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la-fontaine via PixaBay |
Over the last six months I’ve noticed hundreds of blogs cropping
up, telling aspiring indie authors that Americans read “more ebooks than ever.”
Hence, it’s time to publish that manuscript!
Most of these blogs refer to Pew Research
Center’s September 2016 study, which announced that the number of people
who read ebooks has increased by 11% since 2011. Unfortunately, most of the blogs fail to mention the study’s
claim that during the same time period the number of people who read at least
one book—in any format—declined by 6%.
Though the Pew Research Center’s study does not offer any
explanations why 6% of people have stopped reading books, I am guessing that
this number includes people who may have read one or more nonfiction books to
learn important professional skills; now they’ve switched to blogs.
Blogging is not only a respected art form, it is also a content
marketing tool. Blogging at least once per week helps content marketers to stay
in touch with their existing clients, win new clients, and sell product or
services.
But it’s only effective when the blogger cares enough about
the reader to research the topic and provide valuable information.
Example: The Jell-O campaign
benefited both American housewives and the company.
Blogging is new, but content marketing has been around for
more than 100 years; one of the early examples is the Jell-O marketing campaign
of 1904.
Even though Jell-O has been sold since 1899, it didn’t sell
well in stores. American housewives didn’t know what to do with it. Finally, the
Genesee Food Company who owned and distributed Jell-O placed an ad in Ladies’ Home Journal offering free
“best-seller” recipes. The campaign was an instant hit. The fact that
housewives didn’t have to figure out how to prepare delicious Jell-O desserts
did the trick.
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Public domain, the first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923. |
More recently, content marketing is being used by experts
like lawyers, cover designers, and editors to explain to potential customers
how they will benefit from using their more expensive services.
For instance, though most authors have at least some working
knowledge about the copyright, very few know how to proceed if their copyright
is being infringed. The blog of a lawyer who has handled actual copyright
infringement cases will deliver helpful information.
Content marketing should be beneficial for both the blogger
and the reader. The problem begins when bloggers choose topics they don’t know
too much about and also have no
vested interest in.
What this means for
indie authors and author-bloggers.
Whereas a copyright lawyer’s blog is being written by the
lawyer or a law student who interns at their firm and the Jell-O recipes were
created by cooks employed at the Genesee
Food Company, there are hundreds of non-experts blogging about indie author
topics.
Most recently, I saw an indie author’s blog about how to get
book reviews from Amazon top reviewers. The blog contained two traps that will most
likely lead to all top reviewers ignoring their request.
The author-blogger suggested to begin the request email by
stating something like “I found your name on the list of Amazon top reviewers.”
Problem #1: These are
useless filler words.
How do I know? I really am an Amazon top reviewer. Since it
takes at least two to three years of steady reviewing to become a top reviewer,
it is wasted words telling a top reviewer how indie authors find us. We know.
Problem #2: Too many
authors don’t edit their emails for personal appeal.
Many emails seem to suggest between the lines, “I don’t really
care what books you like. Since you are a top reviewer I hope you will read and
review my book.” Making this error is
detrimental to authors’ efforts. Top reviewers read books because they enjoy
reading and reviewing books, not because they want be used as unpaid marketers.
Obviously, this second problem only arises because the blogger
suggests mentioning the top reviewer’s status. It is difficult to mention
somebody’s special status and then pretend that this status has nothing to do
with why one person contacted the other. As a result, too many emails sound like bad
flattery. If, in this case, the indie author would focus only on presenting
their book to a person who is known to
enjoy reading this particular genre the problem would not even come up.
Hence, following this blog’s advice hinders indie authors in
succeeding instead of helping them. Since this blog was shared more than 1,000
times I don’t even want to speculate how many indie authors wasted hours and
hours writing and sending emails that won’t lead to positive results.
The rise of false
information.
During the outgoing 19th century no hobby cook who used
Jell-O would have published a book or an article about Jell-O recipes; today,
even people who have no insider knowledge about a certain topic write blogs about it.
The hundreds of bloggers who advise to use hollow phrases
and silly templates have no idea how annoying these emails are—especially when
one receives dozens of emails like that every month.
