by
Malena Lott
There are two kinds of marketing methods for authors emerging in the "new publishing climate" - the octopus and the goat.
The goat stands on the mountain, bleeting his little heart out over the canyons, hoping whomever is in hearing distance will pay attention and do as the goat demands: buy my book! Click this link! Like me! The goat has found a way to "work the system" by continually bleeting, non-stop, sometimes tweeting every five minutes, mixing the content just enough to appear that it's not self-promotional. The goat may have even joined up with other goats in a network of re-tweeters who do little more than post each other's links. They are aggressive, but rarely stray from their daily movements on the mountain. They can be successful simply because they never let up. Or they get so burned out, they give up and retreat to the shade. There are also goats who are so afraid to try anything new that they stay put.
The other type far below the mountain, working the depths of the sea, with a solid center, eight arms and three hearts, is the octopus. The octopus swims to opportunity, builds tribes and utilizes all eight arms for outreach and community building. It's equipped with a funnel to ensure the best decisions are made for its marketing efforts and uses all three heart: two hearts to pump blood through each of its two gills (one for the heart of the story and the other for marketing), and a third one to pump blood through its body - to care for itself.
The octopus is a solitary animal, self-reliant, but uses those eight arms wisely to build a team, a tribe and a loyal following. It's not a one-trick pony like the annoying or fearful goat. Because it's mobile and flexible, the octopus slowly builds success, strategically. The octopus is a promotional machine, but because it siphons all the decisions, it knows the right type of boards to put on Pinterest, the best hashtags to be a part of on Twitter, the greatest advantages of the new timeline on Facebook pages, and feels confident saying "no" to things it isn't passionate about.
The octopus invests time and money in its enterprise and understand publicity and traditional marketing still have its place and face-to-face time is more important than ever. The octopus thinks to answer, "what's in it for me" for the reader so the octopus can provide value to the reader with its events and promotions. Those suction cups come in handy, too.
Face it: it's not easy being either an octopus or a goat, but as authors in this day and age we are expected to market ourselves and be a part of the action. But one invites people in, spinning the person into his world, while the other has readers turning them off or never heard them in the first place. Which one are you? How can you make the dive off the rock and learn to swim?
Malena Lott is the author of three novels, her latest The Stork Reality: Secrets from the Underbelly. She's invited 40 mamas to blog about pregnancy and motherhood over at StorkRealityBook.com. She's a brand strategist at her creative and media firm, Athena Institute, and the executive editor at Buzz Books USA. She is currently working on an ebook, "The Octopus and the Goat" to assist small businesses, and her next novella, The Last Resort, set in Maui.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Malena. So original. I'm off to tweet about it. Once :)
ReplyDeleteThe GBC is a great example of how authors can build tribes. Underwater tribes with gorgeous mermen.... wait, where was I?
DeleteI think I'm a Goatapus. Maybe more goat. But if I have to be a goat - I'd want to be a cashmere goat.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post - never thought of marketing that way!
LOL. I know I feel like a goat sometimes but this weekend I get to be LIVE at a writer's conference and I'm actually swimming to another state to be there so I'm trying! :)
DeleteI have a tattoo of an octopus on my back; they are amazing creatures, very adaptable. I realize that had nothing to do with your post, but I am shamelessly bad at self-promotion. I do it when I have to, but I do say 'no' to stuff (otherwise I wouldn't ever be able to write!). I am definitely not one of those writers who is still promoting their book, two years after it's been released, though perhaps there is some value in that, which I don't get. To me, timing is so critical, in terms of promotions. Frankly, too, promoting is so exhausting.
ReplyDeleteGenerally WHEN I promote, I do what I can locally, and, with the help of a grant last year (specifically designed for promotions), I funneled money into blogads and facebook ads, and Shelf Awareness. Marketing people (at RH) say that is effective, though I'm not really sure it translated. There is still nothing better than an actual big push from the publishing house! Too bad they promote so little, all in all. I agree with you that in this climate, all writers need to engage in some extent of self-promotion, for sure. I just would still like to be a writer, first and foremost. Remember those good ol' days?! :)
What is the value of the FB Timeline?
