Pushy vs. purposeful: PART 1

One of the reasons we hold back from promoting ourselves is a concern that we will be annoying, or worse, pushy, alienating a potential customer and getting a reputation for being a self-promoter. We’ve all had one of those awkward experiences when a salesperson calls us or knocks on our door to sell us something and won’t take no for an answer. They gallop through a prepared script, not pausing for breath and not giving us a chance to stop them until we have to be that mean person who hangs up on them or shouts that we’re not interested.

First of all, let me reassure you, if you’re asking this question the chances are high that you won’t ever cross the line to being annoying. The fact that you ask the question shows you have empathy, and as I’ve written about here, that’s the first step to effective marketing.

So, how do we ensure our marketing is purposeful but not pushy? Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way.

Treat it like a RELATIONSHIP

[bctt tweet=”Marketing isn’t actually about selling your book!” username=”SarahSambles”]

Not in the first analysis. Hopefully that’ll be the end result, but the best marketing is about developing a relationship with a target market of potential readers. That way, you’re not just selling them one book, you’re showing them what kind of a writer you are, letting them in on your journey, and probably gaining customers for life who will keep buying your books.

Think about how you treat a new friend you’re getting to know. You find out what their interests are, you try and do things together centred around that mutual interest, you ask questions, you listen. Well, we can do the same with potential readers – through social media platforms, in the tone of our web content, in email newsletters. If you take this approach with your potential readers, you are unlikely to be pushy. When you post on social media, make sure you contribute to the general discussion more than you promote your own writing. Retweet other tweets, congratulate people, post links to helpful writing blogs.

Put yourself in the shoes of your target reader. Ask yourself how you would like to be treated if you were a reader. If you think that tweet you were going to post is going to cross the line into annoying, hold back. Don’t tweet ‘buy my book’. That is annoying. Instead, tweet some excerpts, a picture of something that inspired you to write your book, a hook for your book so readers know what it’s about.

Pushy or purposeful?

Ask yourself what your ideal reader needs, wants, struggles with. If you’re a fiction writer your story does something that corresponds to one of those desires or challenges – it tells a story of overcoming, it takes a reader back to that camp fire where they heard their first ghost story. Make that clear in your book jacket. If you’re a blogger or non-fiction writer, you’re writing about how to solve a problem. You may not have looked at it this way, but that is actually what you are doing. Identify the problem you’re addressing and make sure to start your marketing copy with it. Readers don’t find this annoying, they find it helpful because it helps them answer the question of whether your writing is for them or not.

Ask questions

It’s not a sign of weakness to ask questions, it’s a way to build community and relationship. If you’re an emerging writer, one of your goals should be to build a group of potential readers around you – on social media, at local groups and events, through an email newsletter.

As you reach out, ask new contacts:

• Through which medium would you like to be contacted?
• How often?
• What content would you like to receive?

Be polite: turn a no into a yes

Often, us writers think of our audience as the person who buys the book but if you’re seeking to be traditionally published, then one of your first ‘readers’ is the literary agent to whom you send a query letter. In querying agents for my first manuscript, I received several requests to read the full manuscript. This was incredibly exciting. What was less exciting was when they replied to say that the story wasn’t for them. I could have huddled up in a ball and given up but I saw an opportunity to build a professional relationship. Firstly, I replied to each agent who had read the full manuscript to thank them for their time and feedback. I also asked for clarification where I wasn’t clear on their comments. Was this pushy? No, because I was professional and polite. I didn’t try and persuade them to accept my manuscript, I didn’t point out how wrong they were to turn me down. Interestingly, the agents replied with more explanation. In fact, do you know what one of them said? “Thank you for your gracious response. Not everyone responds so well.” Wow!

I wonder how many of us would have more success with our marketing if we didn’t take rejection personally but saw it as an opportunity for growth?

Since these agents weren’t interested in my first manuscript, but had said some positive things about it, I decided to tell them about my second work-in-progress and ask if they would be interested in seeing it once it was finished. Again, was this pushy? No, because agents are on the lookout for books and writers. I wasn’t asking them to change their mind about my first piece, I was offering them something different.

Do you know what they replied? Two out of the three agents said yes. Now, instead of two rejections I have two possibilities! This was professional, not pushy. I thanked them all, personally. I only asked once. I didn’t pursue the agent who didn’t reply. And I didn’t pursue the editor who recommended I approach agents instead of editors.

There is more to be said on this topic, but I’ll leave it there for now. If you put the principles of RELATIONSHIP and EMPATHY first on your marketing checklist, you won’t go far wrong.

What marketing activity are you considering which you’re concerned might be pushy? Let me know, I’d love to discuss it.