Why Facebook Cannot Help You Sell Books

[Paul Whybrow]

I came across this article, which doesn't pull any punches about the value of Facebook for marketing your books. After my recent musings on how worthwhile the various social media sites are, in the thread Social Media - Is It Worth It?, which produced a lot of replies from my fellow Colonists I thought that you'd like to read this advice from an experienced professional broadcaster and writer.

Michael Alvear is a well-known American author, columnist, blogger and media personality, who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic.

I'm glad that I found this, as I was going to do lots of work on my Facebook business page. Now I'm not!

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2015/why-facebook-cannot-help-you-sell-books/

 

[Stephen Drake]

Wow, that was enlightening! I was wondering about that myself. Being a celeb isn't likely to happen to me anytime soon (not being negative, just realistic). Luckily, I haven't done a lot with my FB author page. I'll probably keep it up so all of my FB friends will know what I'm up to (all 7 of them). Thanks for sharing, Paul.

 

[Carol Rose]

Sorry but this makes me laugh for the following reasons: (1) I've never heard of this dude. (2) My readers talk to me on Facebook all the time and pimp my books on their social media sites (and not only Facebook) and their blogs. (3) With over 75 books now between my three pen names, I'm living proof that Facebook helps me sell books. But hey… maybe he never heard of ME? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jennifer Stone]

There are exceptions to every rule. @Carol Rose you are a bastion of literary hard work, you deserve your success. I suppose different things work for different people, 'horses for courses' as they say. One person could rave about a strategy while their neighbour berates it. It can't hurt to try any marketing ploys, if you know what you're doing to use it effectively.

 

[Carol Rose]

I never really tried to do anything except get a "YES" on the first book. LOL!! After that, I just wrote like freaking mad, kept on going, and did everything THIS woman told me to do. Sure it won't work for everyone, or for every genre. But in saying that, I can't count the new and not-so-new authors I've seen use social media as their own private spam haunt. THAT isn't going to sell books. If you use it the way it's meant to be used, and you take the time to cultivate and nurture relationships with readers, authors, and non-readers alike, it DOES work. But people don't want to do that kind of work. They think if you just slam it out there you're "using" it correctly. And then they sit back and are shocked when it falls flat. DUH. They need to stop blaming the medium and look at their own actions first. Marketing isn't a sprint anymore than writing and building up a following is. It's a marathon.

 

[Jason Byrne]

I never really tried to do anything except get a "YES" on the first book. LOL!! After that, I just wrote like freaking mad, kept on going, and did everything THIS woman told me to do. Sure it won't work for everyone, or for every genre. But in saying that, I can't count the new and not-so-new authors I've seen use social media as their own private spam haunt. THAT isn't going to sell books. If you use it the way it's meant to be used, and you take the time to cultivate and nurture relationships with readers, authors, and non-readers alike, it DOES work. But people don't want to do that kind of work. They think if you just slam it out there you're "using" it correctly. And then they sit back and are shocked when it falls flat. DUH. They need to stop blaming the medium and look at their own actions first. Marketing isn't a sprint anymore than writing and building up a following is. It's a marathon.

THANK YOU.

 

[Brian Clegg]

As usual, Carol Rose has it spot on. FB and Twitter aren't much use to sell to an anonymous public, but as a vehicle of communication to interact with a reader-base they are important. I use Twitter more for 'broadcast' type communication, but FB is also very useful in my line for getting interesting pointers from the science community and for keeping in touch with other writers. So certainly it's a waste of time if you think of it as a marketing platform. But to when the author of that piece dismisses it out of hand he really misses the point.

 

[Carol Rose]

As usual, Carol Rose has it spot on. FB and Twitter aren't much use to sell to an anonymous public, but as a vehicle of communication to interact with a reader-base they are important. I use Twitter more for 'broadcast' type communication, but FB is also very useful in my line for getting interesting pointers from the science community and for keeping in touch with other writers. So certainly it's a waste of time if you think of it as a marketing platform. But to when the author of that piece dismisses it out of hand he really misses the point.

You said it more succinctly than I did, Brian. Thank you. And I have to say this. Every time you say I got something spot on, I fan girl all over the place.

 

[Karen Gray]

Sorry but this makes me laugh for the following reasons: (1) I've never heard of this dude. (2) My readers talk to me on Facebook all the time and pimp my books on their social media sites (and not only Facebook) and their blogs. (3) With over 75 books now between my three pen names, I'm living proof that Facebook helps me sell books. But hey… maybe he never heard of ME? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with @Carol Rose and @Brian Clegg wholeheartedly here, I get more back and forth on Facebook than I do anywhere else.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I agree with @Carol Rose and @Brian Clegg wholeheartedly here, I get more back and forth on Facebook than I do anywhere else.

I get more interaction with readers on facebook and other authors on Twitter.

 

[Karen Gray]

I get more interaction with readers on facebook and other authors on Twitter.

Yeah, I'd say the same. That's a more accurate description

 

[Carol Rose]

I think it's simply easier to interact on Facebook. I still find Twitter confusing and more white noise than any useful place to get to know someone as a person or have an actual conversation. I make use the Facebook groups function far more than I do my general timeline, so that might also be why I find it easy to get to know people on there.

 

[Brian Clegg]

I think this blog post sums it up brilliantly.

 

[Carol Rose]

I think this blog post sums it up brilliantly.

Excellent!!

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I think this blog post sums it up brilliantly.

Great advice.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I think this blog post sums it up brilliantly.

Love it. Also, I've been told that Terrible Minds is one of the best sites do writers to read.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I've mentioned him before, but JA Konrath runs a brilliant writing blog called A Newbie's Guide To Publishing, which is well worth a look. He's a huge champion of self-publishing, and though he comes across like an arrogant bear with a sore head sometimes, he talks a lot of common sense.

Try this dissection of the pros and cons of self-publishing vs legacy publishing:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/zobie-publishing-meme-4-self-publishing.html

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I found this rebuttal to the Michael Alvear article on how Facebook can't help you sell books:

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2...ign=Feed:+ThePassiveVoice+(The+Passive+Voice)

It seems that you have to speculate to accumulate, for the author Mark Dawson laid out a lot of moolah on Facebook advertising.

 

[Damian North]

I personally deleted my Facebook account three years ago - one of the best things I have ever done.