MobileRead as a marketing tool

gmw · 09-10-2012, 04:22 AM

I saw this blog post Ebooks aren’t marketing novelties anymore from Steven Lyle Jordan, and thought it was curious. Here are a few sentences from the post:

Quote:

Last week marked my official bid of farewell to my membership at MobileRead.com [...]
the novelty has largely worn off. Ebooks have become just another product; and I have become just another author [...]
As a result, the things that originally drew me to MobileRead are no longer relevant to my needs as an author. As my sympathetic market has decreased there, I’ve come to realize that I need to concentrate on the more general market elsewhere. [...]

(I haven't seen anything "official" on the forums here, but maybe I've been looking in the wrong places).

I hadn't really thought of MobileRead in terms of marketing (probably because I still haven't started that side of things). "Writer's Corner" is really the only place I've hung out for the last however many months (only so many hours in the day left to spend on forums), but then "Writer's Corner" is probably not the most ideal spot to get recognised by readers. All of which leads me to ask others thoughts on the subject...

Has MobileRead been a useful marketing tool for writers in the past? Do you think its usefulness as a marketing tool has changed?

P.S. If you see this Steven: So long and the best of luck.

Dr. Drib · 09-10-2012, 06:34 AM

MobileRead, of course, can be a marketing tool. We have a forum called 'Self-Promotions,' which is specifically a place where authors can regale the world with their masterpieces.

However, to see MobileRead only as venue for such a narrow category of participation is to short-change the very community in which one proposes to belong.

MobileRead is so much more and, in fact, we discourage authors who ONLY wish to self-promote.

Most authors - including Jordan - do, indeed, participate and contribute to our community. Only a few are of such a narcissistic bent that they do the "post and disappear" routine. Until, of course, it's time to do another promotion.

So, yes, MobileRead is certainly a 'marketing tool.' But it's so much more than that.

Don

Billi · 09-10-2012, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

I saw this blog post Ebooks aren’t marketing novelties anymore from Steven Lyle Jordan, and thought it was curious. ...
(I haven't seen anything "official" on the forums here, but maybe I've been looking in the wrong places).

Ouch. Comes as a big surprise for me too. Good luck, Steven Lyle Jordan! I enjoyed many of your contributions here.

PS: gmw, thanks for sharing this and sorry for not answering to your question.

VydorScope · 09-10-2012, 07:09 AM

Anything can be a marketing tool... but to do that here, you have to get out of the writers corner down in to the readers areas and become a useful addition down there. If you are then people will gravitate to looking fro your books. I wish I had time to do more of that kind of marketing. I do not know if he did that or not... since 99% of the time I am in the writers corner.

Either way, if he saw this a primarily a marketing avenue, then yeah, he probably was disappointed with the results here. I did buy one of his books so, so he did get one sale from the forum

gmw · 09-10-2012, 10:35 AM

I do know about the participation thing from my experience as a programmer: back when I spent lots of time participating on forums answering questions I would get occasional job offers come in from people that know you just because you're always around. Since I've moved my spare time from programming forums to writing (and writers' corner

), I no longer see such offers come in. Basically: you've got to be seen in order for people to remember that you exist (which, I guess, is the other side of: out of sight, out of mind).

kennyc · 09-11-2012, 06:36 AM

Hmmm, so long Steve, it's been good to know you.

Thanks GMW....it's a wild and wacky www world we live in.

jgaiser · 09-11-2012, 12:26 PM

Isn't this the third or fourth time Steve has said "Goodbye"? Whatever...

morriss003 · 09-12-2012, 03:56 PM

News, Discussions, Reading Recommendations and Writer's Corner. These are the forums I usually visit here. I try to come back about every five days. When I have something new to say about my own work, I post it in the Self-Promotion forum. Mobileread was a marketing tool for me for about the first six months after I began epublishing in 2009. The members have been extremely helpful, especially JSWolf, and I've learned a lot from those who have been both positive and negative. Sometimes I agree with what you post. Sometimes I disagree with what you post. I am almost always interested in what you post.

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09-10-2012, 06:34 AM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,339 Karma: 59447733 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	MobileRead, of course, can be a marketing tool. We have a forum called 'Self-Promotions,' which is specifically a place where authors can regale the world with their masterpieces. However, to see MobileRead only as venue for such a narrow category of participation is to short-change the very community in which one proposes to belong. MobileRead is so much more and, in fact, we discourage authors who ONLY wish to self-promote. Most authors - including Jordan - do, indeed, participate and contribute to our community. Only a few are of such a narcissistic bent that they do the "post and disappear" routine. Until, of course, it's time to do another promotion. So, yes, MobileRead is certainly a 'marketing tool.' But it's so much more than that. Don

09-10-2012, 07:09 AM	#4
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Anything can be a marketing tool... but to do that here, you have to get out of the writers corner down in to the readers areas and become a useful addition down there. If you are then people will gravitate to looking fro your books. I wish I had time to do more of that kind of marketing. I do not know if he did that or not... since 99% of the time I am in the writers corner. Either way, if he saw this a primarily a marketing avenue, then yeah, he probably was disappointed with the results here. I did buy one of his books so, so he did get one sale from the forum

09-10-2012, 10:35 AM	#5
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	I do know about the participation thing from my experience as a programmer: back when I spent lots of time participating on forums answering questions I would get occasional job offers come in from people that know you just because you're always around. Since I've moved my spare time from programming forums to writing (and writers' corner ), I no longer see such offers come in. Basically: you've got to be seen in order for people to remember that you exist (which, I guess, is the other side of: out of sight, out of mind).

09-11-2012, 06:36 AM	#6
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,891 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Hmmm, so long Steve, it's been good to know you. Thanks GMW....it's a wild and wacky www world we live in.

09-11-2012, 12:26 PM	#7
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	Isn't this the third or fourth time Steve has said "Goodbye"? Whatever...

09-12-2012, 03:56 PM	#8
morriss003 Evangelist Posts: 438 Karma: 3409790 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Maui Device: kindle	News, Discussions, Reading Recommendations and Writer's Corner. These are the forums I usually visit here. I try to come back about every five days. When I have something new to say about my own work, I post it in the Self-Promotion forum. Mobileread was a marketing tool for me for about the first six months after I began epublishing in 2009. The members have been extremely helpful, especially JSWolf, and I've learned a lot from those who have been both positive and negative. Sometimes I agree with what you post. Sometimes I disagree with what you post. I am almost always interested in what you post.

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