Many of the people I follow on Twitter are writers. And many of them, like me, have new ebooks. So naturally, we use Twitter to try to help us sell copies of our latest works.
In a typical two minutes now on Twitter, I often see two or three tweets go by that are promoting ebooks. Sometimes, I add one of my own ebook links to the digital hustle and flow.
But the reality is, trying to sell books this way is a bit like trying to sell them while standing in the middle of a freeway, facing onrushing traffic.
It's hard to get anybody to veer off the Digital Highway long enough to click on a link, look at a cover image, read a book summary and reviews (if you're lucky enough to even have any), and then press the "Purchase" button, etc., etc.
There is just too much other information and interesting or outrageous statements continuously flowing by to help us stay self-absorbed. Also, thanks to easy ebooks, there are now more works available than readers willing to part with even 99 cents. Or zero. As in "Read it free!"
Once in a while, some writers get frustrated with their lack of ebook sales, and they try to do the one-person digital equivalent of Occupy Twitter. They throw themselves into the roadway, kicking and flailing, and hope for some kind of miracle. Or mercy.
They unleash long strings of BUY MY BOOK tweets, offering discounts, freebies, coupons, rewards in heaven, anything they can think of to try to convince someone -- anyone -- to stop, look and click.
By the way, thank you for veering off the Information Superhighway long enough to read this thought-provoking post.
While you've been parked here, I've quietly removed your tires, radiator and distributor cap.
Hey, but I can get you get moving again in mere seconds!
All you have to do is click on this link ... yes, and BUY MY BOOK!
– Si Dunn‘s latest book is a detective novel, Erwin’s Law. His other published works include Jump, a novella, and Anchoring, a book of poetry, plus several short stories, all available on Kindle. He is a freelance book reviewer and a former technical writer and software/hardware QA tester. In an earlier career, he was a photojournalist whose works appeared in numerous regional and national publications.
In a typical two minutes now on Twitter, I often see two or three tweets go by that are promoting ebooks. Sometimes, I add one of my own ebook links to the digital hustle and flow.
But the reality is, trying to sell books this way is a bit like trying to sell them while standing in the middle of a freeway, facing onrushing traffic.
It's hard to get anybody to veer off the Digital Highway long enough to click on a link, look at a cover image, read a book summary and reviews (if you're lucky enough to even have any), and then press the "Purchase" button, etc., etc.
There is just too much other information and interesting or outrageous statements continuously flowing by to help us stay self-absorbed. Also, thanks to easy ebooks, there are now more works available than readers willing to part with even 99 cents. Or zero. As in "Read it free!"
Once in a while, some writers get frustrated with their lack of ebook sales, and they try to do the one-person digital equivalent of Occupy Twitter. They throw themselves into the roadway, kicking and flailing, and hope for some kind of miracle. Or mercy.
They unleash long strings of BUY MY BOOK tweets, offering discounts, freebies, coupons, rewards in heaven, anything they can think of to try to convince someone -- anyone -- to stop, look and click.
By the way, thank you for veering off the Information Superhighway long enough to read this thought-provoking post.
While you've been parked here, I've quietly removed your tires, radiator and distributor cap.
Hey, but I can get you get moving again in mere seconds!
All you have to do is click on this link ... yes, and BUY MY BOOK!
– Si Dunn‘s latest book is a detective novel, Erwin’s Law. His other published works include Jump, a novella, and Anchoring, a book of poetry, plus several short stories, all available on Kindle. He is a freelance book reviewer and a former technical writer and software/hardware QA tester. In an earlier career, he was a photojournalist whose works appeared in numerous regional and national publications.
