One of those was in social media marketing. Accurately, I can describe it as a lesson in the complete and utter failure of social media marketing. I'm not kidding. When I first published my book, I had a huge and very active blog, and about 10k worth of people on twitter besides that.
Did they help me sell the book? Weeeeeell... Let's just say I blog, tweet and what have you for more reasons than selling my books. I really enjoy it, but I used links on my social media that counted the clicks after I posted them.
Maybe I'd get one or two clicks a day. And none of those would convert to sales.
I think maybe that a lot of my previous sales came from blog tours. Except not because I was reaching new readers. It was bloggers who knew me, are awesome people, and who wanted to support me. (Thanks for that, by the way!)
Which is to say (and I know there are a lot of me who might scream at me), but I don't think there's much point to me marketing to you guys on my blog, twitter, facebook, google plus (because you're all there too.) Which means that once my blog tour is over, you probably won't see a lot in the way of marketing on my writing platforms.
See the thing is, I don't even really think you're my target market. Which is fine. I love this community and will try to be part of it for as long as it exists. But my market is elsewhere, so that's where I have to go.
Which is why I've been working my way into Wattpad with some success (TVK has had almost 900 reads in almost three months) and am trying to work my way into Tumblr.
And... well. Both give me mixed feelings for different reasons. Wattpad is often a insane place, but there's a market for me there. People like my opinions and advice. They ask for it a lot. I mean, my book on writing (specifically creating tension) has gained almost 9.5k reads in a bit more than a year without me really doing that much.
Tumblr... Tumblr... Tumblr. Dashboard is nice. The thing is, the social aspect feels a lot like some sort of inter-generational high school clique. I really wanted to like Tumblr. Still do, really, but right now, IT PISSES ME OFF.
So much so that I'm considering to unfollow everyone except the people following me and start from scratch. I mean, I know that it's hard to get into a new community like the one on Tumblr. I mean, it took me the better part of 18 months to really feel at home and entrenched in this here writing/blogging community.
The thing is, I'm watching the goings on on Tumblr and I'm wondering if I even want to be part of it.
To give you the highlights so far: 1) Non-writers talking smack about writers. 2) Same non-writers professing to adore reading. 3) But still talking smack about writers. (I'm not even talking bad reviews. Those would be fine. I'm talking about the fact that people are CALLING JOHN GREEN A PERVERT for daring to be an adult male who writes books about teenage girls.) 4) People who are so narrow minded that they'll completely push someone out for "not belonging to our particular fandom." 5) But PRIDING themselves on being such open-minded, fair individuals. 6) Or people arguing about stuff that they DO NOT WANT TO EVEN TRY TO UNDERSTAND. Like... (you guessed it.) Writing. And (you probably wouldn't guess it) the fact that Africa is in fact a continent with a huge variety of countries and peoples and most of our animals don't like being in zoos.
Now, you guys know me as a rather opinionated girl, so I'm sure you'll agree that this really is bothering me when I'm spending more than three quarters of my time telling myself to "Not touch this one." Because someone said something utterly foolish that gets eaten up just because they've amassed a huge following in some way. And because I know that engaging 1) won't make me feel better and 2) won't even help them because there's nothing more impossible to reason with than a person who doesn't want to hear it. 3) It's pointless to point out the ignorance in the statement of someone who self-congratulated themself on their open-minded wisdom two posts ago.
So here I am, wondering if I'm doing this Tumblr thing wrong. Or if I should do what I said and just unfollow 90% of my list. Because hey, I should be enjoying it first and foremost. Correct?
Anyone on Tumblr? Got advice?
Tumblr has been good in that I've learned about new books or films that I looked into and ended up loving, but you're definitely right about the downsides of it. I haven't tried to promote my work there, so I can't give you any solid advice in that way. I do hate it when people talk badly about writers there, and a lot of people there are completely hypocritical without realizing it.
ReplyDeleteSelf-promotion is tricky, and I hope you find a balanced approach that works well for you.
I have never really looked into Tumblr. I hear about it a lot - but not quite in the same detail you've described here - but I think I'm happy with my level of social media engagement. Any more than I've got already and it will be a full time job!
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ReplyDeleteI have never really used the thing to be honest. One can only take so much social sites, with new ones popping up every other day. Quite agree with Annalisa, any more and yeah...full time job.
