The Post Pub

Make Your Lurkers Work for You

Thanks to Alison at We'll Know When We Get There, I read Virginia Heffernan's NY Times piece on the phenomenon of lurking on blogs and message boards. Lurking means reading without writing -- spending time on a blog or message board without ever posting a comment or otherwise letting people know you are there.

The majority of American participants in digital media are probably lurkers -- according to Pew research, 39% of Americans who use the internet say they read blogs, but only 22% participate in chat rooms or online discussions.  Considering the fact that much of today's online content is, technically, a blog (or interactive in some way, thanks to Web 2.0), most Americans who are web surfing are probably landing on pages where they have, but pass up, the opportunity to say hello and contribute to the conversation.

Why do people choose to lurk instead of providing feedback to content? (And thereby generating content in the process themselves?)

According to this academic abstract, gratification motivates lurking -- as it does just about everything. Some people simply like to take without giving. They don't feel a need to engage and interact with others -- they're OK with observing.  Lurkers are virtual introverts, or "selfish" in the community sense (as Heffernan notes in her piece).  But this doesn't mean bloggers should ignore them.

The key is to remember that mute observers are not inactive, and not even necessarily passive.  They are participating by showing up. They can still be influential over reputation and sales, because they vote with their dollars, their library cards and their site visits.  In a sense, they are purer fans than the visitors who leave comments on a blog, because they are drawn to a site as spectators and not as talkers -- they are more interested in reading someone else's content than they are in generating their own.

So the question is: how can you make your blog lurkers work for you?

Blogs in Plain English

Y Pulse is Doing Book Giveaways

Ypulse, the website about marketing to Generation Y, is expanding its coverage to include tween and young adult books. Giveaways will be involved. Keep an eye on the site's book publishing section for more information.

Happy Thanksgiving

The Post Pub is going on an early Thanksgiving vacation. We'll be back next week. In the meantime, happy reading!

Love of Reading Online Book Fair, Nov. 14-17

Talk about book giveaways -- FSB Associate's online Love of Reading book fair is a swag party to beat all. Stop by and learn how you can win a leather journal and any number of books being given away in hourly raffles.  (Thanks to Portia for the tip.)

Tales from a Teleseminar: How Tim Ferriss Used the Internet to Become a Best-seller

As I type this, I'm listening to Tim Ferriss's teleseminar on social media marketing and how he used the blogosphere to promote his book, The Four-Hour Workweek, to the NY Times bestseller list and the top of the Amazon heap.  I've learned a few things, but for the most part, most of the techniques Ferriss used to promote his book to the appropriate audience are the same sensible techniques I've been using to approach the blogosphere on behalf of authors since 2005.  I've been effective, but he's been phenomenal -- which has helped me, over time, to make two conclusions about selling non-fiction books using the internet:

1. Ferriss's book is made to sell. It's a good idea, it's controversial, and it's resonant. It's about something people want to talk about (working less, enjoying life more). It undermines existing paradigms and promotes new ones. It does everything right, and started doing so before he even wrote a word, because Ferriss put a lot of thought into what he wanted to write, and he honed his platform early with public speaking and seminars on his subject matter. He also product-tested his book title online, using Google Ads, before finalizing anything. Every non-fiction author should do this. (Read his book to learn how.)

2. Ferriss wrote a book that, content-wise, is tailor-made to appeal to tech workers and to Silicon Valley -- people who are often overworked, but just as often with the flexibility to telecommute, which is a major focus of Tim's book.  (Additionally, the blogosphere and social media are increasingly obsessed with productivity tips on how to do more in less time: see also, 43 Folders and Lifehack.) Appealing to Silicon Valley is basically synonymous with appealing to bloggers -- many, many tech industry employees and tech-watchers blog avidly, have money to spend, and have the savvy and the audience to share a book with large online audiences.

If you want to write a non-fiction book that will do as well as The Four-Hour Workweek, you'd be smart to follow Tim's business model.  Research the book before writing it; make sure it will appeal to the blogosphere and some demographic of tech-savvy readers (young adult readers count); settle on a single, strong viewpoint (and reflect this in your book title); product test your idea online before you approach agents and publishers; and perhaps most importantly, make sure it's contributing unique content to the conversation. Content is king.

-- Kristen, Pub Editor

Contest Alert: "Haunted Homeland"

Here's one book giveaway I'm tempted to enter for myself, being a fan of true-life ghost stories: Bookgasm is giving away a copy of Michael Norman's non-fiction book, Haunted Homeland. Deadline to enter: this Friday, November 16. Click here for details.

Authors on Video

Lately a number of programs and sites have featured video of authors conducting readings or interviews.  The Authors@Google series is one of the best of these, featuring not only authors, but also political candidates and musicians who travel to Google's offices in Mountain View and other locations around the U.S. to present talks for employees.  Here's Aimee Bender (The Girl in the Flammable Skirt) discussing the art of the short story:

Another video source to watch: Washington DC PBS station WETA has a new site called Author Author! Click here to watch Richard Russo (Bridge of Sighs) discuss what it's like to write about class, and here to watch Amy Bloom discuss Away.

Friday's Author Blogging Roundup

The last several posts to this site have been contest alerts.  I'm working on getting a new author interview up soon. In the meantime, here's a roundup of author blogs for Friday (note: not all of these posts are new, but all are well worth reading):

Barbara Delinsky, asks, "Has Your Life Gone According to Plan?"... Jacquelyn Mitchard wrestles with the decision to dress her daughters in geisha costumes for Halloween... Marly Youmans puts out a call for poetry and prose about insects... Janice Erlbaum buys sweaters for homeless cats... Brendan Halpin tries to start a literary feud... Billy Mernit reviews "Dan in Real Life"... Phil Town weighs in on whether Walgreen's is a stock to buy... Tod Goldberg gets angry at his DVR [warning: strong language]... Pam Ribon, a writer for "Samantha Who?", chronicles her picket-line experiences in Hollywood... and Chris Anderson ponders the promotional value of authors giving things away for free. [More on this later!]

Contest Alert: Joshua Henkin's "Matrimony" and Bookgasm Mondays

Two new book giveaways to be aware of:

The Elegant Variation is giving away a copy of Joshua Henkin's novel "Matrimony" TODAY -- deadline 6 p.m. PST.  If you haven't visited TEV, you should -- it's one of the top literature blogs out there (a Forbes "Best of the Web" pick), as well as an excellent literary scene resource for the Los Angeles area.

And I've been informed that Bookgasm has a book giveaway every Monday -- be sure to bookmark that site if you're a fan of genre fiction (action, mystery, horror, sci fi, graphic novels).