The other day I joined a writer’s forum and have been fascinated to see all the information that is posted there by other writers.
One member posted about investing several hours joining various forums and leaving information on where to buy his books and how the sites pulled his info.
That, my friends, is spamming.
One thing I learned as a cold, hard fact during my years of direct sales is that people don’t care what you are selling or what you have done until they know you care about them as a person. So for all of you who would like to join forums, post links to where people can buy your books, and then run – forget about it.
You must invest the time to become a part of that community, to offer something of value to the group, share helpful tips. Once you have done that, once you have built up relationships, then you can share about what it is you do, where people can find your information. Because the truth of it is, people don’t care until you care about them.
Pick out two or three forums or communities and become a valuable member. And while you are carving out your niche there, you’ll find that you’ve made new friends, learned some great lessons and probably had some fun.
As someone said the other day, promoting books isn’t a sprint, it is a marathon. Spammers sprint.
Be a long-distance runner. I guarantee you’ll reach the finish line successfully.
