Pet peeves, book marketing and a question
People who help vs. people who prey
Happy Friday,
This week I read an article that compiled the top writers on Medium last month. They were all men who, mostly, write about self growth. Is anyone surprised?
Success tips are one of my pet peeves. Not that there’s anything wrong with self improvement. Most of us want to better ourselves, me included.
The problem is this.
You can’t solve specific problems with generic advice.
If your kid calls crying that she’s lost, do you give her generic advice? No. You find out exactly where she is and where she needs to go so you can give real help.
The insidious part of self growth tips
Maybe you’ve noticed they all say pretty much the same things. It’s astounding, really, the myriad ways they say the same things day after day, week after week.
There’s a wild, crazy level of creativity in being able to write about the same topic from a zillion different angles. You know?
Pity they don’t use that creativity to be actually helpful.
The insidious part is that if those tips don’t apply to you, or don’t work for you, it’s easy to begin feeling like you’re never going to succeed.
Maybe you already get up early to shower, get the kids ready, pack the lunches. Maybe you don’t get up early because the baby wakes you at 3 am. Maybe you can’t focus because you have ADHD. Or work 2 jobs. The reason doesn’t matter.
When you read that stuff day after day, it’s easy to fall into the frame of mind that says “If that’s what success takes, I guess I’m never going to succeed.”
Success tips have the opposite effect on a lot of people. To me, that’s tragic.
It’s why “success tips” are one of my pet peeves.
Marketers do the same thing…
Especially internet marketers. They’re all filled with the same old nonsense.
“This is how it works, if you don’t do it, you’re going to fail.”
As if “their” way is “the” way. A lot of people don’t do any marketing because they can’t stomach what they think marketing is. Authors often top that list.
“I’m not a marketer, I’m a writer.”
That’s what they say.
I’ve been helping people increase their sales for 20 years. I’ve taken clients from zero to 7 figures. Increased sales tenfold in months flat. I wouldn’t still be working 20 years later if I didn’t know what I’m doing.
But I always have to start the same way.
Teaching my clients why internet marketing techniques are failing them.
You don’t sell $200 handbags or $50/lb coffee or a $10 novel the same way you sell a “how to make money” program. Know why?
Because marketing boils down to the psychology of response. And at the root of human response comes from our primal desires.
We humans have 2 of those. Only two.
Avoiding pain and seeking pleasure.
Everything we do is driven by one of those.
Internet marketing leans on the “avoiding pain” trigger.
Buy this program or stay broke forever.
And hurry up, doors are closing.
That’s not the best way to sell a pleasure purchase.
A blunt question…
I’m writing about book marketing. Not entirely sure what I’m going to do with it yet. Maybe a long Medium post, maybe a short book. Not sure.
But one thing I’ve observed from working with people is that it’s easy to see where they are in the process by the questions they ask.
People who say “I don’t know how to market my book” are at the beginning.
They haven’t learned enough to know what to ask.
It’s like the search process people discover using Google. First they type in a generic word, but the results are bad. So they get a little more specific. And by the time they find what they were looking for, they’ve typed in a much longer phrase.
It’s like the old saying. If we want better answers, ask better questions.
And all those people with their generic advice? Doesn’t matter if it’s “success” or “marketing” — they’re preying on beginners. The ones who haven’t learned enough to have specific questions yet.
That’s why they’re my pet peeves.
So here’s a blunt question for you. Where are you in the journey? Do you still have generic questions? Or do you have specific questions about what you’re trying to accomplish? I’m genuinely curious.
If you’re marketing a book, or planning to, I’d love if you’d share your questions in the comments. Might make for some interesting conversation.
Plus, it will help me see if I’m missing anything in this mess of writing about book marketing without the ick factor. Thanks! :)
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.”
― Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
Here’s what I wrote this week:
Thanks for reading. If you liked this, click the heart to let me know. Also, if you’re reading via email, clicking the title will let you leave a comment.
Have a great weekend!
:)
Linda
Another great article. The popularity of the male bloggers’ generic advice bothers me too.
If I write too much on the same topic I get bored. I like to change things up. I don’t know how they are churning out so much content.
Anyway, in regards to your question. I’m editing a full-length manuscript. With another ready for editing right behind it.
No, i don’t have general questions. My interests in how to do what I’m doing more successfully. I’m collecting email names, sending out newsletters, blogging, and engaging with my followers on social media, in preparation to market this book(s),
How do I do all of this more effectively? What don’t I know? I’d love to learn more about that.
I'm writing my first book about sailing adventures post-corporate life. My initial marketing is in attempting to develop a 'following' of sorts by publishing a weekly (mostly) newsletter chronicling my adventures (and misadventures). I'm learning about what resonates through their feedback and will incorporate it into the book which I have little time for now between boat projects and the newsletter. What I do not have a plan for is how to expand that base so I'll be very interested to learn more from your book. BTW, sailboats are terrible investments and anything less than complete devotion to adventure at sea will leave you frustrated, disappointed, and broke! Thanks for your insights.