by Anne R. Allen
Bad marketing is worse than none. And I’ve seen some breathtakingly bad marketing strategies recently. I assume authors are hiring cut-rate online marketers who have more experience selling real estate in Mumbai and knock-off designer sunglasses than books.
Do I need to say this is a bad idea? Being annoying may sell faux Viagra and Bitcoin scams, but it will not make people think an author has anything entertaining or wise to say. In fact, it may drive away your existing readers.
In publishing, your name is your brand. Once you’ve hired somebody who behaves badly in your name, it will be difficult to rebuild that brand.
Just an aside here, but speaking of bad marketing — American political marketers have quite a hustle going. Every day, they send us annoying placemat-sized “Postcards” that go straight into recycling, and hire robocallers to harass us in their candidate’s name. Then they send emails demanding more money for postcards and robocalls. It’s enough to make anybody vote against the candidate, even if they were 100% in support to begin with. Nobody benefits — except the marketers.
Being invasive, desperate, or whiney does not make people trust you. Or buy whatever you’re selling — whether it’s a political candidate or a book.
Spamming is Always Bad Marketing for Books
The newest example of cut-rate book marketing I’ve seen is blog spam. This is not just the usual “buy my book” social media spam we see from ill-advised indie authors. I’m talking about spam from those third world guys who leave comments on five-year-old blogposts that say, “I am having much to reverence for this article. Will presume to sharing the beautiful thoughts with my brother.”
For their new job of creating book spam, they add a book title and include a link to Author X’s website. My blog spam folder gets several of these a day now. I just deleted three.
Who thought this was a good idea?
A general FYI — book buyers are not usually impressed by aggressive marketing. They tend to be a classy bunch. They like to stay home, drink a soothing beverage, and, well, read books. Hard-sell tactics make them cringe, not pull out the wallet.
I don’t know who is hiring these guys. Maybe it’s the junk marketers at the bogus publishing outfits. But if an author is paying for this knowingly, I hope they’ll stop. It’s so embarrassing.
Demanding Freebies is Bad Marketing Too
One of those blog spammers actually had the chutzpa to send me an email this week, asking that I run a promo for their client, Author X, who wrote Y. Give us a date for a guest post. We want it before Z date.
Um, no. You have worked hard to show us that you are lowlife slime, and now you want us to do you a favor? Are you high? I remember your client’s name from the spam you splashed all over our blog.
The client’s name is pretty much dead now. They need to get a pseudonym and better marketing advice. ASAP.
Making People Want to Punch You in the Face Does Not Sell Books
I also wish these low-rent marketers could learn that the word “blogger” is not a synonym for “slave.” No, we don’t owe you anything. Not even if we mentioned your client’s field of expertise in a post from 2009 that you found in a Google search. ????
The most common annoyance I run into (after the daily queries for guest posts about make-up tips and recipes for vegan cat food) is people who demand that we rewrite old posts to insert an advertisement for their product or link to their website. This week I was saddened to see one came from an author. That was one of the incidents that prompted this post.
A guest post writer in 2014 had mentioned a book by this author and linked to the Amazon buy page. In doing so, our guest was doing a nice favor for the author. But no good deed goes unpunished. Now this author — or his marketing people — want a rewrite of that post (difficult since the guest blogpost writer happens to be deceased.) They want us to include mentions of all the author’s latest books and a link to their new website. On a post published before the books were written. Right. Time travel is our specialty. Besides, we love to do this stuff, since we have so much time on our hands.
THEN, two days later, they sent another email reminding me I hadn’t yet fulfilled their demands.
I’m not a violent person, and I have never punched anybody in the face, but now I understand the urge to do so.
Bullying Does Not Get a Book Reviewed
These people make demands of book review bloggers even more often than advice bloggers like Ruth and me. They will demand a review for their client’s “gritty apocalyptic thriller” from a blogger who makes it clear she only reviews women’s fiction and cozy mysteries.
What about the pink tea set and roses in the header didn’t you understand?
Sometimes they send a copy of the book without asking and then send these toxic “follow-ups” demanding the review come out ASAP.
