Posted on April 22, 2021
This is an excerpt from an email I received from a fellow author. What follows it are some comments from me.
“There are seven actions someone can do on Facebook when s/he sees a post about a book:
1. Not read the post.
2. Read it and do nothing.
3. ‘Like’ it.
4. ‘Comment’ on it.
5. Click on a suggested link to find out more information.
6. Read the additional information.
7. Purchase (whether print, e or audio) the book.
Unfortunately, only 1 of these actions results in a purchase. I see that many people ‘Like’ a post about a book and while this is ego-boosting, it does not do those of us who are authors any good. Same with ‘Comments’ (assuming that they are positive!)
The issue comes down to why someone who Likes or Comments on a book doesn’t generally buy one. In the past, it was said that with many books costing above $20, that price was a negative. That might have been true at one time, but e-books can generally be bought for $9.99 or less and because they are available for download immediately, there is no shipping charge. And there is instant gratification form having it in your library within a few seconds. Pretty amazing. I realize that some people prefer hard copies but list prices seem to be a thing of the past for many print books just a few months post launch. This is certainly true for Amazon. Of course, some folks prefer not to buy from Amazon to support their local retailers. I get that.
So what can we do to entice Facebookers who are impressed enough to Like or Comment about a book to actually buy it? Or at least read more about it to determine if it is really something they would like to read (i.e., purchase)? Perhaps we have been too timid in just making announcements about our books without any real push to ask people to click on a link to learn more and then to consider buying. I know all about ‘soft selling’ and that we should not push, just say nice things about our books from reviews or awards. But this does not seem as if it is working.
I can tell you that I have put my money where my mouth is. I have bought more than a dozen books since last summer just from reading Facebook posts on books that I had previously never heard of. So maybe we can start with authors supporting other authors. Could you conceive of a post starting out with something like, “Here is a message for authors to support other authors?” And in such a post, we can be more direct, since our audience would be those people who have the same experience as I have had. I would bet that this would get some authors to buy books from fellow writers. And of course, while the headline is directed to authors, everyone else is going to see it as well.
What do you think about the issue and my one idea that I hope you will find reasonable?”
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At first, I hesitated to post this because, as an author, it could be perceived as self-serving, but the more I thought about it, the more I get that it is precisely the kind of thing that’s been swept under the rug and needs to come out for an airing. We do need to find ways to motivate people to do more than just Liking or Commenting on a post on a book. I’m in favor of the idea of starting out by supporting other authors. Since January 1 of this year, I’ve purchased 14 books from other authors I’ve discovered on FB. A few have been terrific and several have been very disappointing. But the very good vastly outweighs the bad. I’m pleased to have supported my fellow authors. From email messages and FB Messenger, I know of at least half a dozen authors who’ve purchased either my debut book of three years ago or have pre-ordered my second book that’s coming out on May 4.
Can we start a respectful conversation about this issue? I welcome comments from authors and readers.