Does Viral Marketing REALLY Work for Authors?
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, April 17, 2009
I've been giving this topic some thought over the last week or so, and
I've come to the conclusion that for most, the answer is no. Why?
Generally, the people who do well with viral marketing already have a solid reputation online. Look at Beyond Heaving Bosoms.
Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan have run a popular site about the romance
genre for some time. They have the leverage and the fan base to get the
word out on the Internet. Plus, it helps that they have a publisher
like Simon & Schuster behind them.
Of course, there are
exceptions (please don't bitch in the comments that you're one, and I'm
being so meeen to you), but in general, it's hard to create a buzz for
your book on your own - especially if you didn't have a big online
presence before publication.
And what happens if your book
takes off? Can your publisher get copies into bookstores or at the
Amazon warehouse? Probably not if your book is Print On Demand or if
your publisher doesn't have a good distributor. As I've said before,
Baker & Taylor and Ingram are NOT distributors in that sense. They
fulfill orders, but don't hand sell your book to bookstores.
While
you're at it, remember that social media isn't all about you or your
book. There's a reason it's called "social." If you're at a social
event, you tend to drift toward interesting conversations and away from
boring ones. It's the same online.
Bottom line: I have yet to
be convinced that online marketing works in a substantial way if you
don't already have a good online reputation to begin with. That doesn't
mean you should build up a good network and suddenly turn into a spam
machine, either. Wendell and Tan seem to have a handle on doing it
right. Even when they're Tweeting from readings and book signings
they're funny and engaging. Some folks can learn a lot from them. I
certainly have.
Tags: Writing, Publishing
Filed under: Writing Publishing
Comments are closed
|