Marketing Sins Writers Should Avoid

Marketing is one of my least favorite things I have to do as a writer. Perhaps not everyone faces this with as much trepidation as I do, but it’s one of those tasks I’m having to teach myself and really push myself into doing. There’s a spectrum of where writers fall in terms of how they market themselves. On one side, probably the side I fall in, there are those who have a hard time even letting people know what they are working on, let alone advertising those projects. On the other end, there are those who are so forceful and repetitive with selling that you really never want to buy anything from them. Ever.

The trick is to fall somewhere in the middle, and while I may not yet have the best tips of marketing to pass onto you, I have discovered things writers need to avoid.

1. Fishing for likes: Networking is an important aspect of a writer’s life, and can even lead to other authors reading your work. After more than two years of blogging, I’ve come to recognize when someone is trying to connect with another writer and when someone is fishing for another person to like their website or throw them a like on social media. Usually, the comment is vague. Something along the lines of “Great content.” Or, “I like your post, you should check out my website.” Luckily, I moderate comments, so you don’t have to suffer through reading those like I do.What to do instead: Here’s something that will repeat itself throughout this post: Be genuine. We are all trying to connect, form relationships, and hopefully find people who will read and like our work. But in doing this, know that people can tell the difference between when you are trying to connect with them, and when you’re fishing for one more person to like your page. If you’re leading with the impression that you’re trying to connect with another writer, then connect with them. Don’t act like you’re networking just to push your website and books in their face and then disappear.
2. Adding people to mail lists without their permission: This has to be the biggest marketing mistake you can make, and it will often have the opposite desired effect. I recently had this happen to me by a local writer. He added me to a Messenger group that he titled “Marketing group.” Now, this is a writer who I helped, answering several writing-related questions and connecting him with writers in our community, so this was an extra offensive mistake to me because I’d invested so much time in encouraging this writer only to be reduced to a nameless face in a marketing spam text. People are reluctant to give out their personal information for this very reason. They don’t want to get a bunch of junk they don’t want. We get enough spam email and spam phone calls that we don’t want anymore. Not only does most of it get ignored but you also run the risk of alienating someone who was supporting your efforts or could have become a fan in the future. It’s a bad impression to make on someone you barely know. What to do instead: There’s nothing wrong with giving someone information about your projects, website, social media accounts, etc. It’s even okay to remind people. But show people where they can sign-up for groups or newsletters themselves or offer to sign them up if they are interested. But under no circumstance sign them up without their permission.
3. Being pushy: I think it’s hard to know where the line is between promoting yourself and your work and when you’re being pushy, but you should be able to find a comfortable area that’s not too pushy. I fall on the end where I have troubles even telling people what I’m working on, let alone reaching the point of promoting it. If you read this blog, you get a much better idea of what I’m doing than most people, and I think I leave out a good deal on here too. But a few cues that you’re being too pushy is that the first thing you do when speaking to someone is pushing your product onto them. It’s like being attacked by a salesperson the second you enter a store before you even look around, or before they even greet you. Another sign, someone tells you they aren’t interested or that’s not something they would read and then you keep telling them about it anyway. Sure, there might be a few occasions where the person has a false impression that you may need to clarify, but if they still aren’t interested, you should stop. Another sign is reading the person’s body language and if they appear disinterested and are trying to walk away from the conversation, that means they don’t want to hear more.What to do instead: Work your projects into a conversation when it’s not too forced (although I know for some people it may feel forced because it can be awkward to promote yourself, but if that’s you, you’re probably less likely to be too pushy, to begin with). If a person is interested, they’ll ask questions, if they are not or seem to be in a hurry, give them a business card or something where they can look up more information at their leisure.

Overall, one of the best pieces of advice I can offer if you’re hoping to gain followers through other bloggers or writers is to reciprocate. Read their work, follow their social media, offer comments. It may not be the fastest process, but I’ve read other writers’ works because I want to support them, not because they kept hassling me to read their work. I honestly wish I had more time to read and comment on other writers’ blogs, but I try my best to reciprocate effort put forth by other people, and if I get too busy with other projects, they know I’ll always return to their blogs when I get time.

What are the biggest mistakes you’ve seen writers make? What are the best marketing strategies you’ve seen for writers, or that work for you?