Guess how many reviews their authors get from book bloggers?
Direct Messages Sent to Strangers are Always Bad Marketing
This is an oldie and baddie. Somehow, invasive DMs seem even worse when sent by a third party. First of all, NOBODY should send a direct message on social media to a person they don’t know. Certainly not right after a person has followed you or accepted you as a “friend.”
That’s the red flag that wannabe loverboys/girls wave with that auto-DM asking “What are you doing right now?” or “How are you doing?” just before they say they want to marry you and btw, could you send $10,000?
A direct message is private. It’s like the owner’s home. Do not stomp in uninvited.
Normal people get to know others on social media by interacting on a page or in a group. People who use DMs to skip that stage are rude. And people who use them to say “Buy my book!” or “Buy my client’s book!” are even ruder.
Nobody buys a book because a rude stranger told them to.
Suing a Blogger to get Free Advertising is Weird
This seems to be a variation of a more common scam, extorting bloggers and influencers with scary lawsuits.
Regular readers know a couple of weeks ago a UK author hired a lawyer to sue me because she was offended by a comment about her publishing company made by a 3rd party on this blog. Over a year ago. (Bloggers are not liable for 3rd party comments in the US, but they are in the UK.)
Even if this creepy lawsuit were in some way legit, it still tops the category of “how not to build your brand.”
Terrorizing a blogger because you don’t know how to comment on a blog or send an email only makes that blogger — and all their followers — think you’re Looney Tunes. Or have recently arrived via TARDIS from 1972.
At first they demanded I delete the offending comment thread and post an apology. Which I did immediately. I felt bad that I’d hurt this hyper-sensitive, tech-challenged author/publisher’s feelings.
But it wasn’t enough. They followed up with demands I post their version of “my apology,” which contained an ad for their latest book. It had to be posted prominently on the blog. After contacting some experts, I finally gave their cringey, whingey bit of prose its own midweek blogpost, rather than get further embroiled with these crooks and/or nutjobs.
I also contacted Alli, Writer Beware, and the FBI, and told the lawyer I’d done so. The threats have stopped. So far.
Do I have to say this publishing company — that put out one book last year, by the owner — did not enhance their brand with these shenanigans?
And it prompted this post from my friend Kristen Lamb.
“E-Mail Marketing” Often Means Spam
Email spam is as old as email itself. I’m sure the first people who signed up for email immediately got a message about how Lord Bubuza could enlarge their penis with magic spells.
People may call it “email marketing” but if they’re sending your ads to people who don’t want them, they are spamming. This means your ad ends up being reported for spam. Then your name triggers a spam label for all your emails.
If people are sending your book news to a mailing list, make sure the recipients have asked to be on that list. Unfortunately, buying and selling lists is big business. If those addresses were stolen or purchased, your email campaign is useless.
I’ve heard recently from a number of authors who have paid hefty amounts for email marketing. Be careful! Not only did these authors get no sales, but a lot of people learned their names, and not in a good way.
Email marketing works best if you send to your own mailing list. Or get your book into a bargain book newsletter like Bookbub, Bargain Booksy, or Fussy Librarian that recipients have subscribed to. The newsletter ad can be pricey, but you don’t have to pay anybody to place it for you.
DIY Marketing isn’t as Daunting or Expensive as you Think
There are tons of great resources on the Web for new writers to learn how to market books. I don’t have room to list them all here. (Also, some marketer 12 years from now would expect me to rewrite this post to advertise one of them.)
I’m not a marketer, but my advice for inexpensive DIY marketing is:
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- Create an attractive website that suits your brand, preferably with a blog (good for SEO as well as making contacts.) You can build a free website with easy-to-use templates at Wix, SquareSpace, or WordPress. But PLEASE don’t let some Web designer talk you into one of those trendy websites where the header takes up 3/4 of the page so your content has to be squished into an unreadable ribbon at the bottom. Grrrrr. I’m seeing these more and more. STOP DOING THIS, PEOPLE!!
