Spamming or Promoting?

There's a very fine line between Spamming and Promoting, in the Indie world. Why? Because everyone and their mother can self-publish and there are more authors on Facebook and other social media sites than ever.

It's great. Don't get me wrong. I love that we live in a world where anyone, of any age, can put a book out there and live their dreams. I grew up believing that writing was a no-pay, dream-world career and that there was no money or reward in it. That's been proven wrong. But...again, that fine line.

Recently, in the M/M world - gay romance, to those not in the know - this has become a really sticky issue. Authors have been reported to Facebook, on release day or just before it, for promoting their books in Facebook groups or pages and having those posts considered spamming.

Is it?

That's where the fine line comes in. For one, let me point out that they're promoting in LGBT friendly groups, so they're not being reported for posting gay romance in groups that don't want to see it/read it or acknowledge it. That's not the problem.

The problem is that, as authors, some of us have street teams. Street teams that don't communicate with each other. Street teams that post a teaser/buy links/promo post, without asking each other if someone else has already hit that group/page with the same info. How do I know? Because I've seen it first hand.

As a part of the M/M world on Facebook, I can see the author's side and the readers. As an author, promoting yourself in the build up and during the first few weeks of a release are critical. Especially if you're still relatively unknown and don't have a set fan base already gagging for your next book. The authors who have been reported, that I've seen, are not in this category and that's what's getting them in trouble.

Personally, I hate putting myself out there, in promo. I'd rather people found my book the usual way - by accident, by a rec or by word of mouth - because it's something they're interested in, rather than from me pushing it down their throat. And sometimes, promo can feel that way. But I also know that it's really difficult to get word of mouth or recs without first advertising yourself. It's a nasty Catch 22 that I hate.

These authors are so popular and have such a great fan base, that being reported and blocked from Facebook has got their fans up in arms. That's great. That means they're loved and their fans can see an injustice. But, these fans are taking it upon themselves to promote the new releases in various groups. Sometimes 3-4 times a day. Sometimes with nasty comments about the people who reported the author.

Why do I sound disapproving? Because I am. Just because you don't agree with what someone else has done, doesn't mean you get to sit back and judge them or call them names. And this is what's happening. Someone, somewhere on Facebook, decided to report these authors. Probably for what they considered over-promoting - or spamming - a group or page, with their new release. That's fair. If you run a group and have dozens of authors that regularly participate, only for one or two authors who are NOT active in the group trying to take over with their new release, that's hardly fair on the others, who post respectfully and in line with the rules.

Now, if you were fed up of seeing 6 different posts by the same people, in all of your groups, on the same day, numerous times, for the same book, wouldn't you get a little frustrated? Maybe you wouldn't report them, but a group admin might. After all, they're responsible for how the group functions and they have every right to remove members who are abusing the rules.

Does that give anyone the right to call them names? No. They're doing their job, as a group admin, and creating a place where people can talk and interact about books. Books that don't just belong to one author on their release day. That person is just that - a person, with feelings and a life of their own. You don't know what they're dealing with, so be respectful and don't start name-bashing, if you find out one of your favourite authors has been reported. Ask yourself, did they deserve to be reported? In most cases, I can say no and believe that I'm right. Especially when it comes to being reported over a photo or teaser poster.

As a reader, however, I hate spamming. It's like a takeover event where there shouldn't be one. I can see that it's mostly by street teams, who sometimes don't communicate with each other, about where they're posting or how. Or by authors on release day, who maybe didn't notice they posted to the same group twice. When you share direct from your page, that can happen. There's no warning box to say "Oh, stop! You did that page already."

It's sad, because it gives those awesome street teams, who do watch what they're doing, a bad name. It also gives the author a bad name, and they may be completely ignorant of what their street team or fans are doing. They may not.

