FSB Associates News
Macmillan’s John Sargent says “viral marketing doesn’t sell a ton of books” - And We Agree!
As online book publicists, you must think we are crazy to say that, but, well, its true! Sargent spoke those words at the BEA CEO roundtable discussion on May 28th, citing "a video based on a Macmillan book spent time in the number one spot on YouTube in the UK-and wound up selling a whopping 200 extra copies".* Rarely has one "hit," no matter how big, sold many books. And especially on YouTube, a medium with little success selling any books at all. Expecting something to go "viral" won’t work. So what does works?
It is hard to make any one statement answering that question. If we knew, we would be billionaires. What we can tell you is that if you want to use the Internet for promotion, make your efforts extensive. Content is your biggest asset, so shop around excerpts or timely articles to sites that are hungry to post information, send books out for reviews to sites and blogs that are appropriate (no email blasts!), and create a presence for yourself or your book online that is reliable. Risking thousands of dollars to make a video, or anything else, "viral" will rarely sell books.
Online promotion takes hard work, lots of time, persistence, and, of course, expertise. FSB Associates can provide it all.
*Source: PublishersWeekly.com