The simple truth is that to write good content the blogger
has to be invested in a positive outcome for the reader and for themselves.
The cook who created the Jell-O recipes in 1904 had a vested
interest that their recipes come out perfect every time.
A lawyer who blogs about their field of expertise has a
vested interest that they present arguments which help potential clients to
make the best decisions.
In contrast, author-bloggers who just want clicks couldn’t
care less if their blogs prompt thousands of other authors to send emails to
top reviewers; since they themselves aren’t top reviewers, they won’t receive
this flood of annoying emails.
Equally, the bloggers who encourage others to write a book
because Americans read “more ebooks than ever” without mentioning that the
number of people who read at least one book—in any format—declined by 6% don’t
have to face the consequences because they are not publishing the books. They
just want to hook aspiring writers.
Don’t be that blogger. Don’t be that blog reader.
How to find great
blogs.
Though at this point it may not be obvious, I really love blogs—great blogs that is. As an author I
am aware that books cannot be updated every six months to include interesting new
information. Writing a blog gives indie
authors the opportunity to present additional information whenever an
opportunity arises.
The fact that I love blogs is also the reason why I call out
bloggers who write wishy-washy blogs just to make sales, instead of writing
blogs that create value.
So, what can blog readers do to avoid acting upon incorrect
information?
1) Remember the First
Amendment
When reading a blog always remember that in the United States
the First Amendment guarantees people the right to write, even about things
they know nothing about or can’t prove to be true. Therefore:
2) Check the
blogger’s background!
Every blogger features a short resume at the beginning or the end of their blog. Always study it;
if need be—verify it. Don’t hesitate to ask poignant questions. If anybody asks
me why I give advice on how to contact top reviewers, I will be happy to provide
them with a link to my top reviewer profile.
3) Check the date!
If a blog is older than six months, chances are at least
some parts may be outdated. Things change quickly these days.
4) Do the math!
Add the number of shares the blog received on all social
media platforms. Because not everybody shares blogs, multiply that number by
30. Since probably no more than half of the blog readers acted on the blog’s
recommendation divide that number again by 2. Then, evaluate if the presented
concept will work if this number of people do what is being suggested or
recommended.
As a practical example: A blog suggests that authors should
contact all reviewers who read their book’s genre with an email that begins
with the words, “Hi, I saw that you reviewed (title of book). I just recently
published a book that is similar...” The blog was shared 450 times on all
social media platforms.
450 x 30 = 13,500 : 2 = 6,750. Of the 6,750 indie authors
who may have contacted reviewers and bloggers, about 30% may write romance
novels. That means that a reviewer who reviews this popular genre might have received
already between 750 and 1,500 emails stating the same silly sentence.
Do you believe that if you do the same, the reviewer will
reply, “Sure, please send your book”?
5) Get some Jell-O
Then—sit down in your favorite chair and ponder the blog you
read while slowly eating the Jell-O dessert.
Kids will tell you that the best thing about Jell-O is that
you can see through it.
It’s the same for blogs. A great blog has a see-through concept.
The blogger explains why their idea will work and list facts and sources. A
great blog can be sliced and diced and each part will be good. A great blog
will be revelatory even without any decor.
If you evaluate all blogs by this standard, you won’t waste
time and you’ll achieve much better, sweeter results.
~~ *** ~~~
Gisela Hausmann is the multi-award winning author of "BOOK MARKETING: The Funnel Factor: Including 100 Media Pitches" and "NAKED REVIEWS How to Get Book Reviews."
Her work has been featured in the SUCCESS magazine, in Entrepreneur, on Bloomberg (podcast), on NBCNews, and in other fine publications.
Gisela is a mass media expert who graduated from the University of Vienna, which, founded in 1365, is the 22nd oldest university in the world. She also worked in the industry for six years.
Gisela is a mass media expert who graduated from the University of Vienna, which, founded in 1365, is the 22nd oldest university in the world. She also worked in the industry for six years.
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Naked_Determina
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© 2017 by Gisela Hausmann