- Make friends. Choose a couple of social media sites where your potential readers or their parents hang out and start chatting. Facebook groups are great for interaction. Make sure you stay consistent with your brand. Ranting about politics or religion is a brand-killer for books that aren’t political or religious. Salty language and sexy stuff is fine if you write erotica or gritty thrillers, but if your brand is beachy cozies, children’s books, or sweet romance, keep it clean.
- Get reviews. Yes, I know. Easier said than done. But book bloggers provide great editorial reviews and they might possibly post a review on Amazon, so visit the blogs, get to know their tastes and send a professional query.
- Learn to use Amazon’s Author Central effectively and post new editorial reviews and update your bio regularly.
- Build an email list. This takes time and may not pay off right away. It’s not for sending daily “newsletters” to the ten people on your list. Use it to announce the launch of your next book.
- Make sure you’ve got the right Amazon keywords. Try new ones if you’re not selling.
- Join Bookbub and start leaving reviews of books consistent with your brand. Bookbub will promote your review to your followers and that will grow your audience.
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For more on author branding, here’s a great post from Mark Coker of Smashwords. And a helpful podcast on developing your author brand from Orna Ross and Joanna Penn.
Now you can ignore the pressure to hire a cut-rate marketer who could spam you out of a career.
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) May 22, 2022.
What about you, scriveners? Are you seeing an increase in book spam? What’s the most egregious example of bad marketing you’ve seen? Have you paid money for email marketing that didn’t make sales?
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featured image “Snake Oil Salesman” via WikiCommons.
Anne—Thanks for a great post. So much of all this smacks of desperation. Which has never and will never sell books. Your sensible advice adds much-needed perspective and translates into a calmer, more effective approach. Thanks again!
Ruth–It’s so true. Bad marketing looks desperate. “Buy my book because nobody else will” is not a compelling advertisement.
Making friends is still one of the best ways to go.
The IWSG gets a lot of those emails asking us to adjust or add to an older guest post, linking to their site. I just tell them no – we don’t make changes to a guest’s article. That’s just rude!
Alex–You could write a book about how to make friends online. Your IWSG is so helpful to so many writers.
Those requests to rewrite somebody else’s post make me furious. Either they go to spam, or I tell them we have a firm rule about not rewriting old posts.
I really don’t get bad marketing from authors, only from vanity “hybrid” publishers that I poke fun at and talk about on FB (the spammy “literary agents” send me e-mails to my Yahoo addys that are basically used for that exact purpose now)
However, about a couple of months ago I did get a semi-personalized form letter and postcard from a local mystery writer at my home, which I admit creeped me out a bit since I made sure long ago that no one knows my home addy, only my p.o. box. It was very pleasant in tone, highlighted what he has out, what orgs he belongs to and the like.
I still have the postcard because I was very intrigued by the letter and his polite approach to soliciting. So someday, I may check out his Amazon page to see what he’s got. Oh, and it seems like he writes P.I. detective stories with a local flair/presence to them.
GB–Those little postcards can really work. That’s the kind of old-school hometown marketing that can get you in local bookstores and create local “buzz.” Here’s Sue McGinty’s great post on hometown marketing.
Great stuff, as usual. Gracias!
Thanks, Charlie!
I didn’t realize it was so bad out there. Common sense. Keep your name and your brand as clear as you can and don’t invite bad advice into things. Nice topic!
Traci–I think authors don’t know they’re buying bad marketing. They see a price way below what the big marketers charge and figure they’ll give it a shot. They don’t realize they’re inviting danger.
Let’s not forget the marketing package to tweet your book to tens of thousands of people multiple times a day.
Liz–You’re right. That oldie and baddie is still around in spite of the fact Tweets haven’t sold books since 2011. Paying people to Tweet your book is paying to annoy people. Not a good idea.
Anne,
The first thing I thought was that fiction doesn’t really fit traditional marketing techniques. You don’t have a product that fits a need. But everyone keeps trying to apply the same techniques and they don’t work.
The marketing starts with nailing down your genre as you write the story. As Kris Rusch wrote a few weeks ago, also nailing your ending. The ending sells the next book. You also need more books that the reader can buy.
