As you know I am an author. My first novel came out January 2012, published by Harper Collins.
So why do I do all this stuff on social media, Twitter @LPOBryan, Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TheIstanbulPuzzle etc etc etc?
I believe we are in a new age of hand selling or screen selling (screlling?). I have heard it said that one of the main benefits of a good bookstore is that you can have good books recommended to you. You can also meet authors when they come to the shop to sign their books.
But social media allows me to meet and greet individual buyers and answer their questions. I get about 2000 hits a day between this site and my writing blog http://www.lpobryan.com.
The main benefits of screlling are IMO:
* You can meet people from all over the world and communicate with them. Google Translate means you can even talk to people in many languages.
* You can engage long term with readers, answering different questions over time and building up relationships.
* You can keep a track of people’s names or identities so you can tell them when your new book comes out.
* You don’t have to waste time and money travelling around and you won’t get wet if it’s raining.
The downsides are:
* You mightn’t make make strong connections with people, as you don’t get to meet people personally. However I believe it takes more than one physical meeting to make friends with people. Multiple meetings and shared interests are just the start. And long term social media friendships can be meaningful too.
* You don’t get to see the cool sunsets from a different town.
And that’s it, is it?
Ok, here’s your challenge. Can you tell me your experience of hand selling books with social media?
Thanks! I hope you enjoy these posts and I hope you can tell me about other downsides I may have missed too in the comments.
To support this site – free posts and advice on social media - please buy one of my novels, The Istanbul Puzzle or The Jerusalem Puzzle or my guide to social media. And enjoy!
