The Snap-On Man vs. Shameless Spam

Or: Why Advertising Trumps Spam

A few years ago, in a two-day Fencing Extravaganza, we put up a new fence around several acres of pasture. During construction, we had a little glitch. The main hydraulic hose blew in the Al-the-Fencing-Guy's skid loader (which he used to do everything from pound 8 inch posts directly into our concrete-like clay without pre-drilling holes to stretching the high-tension wire).

When I say the hose blew, I don't mean that it sprung a little leak. No -- it exploded in a frayed mass of steel reinforcements and sprayed hydraulic fluid everywhere.

Since Al's an Amish man, he doesn't drive -- so I took him for a nice tour of Coloma, Watervliet, and Hartford in search of a replacement 1 3/8" hydraulic hose with appropriate couplings. We found a place to get one made.

Then we went looking for a comparable-sized offset wrench to make installing the hose go faster and easier. It was a Wednesday, and we were told that Wednesday was the day for the Snap-On man to be in the area, but no one was sure where to find him.

As we were stopped at the light in Watervliet, what should we see but the Snap-On truck!

The truck had a phone number boldy emblazoned on it, so I followed it while Al called the number on his cell phone. He got hold of the driver (!) and explained what we needed. The guy very kindly pulled over and let us see if he had what we wanted. Presto: the guy made an easy sale just for driving his truck through an intersection -- and answering his phone.

Just the other day I was talking to a friend who is an absolutely TOP photographer. She's amazing. She has made quite a name for herself in our little area, but she could be so much bigger. Her eye for detail, and her ability to photograph people with genuine, beautiful, flattering expressions really set her apart. She would like more work. Yet she's reticent to advertise.

She is not alone.

So often, writers and others in creative fields are afraid to advertise. We don't want to "blow our own horn" or seem pushy or brash. But what we fail to take into consideration is that we offer a very real service that many people cannot (or don't want to) do for themselves.

In a sense, we owe it to our potential clientele to tell them our services are available, and to give them a way to contact us. Just like the Snap-On man.

Ah, but there's a catch...

See, contrary to popular opinion, advertising doesn't involve letting people know what you do or what you've done.

(I realize this statement flies directly in the face of many writers -- and plenty of publishers -- on Twitter and Facebook who are forever shilling about *their* books.

My feeds are craptastically clogged with writers posting links to their latest reviews, or their books' trailers, or random quotes from their books. Occasional self-promo is fine. It's even encouraged. However, if the only topic that ever shows up in your feed is YOUR BOOK, you're committing an unforgivable, egregious social boo-boo. This is not advertising. This is visual vomit. This is shameless self-promoting spam.)

Advertising, done correctly, is not telling others about yourself or your product. Rather, it tells people what you and your product can do for them.

Effective advertising engages the audience on some level.

It provides a service.

It gives people fodder for conversation, or makes them laugh, or solves a problem they're having (whether they know it or not).

Sometimes it even causes people to call you up in desperation and chase you down so they can buy what you're selling!

A few questions to ponder:
What advertising have you seen that you found most effective? 
How do you respond to incessant social media spam?
How does your advertising encourage people to connect with your product?

"I Love Your Story Anyway!" -- Tales From the Unintended Audience

"I know I may not be the intended audience... and I love your story anyway!"

This tweet from accomplished improv musician Stan Stewart (@muz4now), a faithful reader of "Dear Alderone," got me thinking. Since September, I've been serializing "Dear Alderone" online. It's a middle-grade novel, which means that its target audience is tweens. It features two 14-year old female protagonists bonded by blood, separated by several decades,  connected by crisis.

I wrote a story I wanted to tell: a story that I would have liked reading when I was 14. But you know what? I'm not picky at all about who reads or -- perhaps more importantly -- who likes it.

The wonderful thing about words on a page (or screen) is that they are equal-opportunity communicators, readily conveying their information to anyone willing to decipher them.

Skippyjon stays!