Website appearance is equally important. There’s a writer who isn’t getting many sales, despite having a huge inventory. His site design doesn’t tell readers what he writes! Readers aren’t going to explore vague terms like “My Books” or “Novels.” You really have to spell out everything and give the reader an obvious bread crumb trail. I had a big lesson with this when a reader commented she couldn’t find my books on my site. I’m thinking that it was obvious. I had Science Fiction/Fantasy, Mystery, and Non-Fiction. I needed to add the word “books” after all of those. It sounds obvious, but I see this problem repeated in my day job. You have to spell things out or people will miss the message entirely.
Linda–I get so annoyed when I read marketing advice that only applies to self-help and how-to nonfiction. Another world from fiction.
You make a great point about spelling things out. People skim more and more, so they don’t get the message unless you hit them over the head with it. I see so many bad websites. Web designers often have no understanding of book sales and they just want to do “cool stuff” (Like making the header take up 3/4 of all the pages.)
And Kris Rusch is right: The best way to sell a book is write the next one. And your ending can sell that. NOT with cliffhangers, but reader satisfaction.
That’s both enlightening and disheartening. Those categories look so clear, but without adding “books” people can’t get there. Damn.
This is a fascinating thread. SO glad my books have no “marketer.” And that I can eat whether or not they sell.
Your down-to-earth, common-sense wisdom never grows stale, Anne.
I hate to self-promote, as do most of my author friends. So when someone offers magic bullet shortcuts to avoid that odious task, understandably many writers are tempted. But shortcuts don’t work.
Thanks for the reminder that it takes YEARS, not weeks or months, to build a positive reputation. And only minutes to destroy it.
Debbie–Good point. Writers hate self-promotion, so we’re always looking for help. A surprisingly affordable marketer can “sweep you off your feet” and you don’t realize you’re buying trouble.
Great article, Anne! i get several poorly constructed emails each week from “organizations” that want to market my book. They always catch my attention because they cleverly put the title of my latest novel in the subject line so I will at least open the email. Then I delete it.
I have found book promos like Bookbub, eReader News Today, Fussy Librarian, and about a dozen others to be very helpful in getting sales. Of course, you’re spending money on the promo, so the return is questionable, but it helps to build a brand that may help sell the next books.
Kay–I think those email solicitations are what sell those cut-rate marketers. But it helps to pay attention. If they don’t have good English skills, they won’t impress readers of English.
I’ve never tried to get into Bookbub, but we had a lot of success with Fussy Librarian, which targets genres well.
I heard some of these horror stories in advance, but the shiver was just as fresh today. It’s beyond unfair that you had to experience such abuse- no other word will do for me- and I can only comfort myself that it will probably form the sub-plot of another hilarious Camilla Randall book soon.
But that’s not good enough. Dopes need to apologize for being dopes.
Not holding my breath, but a man’s gotta’ have a dream.
Will–I’m not expecting any apologies. Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy, so they don’t apologize.
And yes, I’m working on a subplot in the next book where Ronzo gets sued over a music blogpost he wrote in 2015. 🙂 They demand he apologize on a blog that no longer exists.
FYI Alex: your site is blocked by my security program as Trojan.
Barry–And here I thought Alex was a Mycenean! (Sorry. Classics joke.) Every so often one of the comment emails from my own blog comes with a “danger” warning on it. No idea why.
Debbie and Anne: The tail is wagging the dog, and has been for quite a while. Think about it: grooming online “friends” for the purpose of selling them stuff. I’ve indie published four books through a hybrid publisher that has now re-invented itself as a commercial publisher. Up to this point, I’ve been paying the costs of publication, but those expenses are now the responsibility of the publisher. The company has given high praise to my latest novel, but won’t publish it. Their reason? My platform isn’t strong enough. In other words, the publisher now expects ALL marketing to be done by me. In this atmosphere, someone old like me has really no choice but to seek honest marketers for my writing. I’m just not up to turning myself into a monkey with a tin cup.
Barry–I get it that you don’t want to learn the basics of advertising. But calling it “grooming” is silly. That means every Chamber of Commerce mixer or meeting of the local Rotary club is “grooming”? Every book signing or talk at the library? People who are in business go where the customers are and get to know people. This has been true since long before the first amphora maker was selling his pots in the Athenian Agora.
