Hello,
I had a digital promoter DM me this week. He asked directly and politely if I was interested in using him to run a promo for me. His upfront proposition took me aback. At first, I went to ban him like I do all the other marketing experts contacting me with dishonest approaches. After thinking about it, I answered, “No, thank you,” He replied, “Your Welcome.”
This was just a drastic change from the months of disreputable whizzes starting with, “Oh great author, your book is amazing.” The insincerity dripped from their opening message like a one-toothed used car salesman stating the car was only driven by a little old lady. However, this young man started with “Sir” and asked openly and honestly about my promotional needs. He didn’t blow smoke up my butt, nor did he try underhanded tactics. I answered as respectfully as he treated me.
This spark of humanity happened during a week when many “Authors” contacted me to collaborate on our work, only to find out they wanted me to sign up for their “person” who promoted their books to gain thousands of reviews. In the epidemic of DM falsehoods five “Authors” started by asking what genre do I write. Then asked for my link even though they contacted me through an ad with a link to my books. I pointed out they liked the link just before they DM me and I heard nothing back. Being somewhat fed up, the last when they asked for my link, I told them I could do their promotions for a small fee. I never heard back from any of them. It didn’t help that I blocked them from contacting me again. The conversations mirror each other so precisely, that I cannot help but think there is a school teaching them this approach to scamming authors.
The epidemic became acknowledged when I noticed an author group this week posted they would ban anyone offering promotional expertise to its members. I applaud the administrators of the group. Then I woke up Thursday morning to ten DMs waiting for me from “Authors” and expert digital marketers. I banned them all even if they started a new page with a different name. It is an option with Facebook. I cannot remember the last time there was a DM from a person just wanting to hi or learn more about my books, but I am thinking of shutting down my messages for a while.
It was a life-happening week and I didn’t do much writing, editing, or promoting of my books. I’ll get back to it next week.
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God bless,
Danny Mac