I know what it's like to devour a book, getting caught up in the story, all the while cognizant of the fact that the author did not have me in mind while writing. I like Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, though I have nothing in common with an uber-rich, genius boy intent on world domination. And I flat-out love Judy Schachner's Skippyjon Jones books -- so much so that I  was crushed when my cat-crazy 10 year old daughter announced that I could give them away because she was "too old" for them.

"Noooooo!" I wanted to yell as the books came off of my daughter's bookshelf--

...to be instantly rehomed in mine. Skippyjon stays.

Here's a little-known writer's secret:
Anyone who loves what I write is my intended audience.

Here's another one:
Nothing makes a writer's day like hearing from someone who appreciates a good story.

If you are a rabid reader of an author's work, it doesn't matter whether or not you are in the publisher's target market. Want to really make a writer's day? Some simple ways to spread the love:

*  Tweet 'em up. Whether or not the writer is on Twitter, compose a tweet personally recommending your favorite read to your followers. For the cherry on top, add the #amreading hashtag. 

*  Blog About It. If you have a blog, dedicate a post to a book, series, or writer you like. Google loves that kind of stuff almost as much as authors do.

*  Keep the Comments Coming. If the writer has a blog, drop a short comment stating how much you enjoyed a particular book / story / article. It's not that we're pathetic or emotionally needy. (Ok: Some of us are.) It's just that most writers get more than enough negative feedback. For some reason, the people who *don't* like what we do have no problem telling us. I mean: name one other business that names the vast majority of its missives "rejections." You have no idea what a supportive comment praising one's work can do to boost the creative muse.

*  Read. Review. Repeat. Reviews -- especially good reviews -- are like reserves of gold in a wildly fluctuating economy. If you really want to keep your favorite writers producing more stuff for you to read (instead of, say, trading in their mad typing skills for a hairnet and practicing their delivery of the catch phrase "would you like fries with that?") write a well-thought out, reasoned review and post it in appropriate online, visible places. Amazon is one such place, to be sure, but don't neglect other online booksellers who cater to people who might not want to enrich the all-powerful 'Zon.

*  Share and Enjoy. Like a book? Talk it up. Then lend it to a friend, so that person can help you spread the word. In fact, you could start a kickass trend by purchasing a physical copy of your favorite paperback, inscribing something like "I liked this book so much I wanted to share it with the world. Read it. Enjoy it. Then, when you're done, leave it in a public place for someone else to discover!" and leaving it behind in a coffeeshop, or a bus stop, or a train station, or a doctor's office, or... You get the picture. 

So here's to all the dedicated readers out there. It doesn't matter whether or not you are in the segment of the population to whom a book is marketed. It's not about the marketing; it's about the reading!  

Making the Most of Endorsements

To continue yesterday's musings on endorsements...

The endorsements people give you have many uses. But just because you have a testimonial doesn't mean that you must use it.

No Such Thing as a Bad Endorsement

I once worked on marketing a book. It's a good book -- worthwhile, well written, full of information, and written by an expert in the field. The author, however, had neglected to talk to friends and colleagues to obtain endorsements for the work. So I made it a priority to get some.

Don't allow personal reservations to
interfere with endorsements.

One of the first people I spoke to looked at the book and loved it. This person is also an expert in the field, with connections to several related professional organizations. Not only did he agree to give the book a glowing testimonial, but he enthusiastically recommended the book to his professional colleagues, who also liked it.

I thought this was a good thing. I still do. My take on it is -- anytime anyone says anything good about anything, it's cause for celebration. Ah, but the author had differing views.

The author expressed grave doubts about the belief system, the possible political agenda, and the overall weight that the various professional organizations in question carried. "We wouldn't want to mention an endorsement by one entity that could send the wrong message to potential buyers," was the rationale.

I, respectfully, fail to understand this train of thought. To illustrate, consider a work that focuses on solutions to social problems. If a conservative Christian group decides to adopt the project and offer an official endorsement -- great! That doesn't mean that the project wouldn't appeal equally to a left-leaning, ultra-liberal organization pushing for sweeping social change. It just means that perhaps you wouldn't use the conservatives' vote of confidence when marketing the project to the liberals.