This is some scary stuff, Anne. Wow! And all of them are turn-offs for selling a book. Thank you for this.
Patricia–That’s the thing: all these shenanigans don’t sell books. They only annoy.
A vitally important subject you’ve brought up today, Anne. (Quick nod to Ruth.) IMO, one of the best marketing resources in today’s indie book selling business is David Gaughran – that crazy Irishman who is self-exiled in Portugal because he “has a slight disagreement with the tax department”. If I can condense Dave’s branding definition, it’s something like, “Absolutely everything you consistently and positively do to make people find you, like you, and want to buy s*it from you.”
Quick story while I have the mic. I’m currently on a road trip through central British Columbia, and today I drove through a small town when I nearly had whiplash doing a double take. There on a store sign was “Snake Oil Enterprises”. I don’t know WTF they’re selling, but I can tell ya with that kind of branding, I’m gonna stop in and see on my ride home.
Garry–I agree. David Gaughran is one of the BEST resources for indie book marketing. And his book is free on his website. He and I disagree on the concept of using your fans to do marketing for you, because I so often get asked by his disciples to be their “fans” aka minions, and I kind of have my own work to do. I’m not sure anybody has that much time on their hands. But all his other advice is spot-on.
Snake Oil Enterprises is hilarious. I hope you find out more!
Thanks for a great post, Anne. I get these so-called ads on back posts, too. I suppose everyone with a blog does. They are annoying. Most are saying how they like the blog, in poor English, but I twice got one (same comment) saying how awful the blog is.
I agree that David Gaughran gives excellent advice.
VM–I sometimes get those hateful blogspam comments too. What do you suppose they’re thinking? I know they leave those things so they can get backlinks, assuming somebody doesn’t notice their blog is full of spam and delete them. But how can a negative comment not get deleted?
Fabulous advice as always, Anne. I spend 30 minutes every morning deleting mass mailings from bad marketing companies with the “perfect” guest post about vegan living, cat toys, etc. for my Murder Blog. I’m mean really, fellas, “Murder” is right in the title. Do you really think cat toys will sell on my blog? *facepalm* Then I get the demands to read, review, and blog about their client’s release by such-and-such date. One glance at my site would tell them I’m not a book blogger. Don’t get me started on the “follow-up” emails.
Hey, Ruth! *waves*
Sue–Haha! Yup. Every. Single. Morning. They are relentless. Today I got one, written in dodgy English, that claimed to be from “Dagwood Buttstead”. Right. 🙂 Even better than the FB loverboys named Frank Fred and David Betsy Tom.
Try setting your comments to close after two weeks. Cuts a lot of the spam. I also ended up deleting a small number of posts triggering 90 percent of the spam.
Linda–These relentless people we’re talking about send emails, not blog spam. For some reason, they usually manage to bypass the email spam bots. They target owners of high-profile blogs. When we hit an Alexa rating under 100K, the number tripled. Now every morning I get tons of emails from people who want to guest post on the blog about absolutely irrelevant things. It’s comical, but also annoying and takes a chunk out of your morning.
Wonderful, as usual! I am always saddened by students who decide to self-publish with the innocence that there all these readers are out there just waiting with money in hand to buy, and that they (the student) will only have to post the book and walk away for terrific sales to happen. They don’t need to do anything. And then of course, the sales don’t happen, and I hope they remember my warnings about the unscrupulous companies that promise the world and as you put it so well – destroy the brand before it’s even established. Like any business, we need to go into this with our eyes open, and you help big time with that, Anne! Thank you.
Melodie–It’s so sad, isn’t it? I knew one self-publisher who said he priced his ebook at $15, because “I put a lot of time in it, so they’ll have to pay me for it.” I asked him who “they” might be. He didn’t have a clue. 🙂
That is very good advice, Anne. I can’t even nitpick it this time. Sorry that some marketers found your last nerve and stomped on it. ????
