Writers, Wondering Why No One Comes to Your Book Readings?

Recently I came across this article about a NY Times best selling author whom nobody showed up for her reading at a local book shop.

Having several writers as clients and knowing many others, I was very sympathetic.

Having no one show up for a publicized event is disheartening.

(One client of mine, also a NY Times bestseller, had the same thing happen to him once.  But, at the least the shop keeper felt sorry for him and took him out to dinner.)

But, there’s always a but, the social media consultant in me kicked into gear.

I checked out the writer’s social media.

Her online community wasn’t very big.

Her online posts were few and generally came out just before an event.

I may seem to be harsh here but this writer is suffering from a self fulfilling prophesy. 

If you don’t promote yourself online and provide value then you’re going to have a hard time getting folks to come out for you.

I met another writer recently who kept carrying on about Calls to Action (CTA).

He didn’t seem to understand that just asking people to come to events and buy books isn’t going to help you build an online presence and community.

The early salad days of social media where one could just be there and people would follow are long gone.

(There’ll be another blogpost about that in the future.)

Writers have a wealth of material to share with their online communities.

The journey of writing a book is difficult.  (At least that’s what most writers tell me.)

Publishers only promote a select few authors.

Even being a NY Times bestseller isn’t what it used to be.

If you want your events filled to capacity then you have to do it yourself!

Check back here for future blogposts on how this can be done.

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!

In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.