Beware Book 'Brand Awareness' Bull
A Literal Literary Loser Bewitches Bogus Brand
You would think that after I published a multi-(multi!) part series on how I exposed a bogus book marketer, I would stop getting similar offers from their fellow criminals.
You would be wrong.
Ever since I wrote about investigating the thieves not just here, but also on Writer Beware, I have been getting MORE unsolicited Direct Messages on Facebook and Instagram from “marketing experts” promising thousands of new sales for my books.
Either the word hasn’t gotten out yet that I’m not a chump, or they figure, “Hey, she spent money to prove one scam was fake, maybe she’ll send me some money too!”
Uhm, no….
I made myself very clear to one particularly persistent “marketer.” I even sent him a link to my posts. But this one wouldn’t give up. He offered to work for free, to show me what he could do.
Well, free IS my favorite price point. “Sure,” I said, “go ahead. Dazzle me with your marketing brilliance. If I see results, I will consider hiring you long term.”
Here, as before, is a slightly edited version of our conversation:
Brilliant Book Marketer: Who are your targeted audience and how are you getting your book to them? There are also some marketing strategies you can be implementing for your book to get to it targeted audience. I will like to share you some marketing tips. There are different part of it is author brand Awareness visibility, sales funnel, running ads etc. Sales funnel is by creating a landing page and also generate 1000+ active book readers and create and manage an automation that will last for a month keep generating active email on a daily basis from your website form page which we will embed and from the Facebook ads/run we will run. The ads is part of the sales funnel which we also be running.
Alina Adams: Who are we? Are you more than one person?
BBM: You and I because you we also be seeing the work once the ads is running
AA: So if I am running ads, where do you come in?
BBM: The sales funnel I will be creating a landing page and form page. It is used to generate active book readers on daily basis. Sales funnel is the same as email marketing. It will be email list of your book targeted audience. I can help you do 2 days awareness for one of your book. I will start with the awareness I will give you update on them.
(24 hours later)
BBM: The brand Awareness is done with high engagement to people. I make used for hashtags to get the audience. I post on Facebook too. I will post on instagram.
AA: So you just tag random people? No customizing for audience?
BBM: I make use of hashtags to get it to audience. You will see some hashtags in the book with high engagement of people.
AA: So far, none of your posts have resulted in a single sale.
BBM: That is brand Awareness. Brand Awareness is different from marketing
AA: What's the point of brand awareness if it doesn't sell any books?
BBM: I will explain brand Awareness for you. With Brand Awareness will we be able get your Brand as a Published book Author out there to the General Public. Readers and author will be able to recognize and relate with you whenever they here about you
AA: So it's not supposed to sell any books?
BBM: Is to create awareness about your book and you as a publish author. To get sales I make use of sales funnel
AA: So no sales. Without sales, how can you prove brand awareness?
BBM: Which I have explain earlier in our previous conversation
AA: OK, so you cannot prove that anyone saw your post. So far, there is not a single like or interaction on it, which means it could have been seen by 0 people.
BBM: Check the impression 38 impressions it is seen by people.
AA: 38 impressions is nothing. I gave a talk last night to 100 people, and only sold 6 books after the fact. You need numbers in the 1000s to even make a dent.
BBM: Brand Awareness is not for sales. That why I make use of sales funnel same as email marketing. People is going to be seeing your book day by today not only just a day the more they see it the money people know about you. Now 43 it grows day by day.
AA: Those are very low numbers. I get more when I post on FB message boards.
BBM: This is brand Awareness. The impression we be improving everyday. I will also post on instagrams. Once am done I can work on the sales funnel for you
(24 hours later)
BBM: Am done with the brand Awareness I make use of hashtags to reach audience with high engagement of people.
ATTENTION !!!!!!!!! 📢 📢 📢 📢 📢 📢 📢 📢 📣 📢
#EVERYONE #AMAZONBOOKLOVERS #BOOKTOK
My Mother's Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region by Alina Adams now available on amazon
As her revolutionary neighbor mysteriously disappears during Josef Stalin's Great Terror purges, 18-year-old Regina suspects that she's the Kremlin's next target. Under cover of the night, she flees from her parents' communal apartment in 1930s Moscow to the 20th century's first Jewish Autonomous Region, Birobidzhan, on the border between Russia and China. Once there, Regina has to grapple with her preconceived notions of socialism and Judaism while asking herself the eternal question: What do we owe each other? How can we best help one another? While she contends with these queries and struggles to help Birobidzhan establish itself, love and war are on the horizon.
Read more on amazon; https://bit.ly/3MTOiFI
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BBM: Am done with the brand Awareness
AA: Ok, thanks, I'll let you know if I see any sales
BBM: I explain to you what brand Awareness is for. Not for sales
AA: Oh, ok, then how will I know if there were any results?
BBM: Now that I have use the hashtag to get readers Day by day your audience we be seeing your book. To now get sales and see people interacting we can use the sales funnel
AA: But how will I know they are seeing it if there are no sales?
BBM: To get sales that what am explaining That we are going to do sales funnel for you In there we might see some people that want to ask you questions or know about you As am done with this We suppose to move to sales funnel so it start generating sales
AA: I have seen nothing from your efforts not even a single like click. It doesn't look like anyone has seen a single post you've made. There is only one like on IG and it's from you, which suggests your campaign is completely ineffective
BBM: Alright Alina
***
That’s where the conversation ended. Was I even talking to a person? My husband is convinced it’s a bot. Either way, this cyborg, on their LinkedIn profile (which, by the way, is a different name from their Facebook profile), proclaims themselves to be:
Digital Marketing Expert || Brand promotion/Marketing || Book promotion and marketing || Book editing, proofeading and formating ||
You’ve seen their grammar. You’ve seen their sales tactics. You’ve seen their ‘Brand Awareness’ results.
I’m not telling you what to do. Make your own choices, always. But before hiring this “expert,” do give it some serious thought….
Alina, I plan to buy My Mother's Secret. I've always been fascinated by the Jewish Autonomous Region and if I read fiction, it's historical. So maybe Mr. Bot got you one sale through his efforts, somewhat indirectly.