Everyday, I get half a dozen of “buy X numbers of followers on FB/Twitter” messages in my DMs. I should probably send them the link to this post in response 🙂
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I totally agree with this post, thank you for sharing. Yes, fans are our holy grail. And they stand out even if you have thousands of followers; they always do. They are the pin in the haystack and our job is to find them and keep them interested, keep interacting with them and motivating them to keep their tongues wagging about us. I iearnt a great trick recently about cultivating the interest of a happy reader and here it is: comment back to all your Amazon reviewers who gave your book 4 or 5 stars, say how grateful you are and ask them if they’d like to read your next book(s) for free in an ARC version in exchange for a review. Now, that’s the best trick I’ve ever heard to keep a fan close AND to make them feel special.
Thanks for the tip! I have been considering doing that for a while now. The only thing holding me back is that whole “best not to interact with reviewers” rule. Although most people mean we shouldn’t agonize over poor reviews and be baited by trolls, it just seems safer if you avoid messing with the review process at all.
Your timely comment, however, is now making me have second thoughts 🙂
Oh yes, it’s a big no-no to touch negative reviews and we’re not supposed to contact these reviewers, not even to antagonize by trying to make them ‘unhelpful’ – big no no. Negative reviews we just ignore and let be. But positive reviews are a goldmine and I believe we can only benefit by keeping happy readers close, that’s how we turn them into fans. This practice is followed and highly recommended by an author friend I met in enovel Authors at Work, namely, bestselling author RP Dahlke. She swears by it. I’ve also been wondering about thanking my positive reviewers and Rebecca’s tip gave me the push I needed 🙂
Thanks, you’ve given me much to ponder! 🙂
Sometimes you can’t tell if they sell followers. Their pages look okay so I follow and then get a PM about the follower thing. I then go and unfollow them. Time suck.
And I agree with Deanna, we all need fans not numbers. 🙂
You’re right. At least with the crass “Buy 5,000 followers today” ads you know where you stand.
I was thinking about it; numbers are nice if you want to pretend you’re something bigger than what you really are. For example, if you wish to approach a publisher, saying “I have 50,000 followers” will probably catch their attention. Of course, when they ask about your sales, you still have to reveal the truth, so (like all lies) it’s bound to backfire 🙂
Haha, yeah, that could be embarrassing. WE want fans, fans, fans. 🙂
Fans are precious! MY precioussss!
Very good advices. Thanks for reblogging that post.
You’re kind by name and by nature! 🙂
You are nice, thank you. Yes, my name really is of a good support when used in English 😉 When I married I never thought about that!
I really enjoyed this blog – thanks for sharing it with us!
A pleasure, thanks for reading 🙂
Hey there! So glad you liked my blog. Thanks for sharing it with others. *following you back!* 😀
Loved it! Thanks for the follow-back, I hope you enjoy my musings 🙂