Tag: social media

Woo Your Superfans

I do the bulk of the marketing
for my Romance Novels.
I buy the advertising.
I post on social media.
I send newsletters.

Superfans are responsible
for about 95%
of the remaining promo.

Fellow writers do the rest.

Casual readers
do sh*t all
regarding marketing.

So I design my promo
to appeal to new readers, yes,
but to also appeal
to my superfans.

As Seth Godin
shares

“It’s peer-to-peer interaction
that shapes our culture,
and culture that shapes our world.

The opportunity for anyone
seeking to make a change happen
is to enlist people
who are on a similar path
and give them the tools
and the motivation
to engage with
the people around them.”

Woo your superfans
and they will sell
your products/services
for you.

Asking For Opinions

I see this ALL the time
– Someone posts
their plan
on social media
or in an open group.
They ask others what they think
of that plan.

And then they argue
with people
who suggest modifications
to their plan.

This is frustrating
and a waste of time
for everyone.

If you want everyone
to agree with your plan,
don’t post it on the internet.
Someone will ALWAYS
disagree with you there.

Send the plan to people
who always agree with you,
who always cheer you on.

If you DO want to hear
possible problems with your plan,
don’t argue with people
who point out these problems.

That will shut down
discussion.
There might be bigger problems
with your plan
you now won’t ever hear about.

If you ask everyone for their opinions,
expect to hear
a wide range of opinions.

Using Your Time Wisely

It is easy for me
to spend my entire day
on social media.
It is marketing.
Every post
sells at least one book.
And it is fun.

But doing that
would stop me from creating,
from producing
more books to sell,
from doing the ‘hard part’
of filling the production pipeline.

I prevent social media overload
by crafting to do lists.
To do lists force me
to do other things,
harder things.

Seth Godin
asks

“How are you
spending your time?

If we took a look
at your calendar,
how much time is spent
reacting
or responding to incoming,
how much is under your control,
and how much is focused
on the hard part?”

Ensure your day is spent
on all the tasks
you need to do,
not merely the fun
or the reactionary tasks.

Curation Vs Freedom

A couple years ago,
I gave myself the project
of updating the entries for my romance niche
on Wikipedia.

Every input I made
was deleted by the moderator.
Every single one.
Even though I cited sources.
Even though I was clearly an expert
in the niche.

I gave up.
The Wikipedia entries remain horribly wrong.
And, knowing that,
I don’t rely on Wikipedia
for anything
anymore.

On the flipside,
I remember when Amazon
would allow anyone to leave reviews.
Ethically-challenged writers
would spam their perceived competitor’s books
with 1 star reviews.
It was a mess.

As Seth Godin
shares

“Too much curation
stifles creativity,
opposing viewpoints
and useful conversation.
But no curation inevitably turns a platform
over to quacks, denialists,
scammers and trolls.”

Seek a balance
between curation and freedom
on your social media accounts
and sites.

It Is Our Choice

A guy (according to his profile)
accused me yesterday
of wasting his time
with my book (product)-related posts.

The thing is…
HE was following ME
on social media.

We weren’t having
a discussion.
He literally found me
on the internet,
chose to follow me,
to read my posts.

As Seth Godin
shares

“Even though
it seems as though
the world is trying
to steal our focus
and our energy,
ultimately,
in each moment,
it’s our choice to make.”

We make more choices
than we believe we do,
which means
we can often unmake them
also.

If you don’t like
your current situation,
change it.

(And if you don’t like
someone’s posts,
unfollow them.)

It is as simple
and as challenging
as that.