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This is a great example of the sort of lazy sales and marketing people do when they think they are being #hustlers. It’s like going around pushing at 1,000 doors marked “pull” then patting yourself on the back. All you did was annoy everybody https://t.co/To75jfIkHQ
The first thing you need to recognise is that other people are people. They have their own interests and priorities, they are already wrangling with their own commitments. They already have books on their “to read” and “to buy” lists they’re never going to get around to!
So why you, Mr. Buy My Book? Why should I prioritise you over all my friends, and all the recommendations of all my friends, and all the unread works of writers I already love, and know I would love? Why should I put your unknown book at the top of that pile? Serious question!đź“š
Because there *are* real answers to that question! I *have* occasionally encountered a stranger whose work (or the promise of their work) instantly inspired me to want to drop everything and check them out!! They are never the ones DM-ing people with shitty copy-paste sales text
Gd salespeople know that you don’t sell by annoying people. You sell by being interested. By getting *them* to talk abt their problem(s), & by demonstrating that you understand their problem, maybe even better than they do (wo being condescending, which some dudes struggle with)
I *never* buy online courses. I hardly ever buy anything online at all. But I bought @fortelabs’s online course because I saw how obsessed *he* was at making sense of how todo lists and apps work. And I am glad I did! He didn’t have to DM me “hello, buy my course now”
I am not currently a fiction author selling a book, but it’s on my list of things to do. And I can tell you how I’d do it. My book’s about local music. I would go around asking people about *their* stories and *their* experiences re: music. I would interview musicians and fans
At the risk of ruining both sales and sex... sales *is* kind of like sex. The way to have more of it is to let go of the obsession of having more of it, & instead focus on creating a great experience that you can gracefully invite other people to share with you, at their own pace
And IMO, honestly, with both sales and sex, if you’re obsessed with getting more of it, you’re totally missing out. 90% the fun of life is exploring, learning, playing. I mean, why did you even write a book? Because you care about something, right? Focus on that!