Telemarketers cold call people to either sell a product or to obtain a donation for a charitable cause, and they use a targeted list of potential consumers. While telemarketing a legitimate product is not illegal and can be successful, many people on the receiving end of the call are angered to have their time wasted.
I loathe picking up the phone to a telemarketer.
Like telemarketers, some authors are targeting a list of potential consumers on Twitter (it's simple to find like-minded folks through hashtags and profiles) to promote their books. Nothing wrong with that. However, the relentless sales pitches hurt them.
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I do not follow back people who are solely self-promoting.For example, this morning I reviewed the first three tweets of an author who recently followed me. Every tweet was a variation on the same:
#Nameofbook is #2 on Kindle. Who will be the first to review #good #fiction #nameofbook on #Amazon? Go to bit.ly now! #Crime #Readers
#Shortstory on #Smashwords. Guaranteed you'll love it. #Books Only 99cents! #Buyit!! #Share this!
This is not effective. It makes me want to run and hide.
If the author is trying to spread news about his book through Twitter to increase sales, he needs as many followers as possible to help him share the message. By treating people on Twitter as wallets instead of friends, this author loses his chance for people to connect with him, and he loses avenues to help him promote his book.
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I do follow back people who carry conversations and self-promote.You know the old adage--for every criticism you give, you should give five compliments? We can apply the same strategy on our social networks. For every self-promotion post, write five conversational posts.
Frankly, I'd caution even less shameless plugs. The majority of what we share on social networks should be conversational or informational. By this I mean, we're either talking to someone (@coolauthor Thanks for the coffee! What are you working on today?) or sharing information (Great tips! RT @coolauthor 5 Writing Helps bit.ly #amwriting).
The thing about social media is if we're doing it right, we only have to post a "look what I did, Ma" type of message once, and our followers do the rest for us. It's the power of re-tweeting and re-sharing. If we get the message out, our friends help spread the good news. I routinely re-tweet and re-share other authors' celebrations, whether they're announcing a book contract, landing an agent, winning a contest, hitting a best-seller list, or even finishing a first draft. I'm excited for them, and I want everyone else to get excited too.
What's more effective? One telemarketer calling a stranger, or a fundraiser attended by thousands of people?
People buy books from people they like. Telemarketing tactics don't build a readership.
What makes you want to follow someone on Twitter, Facebook, or blogs? What turns you off?
Have a fabulous Friday!
Jill I love this. You nailed it! If writers are going to self promote and don't want to tick their readers off they have to earn the credits by helping promote others! That's just the way it works!
ReplyDeleteI don't like the telemarketing approach either. I'm interested in people. I love conversations and reading RT's. And I like funny people. I'm more apt to follow you if you tweet some funny stuff. Mix it up!
ReplyDeleteShamefully I admit, I telemarketed in college. I have learned what not to do! lol
I agree! I want to know the person, not the advertisement.
ReplyDeletePerfectly said, Jill! The one thing I don't do well (Sorry! :( I'm trying to do better.) is going on Twitter and making sure I follow back on a timely basis. I am trying to do better and everyone should do this, b/c I know there are people who take this very personally. I think I'll go do that right now. Thanks for the great post, Jill.
ReplyDeleteCould not agree more with you Jill!! The less an author talks about him or herself, funnily enough - the more interested I AM in the person!
ReplyDeleteAgree. I find that I have a hard time with blogs that use every post to remind me to buy something as well.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know, we all have to get our work out there. But if I am a regular reader, I start to feel like you are beating me on the head with it.
"People buy books from people they like."
Yes. This.
You might think it's better to follow someone with more followers, because they could influence more people about your book or whatever. But I actually tend to follow back people with smaller numbers because I figure I have a better chance of making a real connection with them. And if there's a real connection, they'll be more likely to be interested in what I'm writing. I do not follow back someone who clearly uses Twitter the way you describe. (And I dislike when someone dumps 20 posts in a row into my feed. That feels like one-sided conversation.)
ReplyDeleteI like being able to interact with people on Twitter. However, I find it's a slow process to get people to interact back. I reserve Facebook for people I know either in person or Internet friendships.
ReplyDeleteYep. You've got it. I want to get to know you, learn from you, share your joys and sorrows. I'll even seek out your books/blogs if you don't talk about them.
ReplyDeleteI like to follow someone who is relational, promotes their own stuff, and who promotes and encourages others.
Yeah, that self-promotion stuff makes me want to upchuck my cookies. Not so into it. I'll stop following someone if it's overload. I just don't have the energy for it.
ReplyDeleteLoved your comment about treating people like wallets...isn't that the truth?!
I follow people who are witty in a heartbeat. I love to laugh.
