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Post by Suzy on Apr 11, 2014 3:27:15 GMT -5
I see a lot of authors asking for 'likes' for their pages. But one thing struck me: is it really useful to have as many likes as you can, regardless of who likes the page? Is it not better to concentrate on readers and people who are genuinely interested in you and your books?
I try to make my page interesting and post photos and news connected to my books. I thought that was the main aim of a page. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a page supposed to be for fans and not for just anyone who happens to click on the like button?
I get a like or two every few days now, mostly from people who found a link to my page at the back of one of my books. Which to me is why the page is there.
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Post by Pru Freda on Apr 11, 2014 3:52:23 GMT -5
I agree with you, Suzy. I set up my author page: www.facebook.com/LyndaWilcoxBooks (sorry for the shameless plug  ) in the hope of connecting with readers, and giving them some way to contact and connect with me. I set it up over a year ago and, so far, have 70 likes. However, at least three are bots from click farms (I really don't think Zawi Shah from Egypt is into British cozy mysteries, nor yet the blokes from Iran and Rumania!) and half a dozen are other writers. Although there's a link in the back of my books and on my website, likes are hard to come by. Even harder is reader engagement. - only a few people ever 'like' my posts, less comment, and hardly anyone shares.  I probably don't post often enough - nowhere near as much as some, even when I have a new book out. I've tried asking my fans questions, posting pictures of characters, quotes from my WIP, and news of special offers - but it's like shouting into the void. All I get back is the echo of my own lonely voice. *sigh* Which means I post even less. |
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Post by Suzy on Apr 11, 2014 4:28:05 GMT -5
The problem is that Facebook won't let all your fans see what you post. They try to block most of it in clever ways. So you'll pay for advertising, of course.
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Post by Daniel on Apr 11, 2014 8:42:47 GMT -5
I try to avoid all of those generic reciprocal "like fests" that pop up everywhere. I agree that likes need to count. I'm willing to do reciprocal likes with friends and with others in my genre, but I suspect that the quality of your likes makes a difference. The best likes are from fans. The next best likes are from people your fans might like (e.g. other writers in your genre). All other likes water down the usefulness of your network. That's my theory, such as it is. Feel free to disagree.
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Post by Pru Freda on Apr 11, 2014 8:51:20 GMT -5
I wouldn't dream of disagreeing with you, Daniel. You might put on that wizard outfit and turn me into a frog. It's nice to have connections with other authors, but I'm never sure of the value of promoting their posts. I doubt many of the readers of my whodunits also read horror, children's books, or erotica - though, of course, they might  - so they probably wouldn't thank me for forwarding those posts out to them. |
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Post by Daniel on Apr 11, 2014 9:14:54 GMT -5
I wouldn't dream of disagreeing with you, Daniel. You might put on that wizard outfit and turn me into a frog. My magic system has a conservation of mass rule, so you'd make one hell of a frog! But don't worry. I never transform friends even when they disagree with me. It's nice to have connections with other authors, but I'm never sure of the value of promoting their posts. I doubt many of the readers of my whodunits also read horror, children's books, or erotica - though, of course, they might - so they probably wouldn't thank me for forwarding those posts out to them. Makes sense to me. Here's another theory: all marketing decisions must be made with your target audience in mind. Every time you see a marketing opportunity, including one of those reciprocal links/likes/posts/whatever opportunities, ask yourself, "Is this something that helps me reach my target audience?" I joined one of those promo threads on KB that was specifically related to fantasy. The works of the authors are of interest to my target audience, and when the other authors help me out, they are giving me access to their audiences, which might genuinely be interested in my work. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2014 12:40:09 GMT -5
I'm of a split opinion on Facebook likes. For me as an author, the likes I most treasure are likes by readers, including authors who have actually read my books. However, if other readers hear of me and happen to decide to look at my author page, perception is important. An author who has 74 likes looks a lot less popular than an author with 2,500 likes. We understand that a lot of those likes might be exchanges, but many readers don't. So there is that.  |
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) in the hope of connecting with readers, and giving them some way to contact and connect with me.
- so they probably wouldn't thank me for forwarding those posts out to them.
