Online Marketing: Where the Three- Piece Suit Looks Like Pajamas
E-books do sell well. Many e-book authors are making the most money. All my books are available on kindle, one is on nook and two are available for Kobo Readers. The reason for the Kobo, I’ve learned, is so that many missionaries in remote areas who don’t have internet access and need to store their curriculum on Kobo readers, shop from the BJU Publisher’s catalogue where those two books are found. But all of my books are, first of all, books in paperback or hardcover.
I’m not a total dinosaur; maybe just endangered. I have all the e-platforms publishers say are necessary in today’s marketplace: website, email, twitter, facebook, fb business page and yes, I use them all. I enjoy virtual meetings with others and it is entertaining. I have a Linked in and a Good Reads account, too. I don’t really understand ........................
What I do know about online marketing is that even though I don’t have to spend gas money to reach my readers, the investment of time is huge, and distractions are an enemy force. It also limits the amount of exercise one gets every day, for all parts except the fingers.
Working online has its own etiquette and protocol. There are definite dos and donts. I’m always surprised at conferences that these are part of presentations, because they aren’t anything new. I’m surprised anyone in any business doesn’t know these things. They are things we dinosaurs and endangered species have always known! They’re just old-fashioned manners and consideration. Things you wouldn’t say or do face to face, you shouldn’t do online, either. I think it may be that a generation that has grown up anonymously online feels they can dump all their drama for everyone to see, in an unbusinesslike manner. There seems to be no unacceptable boundaries for some, and no accountability.
Online marketers must use the tools carefully and approach their potential consumers as if they were face-to-face customers. That means truthfulness, not duplicity; it means interest in the customer, not just in the sale. It means interacting with dignity, not in-your-face-and-space. It requires complete integrity and belief in your product. Just because you don’t see the customer doesn’t mean you don’t have to respect them or their intelligence. The consumer of your product is a real human person! So, yes, you do need to edit.
Being anonymous doesn’t excuse a lack of business behavior. Today’s tip: Even though you may be working in your pajamas, you must present yourself and your product in a three- piece business suit.