In April 2019, I was averaging 75 – 80 likes on Instagram per post I did. Fast forward a bit to April 2020 and I was averaging between 25 – 30 a post. Now, in June 2021, if I am lucky, I can average 15 – 20 likes per post.
This sort of downfall in numbers can be attributed to many things that the tech bros of Silicon Valley would have us believe cause it: Posts not popular enough, not enough engagement, etc. But in the hustle and bustle of everyone trying their utmost to be the most popular account on social media, many people fail to recognize the actual importance the Internet and social media in particular have on small businesses being able to sell on a global network of buyers.
Things become far more frustrating when one realizes that social media engineers all of this towards its own massive profit all the while gouging its small business users to pour money into ‘targeted ad campaigns’ that will gain results they seek – but here is the problem with that method. When a small business is struggling through a global Pandemic to stay afloat, and then you throw a wrench into their one way to continue making money, then the down slope is a rather slippery fall.
I as a sole proprietor and seller of my own books can choose to market other, traditional ways, but no matter the marketing ploy – it’s always going to either cost a lot of money or imagination to really make a difference in buyer minds. Now in 2021, the only feasible way I as an independent author with NO publishing contract can continue to create art or make even a dollar off of it without having to drive hundreds of miles out of the barren valley I live in, is to market online to an audience.
I have been on Instagram since around October 2018, and since that time I have barely accrued around 1,200 followers in that time. And I know people on social media love to tout their follower number as proof of their imagined success, but the truth is, I do better with more likes solely because it offers me more eyes on my product. Each follower that decides to like a post of mine will in turn drive up the popularity (according to algorithm analytics) so that more people can potentially see my product. If I have 2 followers that each engage every time they see a post, then yes that is very much appreciated, but who will I sell a book to if both followers already have my book? This is where the marketability comes into play for me as a social media user.
If I cannot continue to grow my audience, then by default it stagnates. I refuse to be a sitting duck or a fish in rancid water; for the meaning of being an artist runs much deeper than stagnation. So, in writing this to any and all of you awesome people that may have followed me over from IG, I hope to extoll the process in which I am now involved. It takes effort to reach people, and it requires more than being good at writing. I could be the best writer in the goddamn world and that won’t mean a goddamn thing until I can market my goddamn product! You see what I mean?
As artists who sell our work, we are often limited by the audience we have (the company you keep also says a lot, but I’ll get into that a bit later). I would personally love to attend more in-person events to advertise my books, as right before Coronavirus hit, I had started my journey. In September 2019, I attended a book festival in Central City, Colorado to sell some books. Although I did not get close to hitting my mark (I took around 30 books with me and sold 1), it still offered some very valuable insights into what and what not to do. I’d like to think that the biggest obstacle any indie author faces to be that of marketability. In fact, that is the greatest asset that a traditional publishing offers when giving a publishing contract, is their marketability and distribution deals. To gain instant name recognition, to have near instant distribution, and to be able to sell books near instantly all add to the glamor of having your own publishing deal.
This lack of marketability to indie artists is what separates shitty lyricists like Atticus making millions while legends like John E. Marks go unnoticed. Now, not every writer wants to sell a book, just as not every chicken wants to cross a street, but it comes with the territory so-to-speak. One of the biggest assets an indie author has and can utilize to help bolster a fledgling writing career is to GET CONNECTIONS! Get out there and network with others, but more importantly than that, take a page out of the amoral propagandist Edward Bernays’s book, and ‘Influence the Influencers’ so that they in turn take a lot of the burden off you by giving you that instant recognition. With instant recognition comes an easier-to-gain audience that ebbs and flows with the tides of popularity.
Take my advice, don’t take it, but whatever you do – don’t stagnate!