4T Olio--Marketing that makes sense

My thanks to Barb Britton for this one.

Several weeks ago, she suggested to our writing group that we take a look at Dan Blank's marketing tips on WeGrowMedia.com. I was busy with Mind Mates edits and preparing for the Brahm's German Requiem and didn't get to it until today (which is May 20 as I write this). I popped onto his site with absolutely no expectations in mind

First article I saw... Blew me away.

The article is titled Three common marketing fallacies that writers need to be wary of, and it talks about how we've been oversold on certain "sure-fire" marketing tips.

He points out that trends should not be mistaken for turnkey solutions.

I see this constantly. A viable piece of advice to help writers reach readers is amped up to such a degree that it begins to eclipse all other proven strategies.

And points out that marketing isn't about numbers.

Someone emailed me recently asking how I optimize my site for search engines. I told them honestly:

“I don’t. Caring is what I am optimizing for.”

Oh my goodness, yes. I can't remember who, but one of my writer friends wanted us to use Facebook as a blast site for promo. While I'll post free and 99c books because I love a bargain so maybe my readers will too, can you see how many friends I'd have if all I did was shout BOOK at them all day? Nada, zip, zilch, none. Well, one, my husband, but he's stuck with me, lol.

Where does doing what we love come into it anymore? I've seen too many of my friends burn out in this business because of the emphasis on numbers and sales instead of love. I nearly crashed and burned because of it too.

We write because we love it. Don't lose sight of that. That's the bottom line marketing tool I took away from the article.

I'm too busy to read every blogger that I'd like to, but this one's going on my bookmarks list.