ReplyDeleteYes, having a blog doesn't necessarily convert to tons of sales, at least not for me. Sometimes I do interviews, and sometimes that garners some reader interest. Other times, not so much. Sometimes it gives the author a chance to remind folks of what they're up to, and it pushes them over the edge to trying what they've heard about a few times before.
ReplyDeleteYou're right in not engaging some folks with narrow-minded views via the internet. It never changes a person's mind on the other end, and ends up being frustrating and a time sink for you on this end.
It's easy for someone on the other end to remain ignorant and an a$$ while somewhat removed and anonymous. It's tougher to do face to face, but that's not possible.
Good luck, however, in the new ventures. Always worthwhile to look around for something new that might work for you.
I'm not on Tumblr, though I've thought about it in the past. But I find it difficult enough trying to keep up with my blog and Twitter, so I think I'll just stick with them for now! I do have a Wattpad account, but I found it too difficult to keep up with it along with everything else. Interesting point about where your target market is - I haven't thought about that before, I'll have to look into it.
ReplyDeleteSocial media is definitely something you should be enjoying, since we spend so much time on there, whether it's promoting books or just chatting with other writers. Hope you manage to find a solution that works for you!
Yes, for what it's worth. The only way for sales is to write and write and write. In that way the work improves and you are noticed in the way that matters. Not through social websites, though it is wonderful to have moral support, advice, but by publishing in any form, in way you can, and you'll be noticed. Very good luck to you now and in the future.
ReplyDeleteI have a Tumblr blog for my writing, and I quite enjoy it. However, I'm not very immersed in the writing part of it. Although my writing blog includes information about my serial novel, Nightmare Chronicles, I don't really delve into the booklr (Book Tumblr) too much. I mostly stick to whatever comes up on my dashboard, which is filled with anime/manga and other random things. Rarely any book related things, lol. Either way, this was a very good post and I enjoyed reading it! :)
ReplyDeleteI've never tried Tumblr - think I'll keep it that way. Like you I enjoy blowing, but don't really consider it a useful marketing tool. Unfortunately I've yet to discover anything which is!
ReplyDeleteWhat works for one person may not work for another. Such is the mystery of social media marketing. We tried Tumblr before and didn't like it. Our blog has been a great marketing tool, but we use it sparingly and try not to overwhelm people with shameless marketing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, terrible, hypocritical people are everywhere. The best thing is to just ignore them and focus on the people who aren't going to make your blood boil from sheer idiocy.
It's interesting that Tumblr has so many writer-haters on it. I always thought Tumblr was more of a photography venue, but I haven't delved into it. Some of the Goodreads groups are pretty awesome and I've enjoyed that site. It got me into blogging, actually. Sounds like Wattpad is working out for you. I agree the blogging scene is not necessarily the place to really market a book. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWhoa. I haven't looked into Tumbler, but then again, I haven't looked into Facebook either, so my social media is limited. Mostly by choice coughlazinesscough.
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything to market just yet, but I am trying to build a platform with my blog and other social media outlets. A while back I did try Tumblr, but it wasn't for me. I've quit Twitter twice, but am sticking with it this time although I don't really get it. My favorite outlets right now are my blog, Pinterest, and Instagram. I hope you find the right home for all your marketing needs! :)
ReplyDeleteL.G. Yeah I'm trying to be nice about pointing out the flaws in someone's reasoning when it comes to writing, but sometimes I don't bother because there's just no point.
ReplyDeleteAnnalisa, I know what you mean. Right now, I'm trying to find and keep a balance, but it's hard.
Blogoratti, I know what you mean. It does take a lot of time, and the strange thing is I often feel like it's not really all that social.
Terry, that's how I feel too. I haven't given up, yet, but I am trying to figure out how to make things fun for myself. Because I don't think it works to make marketing the end goal of any social network I create.
Rachel, I learned the lesson about the target market the hard way when my book got published last time.
Couldn't agree with you more, Carole.
Nice to see you again, Brittany. :-)
Patsy, honestly I think it mostly comes down to luck.
Beer guys, I agree. I do usually try and ignore fools and the like, but it seems to be a bit harder on tumblr because there are so many of them.
Thanks for stopping by, Shell.
Ava, sometimes I wonder if there's actually any point to social media if we don't like it.
Thanks, Jamie. :-)