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Book Promotion: Do This, Not That – July 2018

By Amy Collins ON July 19, 2018 2 Comments

By Amy Collins

A slightly different take on DTNT this month… Please, authors, if you are on social media or TRYING to get on social media, read this month’s edition of DO THIS NOT THAT.

What I Did

I unfollowed and deleted a romance author from all of my social media platforms.

Why I Did It

This author is a terrific lady whom I have spent time with on the phone and in person. Her genre (historical romance) is one of my favorites. I like her characters, I have read her books in the past, and I like her personally. SO WHY would I unfollow her everywhere?

What She Did

This charming and talented author posted several times a day about her book. Relentless, constant posts about her book, and nothing else. Her posts were teasers about her next book, excerpts and character dialog lines. The posts were clever, but overwhelming. After a few weeks, I could not take any more. I felt beaten about the head and shoulders with her promotion of her books.

How I Felt

I felt terrible and guilty, but I was seeing 5-6 posts a day about this one book and it was too much. I started to feel annoyed and quit while I was ahead.

How Would YOU Have Felt?

Be honest… how do you feel when you are being “sold” relentlessly?

What She Should Have Done Instead

She should have varied her type of posts and mixed the approaches with the promo posts. Let me set you a sample schedule:

Monday

Share an article about a romance-comedy movie that is releasing soon.
Share a blog that reviews a best-selling romance author.
Post a picture of her dog, cat, kid, garden. SOMETHING personal.
Share a fun meme poking fun at romance novel covers.

Tuesday

Retweet tweet posted by best-selling romance author.
Pose a question to followers like: “How many hours a week do you spend reading?”
Post a rave line from a reviewer of HER book.

Wednesday

Thank folks who answered question and give the results/answers.
Google US standard reading habits and post article about average reading habits.
Post a link to an interview about HER book.
Post a funny complaint about her husband or kids. (NOTHING SERIOUS… lighthearted)

Thursday