The point is, collect endorsements. Get all the raves you can. If a group loves your work and wants to buy a ton of copies to distribute to its members, that's brilliant! It doesn't matter if you disagree with the group's politics, policies, or philosophy. It's an equal opportunity market. If people love your work, encourage them to give you an endorsement. Remember -- you don't have to use it. But it never hurts to have it.

The Endorsement At Work

When using endorsements and citing their sources, whenever possible, write in the present tense. That way, the project in question remains current, rather than historical.

You don't need a lot of testimonials to make endorsements work for you. All it takes to start out is one. Places where rave reviews are appropriate include:

* Your electronic signature. Add the best portions of the best endorsements to a short sentence about your latest work, and include it as part of your e-mail signature. Something like, Be sure to read My Latest Book, which the National Board of Book Readers deems "heartbreakingly good," and Bookworms Anonymous calls "an instant classic."

* Your website. If you have anything to offer, you should have a website. On the site, it is perfectly reasonable to include testimonials about you and your work.

* Your bio. Add a short section to your official bio for "What Others Have to Say." Include excerpts from your most ardent endorsements, and be sure to cite their sources. A short sentence that includes two- or three-word raves, like the one used on your electronic signature, can also be added to online bios and profiles.

* Marketing information. Liberally sprinkling excerpts from testimonials throughout your marketing materials can create powerful purchasing motivation to prospective clients. Endorsements show that you have a cache of people who are on board with you. They can help nearly any marketing campaign come alive.

* The project itself. By all means, include rave reviews directly on the product packaging whenever possible.

* On-line review boards. If an endorsement is particularly good, you might want to ask the person who gave it to you to post it online. Such reviews are often subject to a certain degree of suspicion, however. In most online forums, including Amazon.com, it's easy to write bad reviews that trash your competitors' work. It's also easy to write what you wish someone would say about your own, and then ask friends or employees to post them as if they were bona-fide reviews. Still, if someone has something good to say about you, posting it as a review can be an effective way to generate online interest.

* Business cards. A sampling of the brightest and best excerpts can add instant credibility.

You get the picture. Pick and choose the testimonials that pack the biggest punch for a particular audience. As better and better reviews come in, don't hesitate to use them in lieu of earlier endorsements.

A Word About Restraint

Though endorsements are a great way to tell people that others like your work, one place I see them overused is on Twitter. You may be tempted to tweet: "Another 5* review about #MyFabulousBook. Buy it here: http://bit.ly.SELFPROMO. #ebook #99cents #IHaveNoShame."

If you must tweet ads like this, please do so sparingly. No more than once a week. Really, once a lifetime is quite enough, IMO. Twitter is a place for you to engage your readers, to develop relationships with them, and to be so brilliant that they want to read more of your stuff. It's not a venue for the hard-sell or the shameless self-promotion.

The Final Word:

The over-arching purpose of endorsements is to let people know that others value your work. Whenever people are willing to say they believe a project of yours has merit, you owe it to them to help get the word out!

What ways have you used endorsements to get the word out about your projects? I encourage you to share them below.

Applied Marketing

or, Short, Sweet, and "See What I've Done!"

I received the following update from a student in my current Writer's Workshop:

A funny thing happened after your social networking comments last night at class. I finally had time to review some of my writing today and remembered that I had submitted an article to a new website... I had forgotten all about it.

Anyway, I went to the site only to find that it had been published AND THAT I HAD 17 COMMENTS!! And, I am on their Facebook and Twitter pages, too! How funny!! Anyway, if you are interested, click Mamapedia on Facebook and on their first page of their fan site, my article can be found about halfway down called, "When Your Life Calling Changes." I was most excited about the favorable comments... See you next week!

I love getting these kinds of comments. I regularly encourage writers to post on blogs, social-networking sites, forums, and other online venues, as a way of getting their names and projects "out there."