JR–You’ve put it very well. That’s what they did. I was emotionally frazzled by surgery, etc, and then they stomped in. Grrr. Luckily, not a peep out of them since. Maybe talk of the FBI scared them.
I’m trying hard for the concept that “DMs are for continuing a conversation, not starting one” to go widespread.
WHY would I want to spend my time chatting with someone in my DMs who won’t interact in public with me? It makes me feel like they’ve got an ulterior motive — and they usually do.
Morgan–I’m with you 100%. Just today I had a DM from somebody that was in response to an article I retweeted. That comment needed to go on the blog where it was posted, so the author could see it. Some stranger complaining to me about somebody else’s article in a DM–bad manners!
Great post with excellent points. I hate it when I accept a follow request, only to immediately get hit with a DM along the lines of buy/read/review my book. Like I have nothing better to do, lols. Thanks for sharing, Anne! ????????
Harmony–Aren’t those DM ambushes annoying? I sometimes just unfriend/follow them. It’s so rude. BTW, you have a great name for a writer!
So much familiar and cringeworthy! I’m glad I’ve never hired a marketer. Just earlier today a new author put a ‘buy my book’ post into a Facebook thread that had no connection to anything being discussed. You just want to take them aside and explain.
My worst sin is not putting enough time into marketing. I’ve been building a mailing list with a book giveaway, but they’ve heard nothing from me. I’m holding out until my next Fantasy book is about to be released, largely because I tend to unsubscribe from authors who write loads of posts. How many of these can any inbox endure?
BTW, it isn’t just American politicians who put recycling through the letter box. Our political parties in UK are awful about it. Sometimes the Greens are the worst! I don’t know anyone who reads these things, we all know who we’re voting for.
Jaq–Posting random book ads on somebody’s FB page is so awful. I sometimes get them in my “happy birthday” thread. 🙁
That’s bad news that the UK has succumbed to the “recycling through the letter box” craze. Nobody benefits but the people who manufacture the recycling.
As a reader, I’m grateful that you don’t send endless email newsletters. I only get a handful, and that’s because the newsletters have helpful content, and they only come when there’s a new book out.
Wonderful post. Who said posts should be under 500 words? They know nothing!
I’ve had an uptick in people using my contact form to explain how their blog/podcast would absolutely be the right fit for my readers, and I should post xyz for them. They’ve been much more polite than your correspondents, but my mental response is “how did you come to the conclusion that my readers want your random product that has nothing to do with my strapline, let alone my content?” And I usually manage to press the delete button and forget them.
I feel I should respond to people that complete my contact form, out of politeness. But these people have not done any homework, and don’t deserve my courtesy.
Jemima–That 500 word thing is old news. Google is most likely to pick up a post of 1500 to 2000 words. I’ve got SEO elves on this blog that won’t let me get away with skimpy content. 🙂 Blogging has changed a lot since the old days. Here’s recommendation for the best SEO for blogposts in 2022.
And yeah, it gets so tedious. Most of the people who leave that spam probably don’t read English and have no idea what our blogs are about. Sigh. And no, they don’t deserve courtesy. They don’t have any.
Sorry for taking so long to reply. It’s interesting to me that all the marketing activities you mention are live face-to-face meetings (that goes for pot makers in the Athenian marketplace). But as you say, the agora for book-buying customers today is online. What I’m talking about is the way this marketplace grooms people to buy a book. Not because it’s any good, but because the buyer has been stroked into thinking of herself as a chum. And chums help chums, don’t they?
BTW, I see the marketer I told you about, the one who scammed me is back in your good graces. Those friendships just keep comin’.
Barry–I always buy my green beans from one vendor at Farmer’s Market, because she is so cheerful and helpful. Are her beans any better than the guy’s at the next booth? I don’t know. I just enjoy buying from her. That’s what I’m talking about. Online interactions are the same. People form real friendships online. When one dies, I feel real grief. I’m sorry you had such a bad experience with that marketer, but she has a great reputation and nobody else has ever complained. I think it was a communication problem. She didn’t set out to scam you or anybody. Some types of marketing don’t work for everybody and obviously her marketing didn’t work for you.