Quality vs. Quantity

By Dana Kaye

Most of the time, publishing is all about the numbers: book sales, website hits, Amazon ranking, print run, sell through rate, etc. As a publicist, I want my clients’ stat counter reports or Google analytics, I ask them about their e-mail list, I look at their Twitter followers and FB friends.

We all care about numbers.

But I’m quickly realizing that numbers aren’t everything. It’s not about how many followers you have or how many people are on your mailing list or how many bookstores carry your book. It’s the quality of those numbers.

• When you post a poll or question on Twitter, how many people respond or RT?
• When you send out a newsletter, how many people open it? How many people click on your links?
• Your book may not be carried in every bookstore, but the ones that do have it, are they pushing it?
• How many people spend time on your website? Do they click or read multiple pages?

Having a large following isn’t everything. Having a loyal and interactive following is. It’s better to have 200 active twitter followers who are re-tweeting, buying books, and attending events, than 1000 followers who don’t interact or engage. It’s great to have a 5k person mailing list as long as most of those 5k people actually read the newsletter. There’s no point to have your book sitting in every B&N in the country if they just stick it on a shelf in the back where no one can find it. It’s far better to have a bunch of books at a few bookstores where the clerks are recommending your work and shelving it prominently.

So how do you get this quality following? Organically.

Many people troll for followers and add anyone that’s handed them a business card to their mailing list, but that’s not necessarily the best way to build an audience. Using Twitter and FB as an example, the best followers/friends are the ones that connect with you because they like what you have to say. By simply updating with thoughtful, engaging posts, you can attract the appropriate followers.

While publishing has a tendency to focus on the numbers, try to focus on quality rather than quantity, and put your following to the test. If engagement and enthusiasm is low, then it may be time to rethink your promotion strategy.

Comments

[Patrick Balester]

When I wrote my first book, publishers were just starting to put their submission guidelines on their web sites. I was able to find the info I needed in minutes instead of days. I thought I was in heaven. Now, with blogs, facebook, twitter and my own website, I have to work a lot harder before I even approach the keyboard to work on my book (yes, someone still has to write it).
Is this progress? I suppose...I can reach millions of people, but it doesn't happen without a lot more work. Maybe that's why we still need agents, publishers, and publicists to promote the book after typing "The End".

[Pop Culture Nerd]

I couldn't agree more! Numbers are empty if the people on your list don't really want to hear from you.

A pet peeve of mine is when I e-mail an author to ask a question about his/her book and end up on that author's mailing list without my consent. Next thing I know, I start receiving unwanted updates. Only people who actually click on "subscribe" should receive newsletters. Assuming I want to be on the list because I had simply inquired about a confusing plot point is presumptuous.