Updates like these warm the cockles of my heart, and it's not just because a student took my advice and found a way to get herself published. No -- what really makes me smile is that I know she is internalizing some of the marketing techniques necessary for writers because she applies them in her note to me.

Not only does she tell me about her submission being published, but she told me the name of it, gave me a short positive review of it, and told me where to go to see it. This may seem like a small thing, but it's HUGE!

The more this writer gets used to applying these techniques as she works to network and build an awareness of her platform, the more it will become second nature to her. That way, when her book is accepted for publication she will be so accustomed to dropping her current work's title, kudos, and accessibility, that it will happen naturally.

Another student in my current Writer's Workshop is a surfer who has a small, self-published book about his surfing testimony. ("I gave my surfboard to God and he sent me to Hawaii for 27 years," is his short one-sentence About-My-Book pitch.) This past week, while he was surfing in Lake Michigan he got interviewed by Fox News.

Because of the Workshop's focus on marketing one's work, he gave the interviewer his book. To me, this seemed like an obvious thing to do. But he told me that he would have never even thought of it had it not been for my hammering home the importance of telling people about what you've written.

So -- again, for those of us who need the review -- Write. Create. Do your very best work. And then come up with a short, relevant way to let those interested in you or your subject know that your writing exists. Apply what you learn about marketing your work in the same manner that you apply what you learn about honing your craft. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: you owe it to your future fans to let them know that your work exists...

Writer, Promote Thyself

or, Lessons from the Little Red Hen


I regularly speak to and work with writers who are actively working on developing their craft. Yet these writers often harbor the misconception that once they have perfected their writing, it will sell itself. They sigh longingly of being on "Oprah" and hitting the bestseller lists. They talk about holding book signings. And they think that the publisher is going to make this happen for them.

When working with newer writers, I tell them to spend as much time studying marketing as they do working on their writing. Many many books on the bestseller lists in recent years have gotten there more on the merits of a marketing campaign than on the beauty of their prose.

The realities of the publishing world, combined with the current climate in the spheres of technology, economics, and entertainment, have created a Perfect Storm of Doldrums ("a state of inactivity") when it comes to a publisher's plans to market a new author's work.

So, what's a novice to do?

Take the advice of that great literary figure -- the mother of inspiration -- the Little Red Hen. Do it yourself.

It behooves every writer to remember the Writer's Golden Rule: No One is More Interested in My Work's Success Than I Am. A new author who expects the publisher to put the entire marketing department to work on his or her book is riding a bullet train to disappointment.

When you consider that over 560,000 (HALF A MILLION, folks!) books were published in the U.S. in 2008, the competitiveness of the marketplace and the need for writers to take responsibility for promoting themselves become clear.

Consider Kelly Corrigan, the recent subject of a Washington Post article on book promotion for novice writers. She didn't see sales of her book take off until she spent some of her own money (smart authors know that's what the advance is for) and created her own media campaign for it. It was her story. She believed in it. And she took it upon herself to find ways to let people know that it existed.

The interesting thing about Corrigan's success story isn't that her book sat on the New York Times bestseller list for 20 weeks. (Ok, truth be told -- that is a rather interesting part of her story...) What makes her experience selling her book so noteworthy is that she spent a modest amount of money and did it all herself. It didn't take getting on Oprah, or a coast-to-coast book tour, or a major billboard or print ad campaign. She used the means at her disposal and found ways to get the word out.

Now, I'm pretty well known for giving my little pep talks -- for telling authors that they can do it, that their work and their dreams have merit. This is true, when it comes to following your muse and working on your writing craft.

When it comes to marketing your work, however, I have to change my tune a bit. It's not so much that you CAN do it... You MUST do it. You must find a way to champion your book. Be creative. Study marketing. Study trends. Analyze what makes you buy a book and then apply it to your own project.

So, go on... Get out there... Write! Create! Indulge the Muse with wild, wanton abandon. And then be ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. You owe it to your readers to crow a little about what you've done for them.