~ Wendy
This is a really interesting concept. I've not seen the social media thing related to telemarketing before. But you have some really good points. I'm still getting used to social media. So I'm not that sure what I think yet.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the 80/20 rule espoused: 20% of tweets can be gently self-promoting, 80% simply social interaction. And, like you, I really hate to see tweets that are so blatantly self-promoting the tweeter should have bought space for them. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteLOVE.THIS.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I see some of those authors and think, "Man... please say that's not what I'm required to do on twitter once I get published!!!"
But you are totally right... those authors I see doing that CONSTANTLY...??? I've never purchased one of their books!
Great tips, Jill! Thanks for sharing... My goal is to be conversational, mostly it works - but when I don't have a lot to promote just yet. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat points Jill. I'm new to Twitter so I haven't seen a lot of this yet but I did see a tweet the other day that didn't sit right with me. How does that saying go...you can catch more honey with bees or more bees with honey...something like that. ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!
Great post, Jill! There are a lot of people who are clumsy at social media. Which is a bummer, since they must be missing out on the feeling of community!
ReplyDeleteSadly I think some people miss the meaning inherent in the term social media. Social is about people, not about sales. I wouldn't meet a friend for lunch and start into a "buy my book" pitch, so why do that online? I prefer deepening relationships by learning more about the other person.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jill. I'm new to Twitter, so I haven't seen it there yet, but I do see it on Facebook. Worse yet are those who will follow your blog and then post in the comments section: "Hey, my book just became available on Kindle for $3.99! Check it out!" LOL :-)
ReplyDeleteWriting can be tough, especially the business side. That's why I like to follow people who give great advice, are encouraging, and genuinely interested in what other writers are doing.
Love these tips and opinions, guys!
ReplyDeleteI woke up without power, so in addition to a lovely lunch at Panera, I'm enjoying all the fantastic comments!
Thank you all so much for chiming in!
I totally agree. I hate it when I follow someone on Twitter, and the first tweet I get back is a link to buy their book. Gah! I'm there for the connections; that's what it's about.
ReplyDeleteTwitter remains a mystery to me. And I'm beginning to be okay with that, especially since the universe is supposed to convert to google+ in the near future anyway...
ReplyDeleteAlways chasing the curve, that's me.
Agreed, Jill. Social networking is supposed to be "SOCIAL," not "SALES."
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and I love the 5 to 1 ratio suggestion.
I totally agree! Especially if the don't ever have any "real person" type tweets!
ReplyDeleteI woulddn't like it if all I got was self-promition and book promotion either. I think your attitude is the right one. Maybe these poeple will see your blog and take a hint.
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting started on the social media scene and I've already seen way too much of this. Makes me want to run the other way.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!
Ah, my power is back on!
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you all on this--"social" not "sales" and let's have some conversations instead of pitches!
(Erica, you are always chasing the curve, aren't you? :)
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Great post. It all goes back to the "social" part of social networking. When people treat Twitter and Blogging and Facebook and Google+ as a marketing tool, they turn me off. But when they use it to get to know others with similar interests, and occasionally post something about their book (or whatever), that's great.
ReplyDeleteIt's about networking and building relationships. The ability to use it to promote yourself is a by-product, not the goal.
This is a great post, Jill and just looking at the quality of the commentors you bring in shows me that you hit the target.
ReplyDeleteWhat you describe is 'passive marketing' and I've been doing it for a while and it works. But much more, much much more than that is discovering true friends and good people on the social medias. Writers helping writers and at the same time giving readers a way to choose quality books in the genres they like.
Thank you for all the tips and advice. You are one to follow!
When commercials come on TV, I go get a snack. When they appear on my Facebook wall or blog, they get deleted.
ReplyDeleteSome authors are beginning to sound like the proverbial used car salesman. Ugh.
I feel exactly the same way. When I've already connected with writers on a person level, I WANT to share their great news or tweet their informative posts (like this one!). But when it's all about sales? No thanks.
ReplyDeleteJill:
ReplyDeleteI use the mute button on TV commercials. I am not on Twitter. But I am on facebook. I get tired of seeing the companies who suggest we follow them on facebook.
I understand their thinking. Get more people to be familiar with their product. I have trained myself NOT to notice the ads on computer pages.
Love this, Jill! You make great points. I follow people on Twitter to get to know who they are as a person and as an author, before I want to buy their material. Tweeting book promotions 24/7 tells me nothing about them, and I'm not inclined to read their book or help them promote.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding all of us that Twitter is a great way to build relationships! Glad you and I connected through Twitter! :)
Excellent points. I have recently had some new followers o. twitter who are like telemarketers too. I ignore them. I don't have a lot of time to invest in social media so when I do I want it to count and be real.
ReplyDelete