doing his own, and he may be, but they are all so linked that it seems impersonal to me.
So in his case, no, social media neither enticed me nor is keeping me. But likewise, while social media is driving me away from his social media, it has no affect on my desire to buy his books.
I guess it seems hit or miss effective to me after following this thread.
Dekker is a rock star, no way around that. He also appeals greatly to the Digital Native generation more than other authors. Probably accounts for why they aren’t turned off my what, I agree, seems like overkill to me.
Tim, I think maybe a good deal of our disagreement boils down to the definition of “effective marketing”. What is effective and what is marketing? To me, those terms are indeed about sales. Now I don’t think money is necessary for “success”. If I could boast a million READERS without having sold a single book (and no, my fanfiction isn’t quite THAT popular) then I would feel it is successful, and I’d be happy, but still broke. Marketing and sales and money, however, to me, are inextricably tied together.
I see what you’re saying. I recognize the importance of getting oneself “out there” as part of the process and you have an excellent point about never knowing, in the end, just which specific trigger resulted in the end sale. And I don’t want to discount what results may indeed follow your review(s). But I have been participating in various social media for several YEARS (starting when I self-published) and having big friend lists full of movers and shakers that I really don’t know beyond their names, keeping the book announcements minimal yet still accessible, engaging in conversations, and doing all the things that the gurus have insisted would help me sell books has only made me feel like I’m spinning my wheels and talking to a near-empty meeting hall.
And having just met you, Tim, it’s unfair to lump you in with the past, and I apologize for that. All I have to go on is the past, and my past experience with these things has been less than stellar. Of course, the case could be made that maybe my books just suck and I can’t answer that. The vast majority of reviews have been positive, just haven’t resulted in increased sales. I don’t know what the future holds. I can only hope and pray and wish that it would get better because it’s no longer just me. It’s my publisher who’s putting in time, money, and her reputation on the line. She deserves a return on her investment. I want to sell books as much for her as for myself.
Not sure we are even disagreeing. You are speaking from your own experience. I am speaking from mine. I do make much of my freelance living writing for and consulting with companies that have spent major resources on social media. What I have learned from them is that social media is very much still in its infancy. Like anything there’s a lot of trial and error going one out there.
What you have discovered is that there is a lot of difference in a social media follower and evangelist. Learning how to turn that large pool of followers into evangelists is the key. Some are managing that well, some are not.
And here I finally made a Facebook page… *sheesh*
Not a basket to put all my eggs in, but I figured it’s another venue to get my work out in front of people.
I doubt there’s a single ‘knock-out punch’ that will catapult someone’s novel in the the sales stratosphere. (Oprah, mebee?) Success only comes before Work in the dictionary.
I, too, have struggled with the online marketing thing. However, I do keep trying.
It seems inevitable that social media play a significant role in author marketing, which is a double edged sword for me. I’m pretty sure I was born in the wrong era because unlike so many, I do not LOVE technology and all the social media outlets available. This makes marketing myself challenging. However, as I endeavor to learn all I can in my venture to obtain an agent and get my book published, I find I am enjoying my new blog and making new friends along the way. I am enjoying discovering all the blogs available but still feel a little intimated about using the various media outlets that exist. But I know this too shall pass and one day I will be more media chic.
According to what I’ve read from agents and editors, social media is a must, not a bust. However, I, too, agree with Katherine Coble. In our social media, we must be genuine. I don’t like tweets that explode with quotes all of the time, nor do I like people who never take an interest in others or whom don’t post anything relevant. The world, and I, are looking for authors who care. Sincerity oozes from that kind of person and it is the kind of person you want to read and get to know.