• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • FaceBook
  • RSS Feed
  • Get Published
  • Book Proposals
  • Book Business
  • Writing Craft
    • Conferences
    • Copyright
    • Craft
    • Creativity
    • Grammar
  • Fun Fridays
Home » Marketing » Page 5

Marketing

Author Platforms Can Destroy Your Life (aka Making Money from Friends)

By Dan Balowon March 7, 2017
Share
Tweet
11

American society contains a very interesting subculture built around using your friends and relatives to make money, either as a primary or secondary source of income.

I must admit it bothers me when an individual will view those around them mainly as a revenue source instead of relationships to experience and serve. It is also interesting that a number of the most successful multi-level marketing groups have Christian or faith-based roots. Evidently, spiritual people like the idea of using friends to make money.

Of course, like anything, if a person approaches something with improper motives, it never works well long-term and something done with right motives and a pure heart will be more apt to succeed long term and be completely harmless.

I am writing a little sharper than I probably need to, attempting to prove a point, knowing most of the friend-selling programs are relatively fun for everyone involved and not destructive at all.

But I am concerned authors will fall into a dangerous trap. Without taking great care, an author’s relationships can be transformed into “sales leads” and “endorsers.”

A number of years ago, I went to a conference featuring a prominent Christian author. About 1,500 people paid a nice sum to attend and buy materials.

Just so happens I knew a person who worked with them and after the conference when everyone departed, I found myself speaking to my acquaintance when the speaker approached and sat next to us. I introduced myself and thanked the speaker for their ministry, saying it was such a great encouragement, etc.

With a sigh, the author said, “Well, this was a lot smaller crowd than we are used to. We won’t come back here any time soon, for sure.”

Rather than focusing on the fact they were able to minister to and encourage 1,500 people, plus make a very nice amount of money, they were tormented by how they deserved better.

This author forgot the most important things and seemed to remember only their own self-importance. To this author, people were simply a way to make money.

I envision God shaking his head in disappointment at this behavior.

While this is a dramatic example of using relationships only for what they can do for you, lesser examples happen every day when authors view “author platforms” built on social media or speaking opportunities as numbers on a screen or faces in the crowd, calculating how many books they can sell.

I’ve mentioned this before in this blog about the need to build and maintain your author platform in various manifestations with care and the long-term view. When you are in a hurry, you would be comparable to a person who makes a friend on Monday and asks them to move your piano down a flight of stairs on Wednesday.

This person used to be your friend.

Building a long-lasting author platform is much more about how much value you provide to those who follow than how much value they give to you immediately. If you view people as opportunities given you to serve, it will change your entire platform and how you conduct it.

If you view them as sales leads, your entire writing career will begin a slow corrosion from the inside out until your platform is unresponsive and not helpful. People want personal connection, not an account number.

The most effective author platforms spend 80% or more of their time giving value to the followers and the remaining time mentioning a book and a place to buy it.

The harder you push, the fewer people will follow you.

The harder you sell, the less effective you will be.

Sure, make certain people know you have a book and how they can order it, but quickly get back to serving your followers with great stories and content.

Leave a Comment
Category: Book Business, Branding, Marketing, Platform, Self-Publishing, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Marketing, Platform

Guaranteed Time-Saving Tips for Social Media

By Dan Balowon January 10, 2017
Share
Tweet
6

Written with tongue firmly planted in cheek… Managing your social media is a meaningless treadmill of work with no real purpose. While it seems to be one of the most efficient and effective ways to promote books and authors, really, who needs it? Sure, every publisher wants authors with strong social media numbers and self-published authors find it critical to their success, but other than …

Read moreGuaranteed Time-Saving Tips for Social Media
Category: Career, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Platform, Social Media

Writers Learn to Wait

By Steve Laubeon December 5, 2016
Share
Tweet
43

Good publishing takes time. Time to write well. Time to edit well. Time to find the right agent. Time to find the right publisher. Time to edit again and re-write. Time to design well. Time to market well. While there can be a lot of activity it still feels like “time” is another word for “wait.” No one likes to wait for anything. Our instant society (everything from …

Read moreWriters Learn to Wait
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Get Published, Indie, Marketing, Steve, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, Book Business, Contracts, Editors, Get Published, Marketing, Traditional Publishing

Should I Push Romance into my Story?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 17, 2016
Share
Tweet
23

Whenever I go to a conference, I am privileged to hear about a wide range of stories and ideas. I always want the writer to succeed in marketing work to editors, so often I’ll ask how much romance the story has. Sometimes it has quite a bit. Other times, not so much. One writer told me that a male character was “intrigued” by a female character, but that was the extent of that thread, and more …