Great post!!! XO S
OMG I love your octopus tattoo! Will you send me a pic?
DeleteThey are fascinating creatures, aren't they? I was bowled over but the three hearts, too.
I like to think about the Dale Carnegie principle of compartmentalizing. It's usually the only method that keeps me from it all getting mushed together - the writing and marketing of said writing.
Uh-oh. I think I'm a goat. But I do love that cover of your book and I have tweeted about this post...once.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I love that sweet baby cover, too. Lauren, I don't think you're a goat because you belong to this great grog and we support each other and educate people, too. But I do think it's easy to slip into the goat-o-sphere because it becomes familiar to us.
Deleteyeah, I'd sure like to hear the value of FB timeline too!
ReplyDeleteIt is exhausting. And it does take time from writing. And yet, we work so hard on our books, that it's hard to let them sink without flailing around first:).
Thanks for commenting, Lucy. I'm currently working on FB timelines for my clients (and need to change all of my pages before the end of the month, too.) The way I see timeline working for authors is to put your whole story on the timeline as it relates to you as a writer and then what contributes to your stories. When did you sign with your agent? What trip inspired you to set your story in that location for your book? Timeline is very visual so I recommend using lots of pictures to help tell the story for you and it requires less writing on our part. I didn't really care for the status updates so much so the change is fine with me. It's growing on me...slowly.
Deletegreat post and reinforces what two highly successful indie authors discussed at PASIC conference this past week, has me reevaluating everything about marketing
ReplyDeleteJenny, would love to hear more about the PASIC conference. Wish I could get out more!
DeleteI do believe I'm more of an Octopus ... except for the part about posting on Pinterest. (I'm staying away from that one after learning about the legal liabilities of pinning something copyrighted.)
ReplyDeleteOf course, some days I feel like 8 tentacles isn't enough!
Thanks for the great and thoughtful post, Malena. :)
Ellen, you are definitely octo, girl! Even the small stuff like how we phrase things makes a huge difference. And gratitude versus attitude.
DeleteSuch a great post, Malena! I fear I'm a goat, but I want to become an octopus!! Great analysis!!
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Malena! I'm not a fan of promotion, but it must be done...And I never thought about FB Timeline being used that way!
ReplyDeleteI'm putting some together for clients and I'll send you some links when they are through. Thank you.
DeleteI have never heard such a great explanation of how authors essentially get two choices, and both are true. As a Capricorn, being a goat marketer seems to be my thing. But oh to to be a smart octopus. I may have to reconsider. Great post!!
ReplyDeleteSaralee, the "goat approach" is definitely an important arm, but yes there is so much more and a lot more fun to be had in the octo approach.
DeleteI loved this post! And I really loved the other comments. I think I'm an octopus, who shape shifts into a goat when I actually have a book out. I enjoy both, but I confess to enjoying tribe-building much more. I think because I come from such a large extended family, it feels more natural to kind of always be around (in the form of my community blog) and then when it's time to sell books, I just start bleating, "Hey, guys! Buy my book" for about three months before going back to tribe-building again.
ReplyDeleteShapeshifter! Lol. Great way to describe it. You do a great job of the community stuff.
DeleteMalena, great post:) I want to be an octopus, but I'm afraid sometimes I can be an ostrich (there's a whole different animal for you to consider!)
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't believe how many ostriches are out there, especially in the small biz arena. I met with a new client this week and he said, "I've never done marketing in 20 years." Really amazing to survive that long without a marketing investment in time and money.
DeleteI never expected marketing to be so all-consuming. Sometimes I feel absolutely frantic about what I should be doing that I'm not doing that I think every other writer must be doing.
ReplyDeleteAs for the octopus/goat theory...honestly, I wonder if I'm even close to the animal kingdom. Feeling very amoeba-like.
I know. I have to force myself to step away from the devices. I also really need to learn to not look at feeds after dinner. I do learn so much from the cool people on Twitter and Facebook, but we need to have downtime and "clear your head" time, too, which is critical for great writing.
DeleteHi great story it is i enjoyed a lot, keep sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks