I've been housekeeping for the last few weeks, tweaking my website, blog, and various online billboards.
An "online billboard" is a place on the Internet where you have a little bit of property people pass through.
I've been collecting online intersections lately, and have found I own a few beyond the obvious blog and website:
Joe on MySpace: www.myspace.com/jakonrath
Joe on Facebook: www.facebook.com/people/JA_Konrath/679343992
Joe on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._A._Konrath
Joe's Amazon blog: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A1EF5ODLYYMZIU/ref=cm_blog_dp_artist_blog
Joe on Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/jakonrath
Joe on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/137270.J_A_Konrath
Joe on CrimeSpace: http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Konrath
Are writers really expected to keep up with all of these online billboards? Has it become part of our job description to maintain and stay active in all of these social networking forums?
Well, no. Unless you want to attract more readers.
As writers, we have to go where the readers are. That's why we have websites in the first place, because a lot of people have computers and Internet access.
But when writers try to figure out how to maximize their Internet access, laziness seems to kick in. There are a hundred other things they could be doing other than strengthening their online billboards, and there's no real tangible evidence that a Facebook pages helps sell books in the first place.
Or is there?
Let's take a step back and consider the history of the old-fashioned billboard.
Billboards, for the uninitiated, are those large advertising signs posted along highways. They're usually target specific, announcing an upcoming store or attraction several miles ahead. Unlike TV and radio commercials or print ads, billboards actually lead you to the item they're promoting.
Being a Chicagoan, we often vacationed in Wisconsin, and driving up I-94 was billboard mania, announcing dozens of attractions at the resort town the Dells. Some of those Tommy Bartlett Watershow boards still exist 30 years later, and I can't help but wonder if Tommy is now doing his ski jumps with the aid of a walker.
The point is, unlike other forms of advertising that suggest a product or service and then require you to make the effort to seek out that product or service, billboards require little effort. All you had to do was take the proper exit.
As a result, roadside billboards continue to be a powerful source of revenue.
You see where I'm going with this.
Your MySpace page, your Shelfari profile, even your blog and website, are all billboards, pointing directly to links where your books can be purchased.
The more billboards pointing to your books, the more roads they're on, the more people you'll lure in.
So, yes, you should take a few minutes every few days to check to make sure your billboard is still up, attracting people. You should perform some basic maintenance, just as replying to questions and updating information. You might even make the billboard larger by participating to a greater degree. And naturally, your billboard isn't about what you're trying to sell. It's about what you're offering: information and entertainment.
Don't want to do that work? No one says you have to. But I never would have seen Tommy Bartlett if he hadn't made a similar effort. Me and 20 million others. Pretty good traffic for the cost and maintenance of a few dozen billboards.
If you're a regular visitor of this blog, you'll notice the Blogs I Read sidebar has gotten smaller. That's because, in the course of housekeeping, I got rid of the dead links.
Over thirty of them.
Those billboards were dead. No longer luring anyone to anything. Worthless, even though they may still be linked to by many search engines and places on the world wide web.
Blogging isn't for everyone. Social networking sites aren't for everyone.
But why put up a billboard and then leave it to fall apart and whither away?
When was the last time you updated your blog or website? When was the last time you visited that forum, or networking page, or any other billboards you took the time to build?
Anything worth doing is worth doing right. If you don't see the value to billboards, that's fine. But to fully understand the value of something requires you to try your best and give it a fair shot.
Are your billboards all they can be?
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12 comments:
Very good post.
I'm something of an "out of sight, out of mind" person. I have to write things down. If anyone out there is like me, they may have to take that approach. Write down -- Twitter 3,4,5 times a day. Update site once a week. Update minor billboards twice a month. Etc. Keep the schedule where you can see it. You can even use the reward system and keep a running total of check marks for getting things done.
Hey Joe, on Friday I embedded into the publishabook.org website a brand new YouTube "commercial"... you might check it out, it's at the top of the page.
Yesterday, four people clicked on the video, and 67 scrolled over it, and that netted me $4.85.
If I average that much over the course of a year, that'd be $1,770
The videos are all related to publishing content.
If someone (like you) had four-five times the web traffic I have, you could easily be making 5,000-10,000 dollars simply having an optional YouTube commercial at the top of your blog.
This shit just blows my mind, 'cause I've been doing the howtopublishabook.org for free, and I'm now realizing it can actually be a moneymaker.
I've done a little more research. Here's how it works.
This is so smart it's insane.
Helen is right on about this. You just need to schedule time in your week to hit those blogs, websites and forums. You could be spending the time writing or editing or sleeping - but in the end we want readers. The only way to get readers is to let people know that your stuff is out there. But you've got to be willing to make the time. [juggle juggle]
That's cool, Stacey, and I applaud you for figuring out how to make some money from your blog.
I also feel that advertising revenue may be the key to helping writers' careers in the future, but in a different way.
For the moment, I want to keep my blog and website ad-free for the same reason I give away my Newbie's Guide e-book rather than sell it. This is my way of giving back to the community and helping new writers, because no one helped me.
The benefit of making a few extra grand a year isn't a powerful motivator for me.
Please keep my posted how this is working for you. I find it fascinating.
Great post, spot on observations, Joe.
Thanks for the info, Stacey.
Good post. Simple and thought provoking.
I've never actually thought of websites, forums, etc. as billboards. Most direct marketers go for the old salesletter approach (which I think is less effective).
How early in their career would you recommend someone start 'creating billboards', Joe?
I see the importance of these online billboards. Which is why I'm keeping the ones along my highway updated as much as possible.
I had to share this with you. I am a waitress. My local paper had an article featuring your books this past sunday. I didn't know about the article until tonight when i sold quite a few Rusty Nail's to one of my customers. When i asked him about the drink he said he decided to try it because he was reading your book - "needed the full experience, you know?".
"needed the full experience, you know?"
Ha! Thanks for sharing the story. :)
Just a quick update...
I've been earning around 2-6 dollars per day with the new Google Adsense Video Unit.
I think the lowest was like 1.85, and the highest was 5.85.
The thing is, though, it's consistent. There hasn't been a day since I put in on the website on Friday that it hasn't made me a couple bucks.
It totally works!
I don't think I'm gonna be getting rich anytime soon, but it'll definitely buy a few burgers on down the road.
Go howtopublishabook.org!!!
Tommy Bartlett is doing ski jumps 6ft under pushing up daisies with a the aid of a walker.
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