Read moreShould I Push Romance into my Story?
Category: Romance, Writing CraftTag: Marketing, Romance, Writing Craft

How to be a Woman?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 13, 2016
Share
Tweet3
34

This will be our last trip down Memory Lane for a while. I hope you have fun with today’s post and think about how your female characters live. We’re bombarded with ads today and we were yesterday, too. How to be a woman? I was trying to figure all of this out as I was growing up. I knew I wanted to be a Proverbs 31 woman, but she was really embodied in my grandmother Bagley, Precious. (She …

Read moreHow to be a Woman?
Category: Craft, MarketingTag: Branding, Marketing

Marketing to Him and Her

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 6, 2016
Share
Tweet
12

How do you market your books? Do you tend to market them to men or women? Obviously we want everyone to read our books, but many naturally fall into a female/male divide. With the exception of books with “Women” or “Men” in the title, I don’t see today’s book marketing to be especially drawn by these lines. Rather, the book is presented and the reader chooses what to buy. As with last week, let’s …

Read moreMarketing to Him and Her
Category: MarketingTag: Branding, Marketing

The Work of a Cover Designer

By Steve Laubeon September 12, 2016
Share
Tweet2
20

We have all heard the phrase “a book is judged by its cover.” And it is true. We all do it. Even when the cover is as small as a postage stamp in an online bookstore. It is the first impression of what’s inside. Rarely will you buy the book after you’ve read it. Instead you make the purchase before reading. What you are buying is the promise of the cover, and the title, and …

Read moreThe Work of a Cover Designer
Category: Art, Branding, MarketingTag: Book Covers, Branding, Marketing

Should I Still Have a Website?

By Dan Balowon May 10, 2016
Share
Tweet3
16

Lately, I have read a number of articles and had a number of conversations addressing the importance or unimportance of author websites. Since social media sites are supposed to be the magic marketing-potion for every author, stodgy old websites seem to be the domain only of out-of-touch sluggards. You probably have an inkling where I stand on the issue. Should an author have a website?  Yes. If …

Read moreShould I Still Have a Website?
Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, PlatformTag: Marketing, Websites

Gather ‘round The Platform

By Dan Balowon February 23, 2016
Share
Tweet
18

The issue of authors needing large social media platforms before they can be considered by certain publishers (and therefore agents) has been a source of frustration for some and a challenge for others. For few, it is an energizing, motivating pursuit. Agents at this agency have blogged about it here for years. We’ve all given presentations at conferences on the subject. Questions about platform …

Read moreGather ‘round The Platform
Category: Branding, Get Published, Marketing, PlatformTag: blogging, Marketing, Platform

Actually, It is Personal

By Dan Balowon December 1, 2015
Share
Tweet
20

Sometimes when I hear certain statements spoken, what I understand is probably different than what was intended by the other person. I do a quick translation in my head, based on experience. For instance, whenever someone says to me, “It’s just business,” I prepare myself to be cheated, lied-to and taken advantage of. “It’s just business” is a disclaimer intended to make one party feel better …

Read moreActually, It is Personal
Category: Book Business, Marketing, PlatformTag: Marketing, Platform
  • Previous
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 10
  • Next

Sidebar

Get Blog Updates

Enter your email address to get new blog updates delivered via email. You can unsubscribe at any time.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Grow as a Writer


Find Out More →

Popular Posts

Top Posts on Book Proposals
  • Hints for a Great Cover Letter
  • The Keys to a Great Book Proposal
  • What Steve Laube is Looking For
  • Book Proposals I’d Love to See – Tamela Hancock Murray
  • What I’m Looking for – Bob Hostetler
  • What I’m Looking for – Dan Balow
  • What I’m Looking for – Lynette Eason
  • What’s the Best Way to Submit My Self-Published Book?
  • What Is the Agent Doing While I Wait?
  • God Gave Me This Blog Post
Top Posts on The Business Side
  • When Your Book Becomes Personal
  • The Myth of the Unearned Advance
  • How Long Does it Take to Get Published?
  • What Are Average Book Sales?
  • Can You Plagiarize Yourself?
  • Never Burn a Bridge
  • Who Decides to Publish Your Book?
  • That Conference Appointment
  • Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?
  • Who Owns Whom in Publishing?
  • Ten Commandments for Working with Your Agent
  • Writers Beware! Protect Yourself
Top Series
  • Book Proposal Basics
  • Publishing A-Z
  • A Defense of Traditional Publishing
Top Posts on Rejection
  • The Slush Pile: Enter at Your Own Risk
  • Even the Best Get Rejected
  • Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published
  • The Unhelpful Rejection Letter
  • Writers Learn to Wait

Blog Post Archives by Month

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · The Steve Laube Agency · All Rights Reserved · Website by Stormhill Media