We're taking a break from guest posts today, but never fear, they will be back next week with a great post about all the options available to authors today.
Since we are digging in to the various social media channels I wanted to share this really great post from Anne R. Allen. If you don't follow her blog, you really should. She has a great mix of writing and marketing advice that is applicable to authors in all kinds of publication channels.
Anne talks about the mistakes that so many authors make (no one that reads this blog, I'm sure).
We've all seen the ones she's talking about. They signed their publication contract yesterday, so today they are all over the interwebs setting up accounts on every site, inviting everyone they may have ever known to like them, and spamming the Twitterverse with "look at me" tweets.
They are breaking all of the rules, and it makes the rest of us grimace in pain. Anne shares quite a few big no-no's on her blog. I'd love to hear from you guys. What are the behaviors on social media sites that drive you bonkers?
And let's not forget that social media can be a great place to let others know about your work. What are the best ways you've seen authors share their work without becoming Swarmy Spamster?
Share your best sins and praises in the comments.
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ReplyDeleteI meant to say I HATE pms about Liking a page
ReplyDeleteyes, private or direct messages just to say "hey, look at me and love me" are awful. I think they are new version of the cold call.
DeleteSo I once unfollowed someone on twitter, b/c she was constantly filling up my feed with passages from her book. So much so she had to send multiple tweets to get everything in. She was covering everyone else they were hitting so frequently. Then last year, I got emailed an invitation for a chance to win something I didn't want. That would have been one thing, but to win you had to buy and review a copy of the writer's book, in a genre I've never reviewed!
ReplyDeleteOh, those are awful!
DeleteTo be honest, I don't like any of the "marketing" tools, including cover reveals, blog tours, trailers or other hoopla. I think an author should only advertise their book on their blog (or dot-com site) and attract others through good posts and giveaways. I believe word-of-mouth sells books, not hawking them like a street vendor. But I think publishers today want authors to do anything and everything to sell & make money.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really good topic, Sarah. :-)
Thanks, Lexa. I think that's a really good point. Some people are irritated by even a little promotion. Authors need to keep that in mind.
DeleteSocial media is for being... social. I love meeting other people. Do I post about my books? Yes. But I don't hound people to buy them. I'd rather just chat.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Kelly said. I think that the best way to market yourself is by being nice and entertaining on twitter and other social medias. It would be annoying to just sign up the day after a deal and suddenly pester people about your book.
ReplyDeleteI love when authors use social media to share excerpts of their work, talk about their process, where they are in their writing journey, or generally just letting us know a bit more about them. I can't get mad at someone trying to move their books, but when it's a constant barrage of advertising it's a bit annoying.
ReplyDeleteSocial Media...
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, please be advised I am a NOOB. I've only been using it for marketing purposes since January. Got a FB profile, a twit account, and a blog.
And currently my gmail inbox is filled, absolutely overflowing with spam. I have just spent a half hour clearing out my inbox. I have to pare down the circles, groups or whatever you want to call it, b/c FB and G+ have eaten up hours if not days of my time that should have been spent writing.
I've decided to follow about five blogs (this is one) and that's it. These are blogs that if I comment, I try to be as thoughtful as the person who put up the OP. I'll peek at my email, but I'll be unsubscribing all over the place.
I'll figure out the marketing end down the road, but for me, FB and G+ et al are time vampires. I've concluded that the John Locke or DD Scott methods that worked great just a couple of years ago are now swamped.
You have a good point about the changing methods. With these sites (and this type of social media) being so new, it feels like strategies change daily. What worked even 6 months ago, might not be realistic today. As writers, we have to turn part of our creative genius into coming up with ways to stand out in the marketplace.
DeleteI think the main problem is when people forget social media is meant to be social, and not just a way to scream "look at me" to the world. If you're just putting stuff out there but not responding to anything, it'll get old pretty quick. No one likes to be preached at.
ReplyDeleteI actually just read a post from another writer lamenting the internet behaviors that should stop. Here was her take on it: http://writersblog-gina.blogspot.com/2013/02/internet-behaviors-that-need-to-die.html That's one of the things I really like about social media, how you'll see different trends and patterns if you read enough blogs, tweets, etc. :)
So easy to get wrong when we're not actively thinking about how we're using social media.
ReplyDeleteMy experience as a follower on Twitter: Gosh, how fab is this author! They have all these personal interests and respond to readers who tweet them, and tweet out cool quotes from their book once in a while. Gosh, what a pain this writer is, they log on for one hour every day and bombard their followers with nothing but quotes of the book - actually, I doubt I even need to buy their next book...pretty sure Twitter is turning out to be a free resource. They don't respond to any of their followers tweets, and...oh, look it's the 'unfollow' button.
Goodreads experience. Yay! a writer wants to be my friend. They've invited me to their virtual book release party, I may stop by the page and say hi. Argh!!! They are now spamming me with several more invites to the same party and more 'events' :'(
It's so easy to log on in automaton mode, but if we're not feeling it we'd best not log on. The lack of awareness and lack of passion will come across immediately. Some writers don't use social media and I think that's not a bad move for many successful authors. I'd rather wonder about an author than find myself recoiling at their lack of 'online etiquette'.