What upsets me is the name calling. I've been bullied before - in school and online - and it's not pretty. Seeing people posting things like "whoever reported you is an ignorant asshat" or whatever, gets deep under my skin. You don't know who reported the author or why. Maybe it was a mistake. I know I've almost clicked the report button on a post in two different websites, because my mouse ran away with me or because my hand shook (which is a condition, not drunkenness :P ) It may even have been a group admin who is fed up of one book being blasted on their page fifteen times. Either way, I don't see the need for name-bashing.

So how do you tell if you're spamming or promoting?

Read the rules of EVERY group that you join. If you can't see the rules, until you join, then feel free to leave that group, if you read them and decide you can't adhere to them. For example, there's a really awesome group on Facebook "Vampire Writer's Support Group" which is specifically designed for writers of vampire novels, who want to talk ideas, need a boost of ego or just need some support, while working on a really tough story. BUT, if you want to promote your Vampire novel, there's only one place to do it - in the pinned post. If you post your promo anywhere else, you'll get your post removed and a warning. Do it again and again, you'll get removed.

It's important that you read the rules, because if you don't and you violate their terms and get reported, that will be your fault. So we want to avoid that.

Another way to prevent turning your promo into spamming is to keep a log of where you're posting. Generally, Facebook lists the groups in order of where you were last active, so if you were recently in the Vampire Writer's Support Group, then that will be at the top. I suggest opening the 'groups' page and then opening each individual group in it's own window, so that you can see which groups you're posting in. Then, post one post for each group and don't touch that group again for a week, unless you have urgent news - sale ending etc - because that's one sure fire way to bug people.

Also, try to spread out your promo. Don't dump the same thing in 50 groups in one day. Try dropping into a few groups one day, talking about your book and leaving a teaser or quote behind with a link. Then, a few days later, do a few more. It will actually benefit you more if you spread it out.

The key to any promotion is to interact. Don't just join a group so that you can dump a promo and run. People want to know YOU, to get to know your personality, to talk about the things you like. Be a real person in those groups and when you come to promote yourself, people will be more responsive to what you have to sell. If you love a book by another author and gave it a rave review, then share that in an appropriate group and gush to your hearts content. If someone gave YOU a rave review, share it and thank your readers. They'll thank you for it later.

Here are some vital rules I try to live by:

Rule #1 - be authentic.

Rule #2 - respond to your audience. Give them what they want; to know you and feel like your best bud.

Rule #3 - remember that you're a person first and an author second. Your readers - and, in turn, your potential reviewers - will do the same.

Rule #4 - treat others - including groups, pages and readers - as you would want to be treated. If you don't want someone spamming your author page with links to their book, don't spam groups with links to YOUR book. It will get you noticed in the wrong ways.

Rule #5 - NO pity-parties. Never try to encourage people to buy your books by using guilt. Do not go around saying "I had cancer, so please buy my book" (an excuse I could actually use, but don't). Don't complain that you didn't make #1 in a list, when you only made #5 and then beg everyone you know, if they have ever loved you or your books, to get you to that top spot. Don't bitch that you haven't got a #1 Bestseller flag on Amazon, within hours of your release, to guilt-trip your readers into getting it for you.

~

The most important thing about promoting yourself is that it takes time. You need an audience and fans and readers and reviews and...so much more. Writing is hard. That's a fact of life, for every author out there. Getting the words on paper is a bitch. Editing them is hell and releasing them is worse.

Finding that fine line between getting noticed for your work and getting noticed for spamming can be tricky. But, follow some simple rules of etiquette and courtesy and you'll go far.

Remember...being an author isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. Most authors take 5 years to build an audience. FIVE YEARS! So, if you're not a best-seller with book 1 and fighting off movie deals from all sides, don't sweat it. One day, you will be. You'll have made your fans through hard work, swear and tears. And when you do get that kick-ass movie deal with Johnny Depp or Megan Fox, or the next-big hot actor/actress, gagging for a role in YOUR movie, you'll know that you worked damned hard to get there and you deserve every second of it.

Easy is overrated.