World, Writing, Wealth discussion

I just requested this book thru interlibrary loan. Anyone interested in reading it too?

Hey All--I just read the article "Authors Influencing Others to Follow," by Rothschild, Philip C. MEIEA Journal 14.1, which is a summary and study of Hyatt's methods. Very interesting and I'd be interested in discussing it and the book.

As I read neither the book nor the summary, while the topic sounds very relevant to any indie author, I'd follow your discussion with interest.
Hope to read the book or the summary at some stage...

Hey y'all--So, the article (it's an academic study in an academic journal) basically talks about how Hyatt uses concepts or principles that have been shown in other academic studies to be effective tools for influencing people. The principles are:
1) The principle of reciprocity. By being generous and giving gifts, help, etc., you cause people to want to repay in kind. The article talks about how Hyatt gives away books on his website, provides helpful resources create by other authors, and promotes other people. It's important to do this much more than you promote your own work.
2) The principle of consistency. People want to be seen as honest and consistent, so, AFTER having demonstrated your own generosity and helpfulness, you can ask them to make commitments to help you by spreading the word about your book, writing reviews, etc.
3) The principle of social proof. People are influenced by what other people are doing. Showing that you have lots of followers, showing that other people have enjoyed your books by posting reviews, and showing that you are similar to them by writing about and reviewing other works that they might enjoy are ways to show that you and they are similar and that there are other, similar people enjoying your work.
4) The principle of liking. People like things that are likable. Having a physically attractive platform with attractive pictures of you and your works, and engaging with your followers in a likable fashion will cause them to like you and support you more.
5) The principle of authority. People tend to respect authority and expertise. Showing you credentials and expertise will make people more likely to buy your products.
5) The principle of scarcity. Limited promotions and countdowns make people more likely to buy your product.

The overall takeaway the article had was that generosity, other-centeredness, and helpfulness were effective long-term strategies for promotion and marketing.

Thanks for summarizing the summary, E.P.!
With non-fiction a good digest may sometimes fairly substitute reading the entire piece...

From my own experience points 1-3 really work both for me and 'against' me. Seem like sound observations and advice.

Points 4-6 are rather trivial and obvious, but I guess it's never superfluous to have them added into a system...

So, I guess, my frequent offering of a beer to Goodreads friends is now scientifically corroborated under the reciprocity principle -:)

E.P. wrote: "
The overall takeaway the article had was that generosity, other-centeredness, and helpfulness were effective long-term strategies for promotion and marketing."

this article (28 pages) is great! I'm reading it now. it also talks about parallels b/w the music & book industries--conclusions to which i've independently come to myself <: )

i finished the article. actually, it's only 22 pages (1 title page and 5 pages of backmatter).

http://www.meiea.org/Journal/Vol.14/R...

it has really good examples that we can use in our "brand" or platform. i'm looking forward to getting the book and sharing w/all of you. i might read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion later.

just 2 points of interest to add to E.P.'s excellent summary:

* the article states that a blog homebase might be more appropriate for middle-aged readers who check their email often rather than for college-aged music fans who are more into brief and fast social media.

* Hyatt suggests a 20/1 rule, wherein you provide 20 helpful things (for example, referencing a resource that is not your own) vs. 1 request (for example, to buy your book).

Thanks for the additional input, Alex. I hope we have the quintessence summarized neatly above.
What would be the a homebase for college-aged then?
I agree with the approach of being generous and helpful and it comes naturally, but 20/1 ratio? I wish I could, but who has time for that, unless we are talking about small stuff really like referencing? And even after that I'd rather not ask buying my book

The article mentioned that some suggest a 12:1 ratio, which seems more doable. I guess if you were on Twitter, for example, you could like and retweet other people's posts--that's pretty easy to do.

Nik wrote: "
What would be the a homebase for college-aged then?
Iwho has time for that, unless we are talking about small stuff really like referencing? And even after that I'd rather not ask buying my book"

lol.

hyatt is a leader/self-help kind of writer, so you'd expect that (but the article actually said some people recommended 12/1!).

the article didn't mention a home-base for a college-aged audience, but i think wherever they hang out: twitter, methinks.

anyways, wherever your potential readers hang out and get their recommendations from, that's where you should be. and, every social media has their own groups. i'm in a couple of sci-fi goodreads groups. i just started on twitter back in nov 2015, so i'm still feeling my way--it's a little more organic than goodreads. trying to get my website up, but i don't think it's quite as important these days as social media. i looked at tumblr and instagram but they seemed like a heavier version of twitter & they were too disorganized. i'll do amazon when i publish.

Yep, and as I hear from fellow authors that Twitter is one of the more efficient tools to amass some followship, it's probably advisable to have one. I'm one of those dinosaurs who doesn't have a twitter account and has only vague idea of pinterest or instagram (knowing only they exist basically) -:)

Alex G wrote: "Nik wrote: "
What would be the a homebase for college-aged then?
Iwho has time for that, unless we are talking about small stuff really like referencing? And even after that I'd rather not ask buyi..."

Sounds like a plan to me...
Do you plan Amazon solely (KDP Select) or other venues as well?

Twitter's super easy! I just started on it in December and I already have more than 1300 followers. Most of them are not buying my books, however :(

1300 followers in 3 months?! Amazing
The reality sometimes surpasses science fiction or fantasy-:)
Well, I hope they follow for a reason and at least some will be sufficiently pitched to buy and have a read

E.P. wrote: "Twitter's super easy! I just started on it in December and I already have more than 1300 followers. Most of them are not buying my books, however :("

i heard in the SIA group that in twitter you should focus on a theme--i extrapolate that to tweeting in your genre, but i don't generally do that <; ) although i do have some themes: science, science fiction, manga, anime--even to the point that you separate out your twitter accounts by theme. it's pretty organic, followers come and go; some hashtags have a longer lifetime than followers : )

so, you're doing much better than i w/my measly 90 followers on my anonymous account. on my "real name" account that i just started up again last week, i only have 11 followers.

Nik wrote: "Do you plan Amazon solely (KDP Select) or other venues as well?"

i think i'll do KDP Select for 90 days and see if I should renew. they are the 500lb gorilla right now and i'd be remiss not get a piggyback ride.

The main thing seems to be to follow other people with similar interests. A lot of them will follow back, and even if they don't, you will be suggested to their followers as a potential person to follow. I tweet about a mix of things, but I regularly tweet reviews of other people's books, for example, which I guess is part of the "promoting others" strategy.

Alex G wrote: "E.P. wrote: "Twitter's super easy! I just started on it in December and I already have more than 1300 followers. Most of them are not buying my books, however :("

i heard in the SIA group that in ..."

Good luck with the gorilla, Alex -:). The orangutans can wait.
When's the launch?

E.P. wrote: "The main thing seems to be to follow other people with similar interests. A lot of them will follow back, and even if they don't, you will be suggested to their followers as a potential person to f..."

Looks like the strategy works well, if you've reached such an impressive number of followers. Sooner or later some will most likely take a look at your books and a certain percent will purchase

E.P. wrote: "Hey All--I just read the article "Authors Influencing Others to Follow," by Rothschild, Philip C. MEIEA Journal 14.1, which is a summary and study of Hyatt's methods. Very interesting and I'd be in..."

Hyatt's book is waiting for me at the library, so I'll start reading this weekend. i also requested Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

Nik wrote: "When's the launch?"

heh heh. next month, as soon as i get the cover done, but then again i think it might need a copy edit...

If it was in Russian, Ukrainian or Hebrew I could probably help, but with English I can only downgrade rather than improve-:)

Just checked it out & started skimming the table of contents. Looks good. He does talk about a few well-known techniques, such as the elevator pitch.

Alex G wrote: "Just checked it out & started skimming the table of contents. Looks good. He does talk about a few well-known techniques, such as the elevator pitch."

If you run across something important beyond the summary, I think many would appreciate an update...

Nik wrote: If you run across something important beyond the summary, I think many would appreciate an update... "

will do.

Nik wrote: "If you run across something important beyond the summary..."

here is my review:

had to return it to the library, but i will probably buy it.

although not terribly original and meant for blogging more than selling books, it is comprehensive and detailed. Hyatt states that you have to have a good product; otherwise, no amount of marketing will sell it. perhaps that should be amended to the best product in your market niche.

i also started reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, which really has the underlying principles that you can use in any marketing plan (see my other post on Making a sale: before, after, or both?)

now, everyone in this group gets my exclusive synopsis b/c you are all more realistic than the other groups.

Here are what I think are his top 3 non-trivial points for us on selling stories:

1) Cover & Title
 a) Know your audience
 b) Review the top 100 best sellers in your niche
 c) Place the packaging in the appropriate context--like in the online store.
 d) A great title does at least one of the following (PINC):

 i. Makes a Promise
 ii. Creates Intrigue
 iii. Indentifies a Need
 iv. Simply states the Contents

2) Export endorsements, such as well-known people in your niche (like Nik getting a guest author ; ) ), are more important than actual readers.

3) Create an online media kit -- best example is "The Final Summit by Andy Anderson"
 a) Goals

 i. Make it easy for anyone to get the word out about your product
 ii. Consistent message

 b) Contact info
 c) Product info

 i. sales copy (short = 100w; long = 300-500w)
 ii. specs
 iii. format
 iv. cover image
 v. book trailer
 vi. bio (100w & 300-500w)
 vii. head shots (several sizes; formal; casual; action)
 viii. product endorsements (experts, anyone w/impressive credentials, reader endorsements are "better than nothing")
 ix. promotion info (live & other media appearances)
 x. interviewer resources (bio talking points; product summary)
 xi. Fan resources (samples to embed in their blog; twitter post samples, banner ads, incentives (free stuff when they buy your book), wallpapper, merchandise)
 xii. media reactions (wall of fame, best reviews)

one thing that i've thought of recently in relation to this book is that Hyatt places a lot of emphasis on having your own blog, but for fiction writers i think that social media is more important; in fact, a few days ago i starting hearing that a few long-standing SFF blogs, sfsignal.com, for example, were shutting down. i think that readers are congregating more and more on social media sites.

(it sucks that <\pre\> doesn't work like it's supposed to)

Alex G wrote: "now, everyone in this group gets my exclusive synopsis b/c you are all more realistic than the other groups...."

Thanks a lot for your input, Alex, and for sharing the synopsis here.
All points that you distil from Hyatt's book seem important and your observation about the tendency of moving from blogs to social media rings true.
If I apply the above on myself - I think I suck at media kit and more importantly, I'm not sure how good my product is, which is an underlying axiom for further success -:)