Lazy marketing is a bummer.

I planned on writing a blog post about patience because it’s a wonderful thing to work towards when working on a publishing project, but then I received an email for a book review request. That’s when my brain did a u-turn, and I decided I wanted to write about lazy marketing. Oh, yes. I said it. What is lazy marketing you ask? Well, here is an example:
 
Hello,

Treasure Chest Mysteries was released on August 18, 2016. This frightening tale of two pirates deserted on a desert island is sure to give you chills. Review copies are available through Super Lightning Publishing. Email my publisher at superlightningboss@email.com

Sincerely,
Bob Author
 
Okay, first, I made all of the above up. It is based on the many emails I, along with a lot of other readers receive from authors. It’s lazy marketing. Let me deconstruct this for you.

Problem #1 – The greeting doesn’t include my name. Now, I know there are way too many people who do not include their name with their contact info. It’s a must if you are trying to gain a following or be contacted with great opportunities. But, I know for a fact my name is always available. So, if Bob Author was able to locate my email, he was definitely able to locate my name. Not including my name lets me know that Bob Author simply copy and pasted a generic request and sent it off to my inbox. He didn’t choose to email me because he thought I was a good fit. He was lazy and didn’t do his research.

Problem #2 – He never introduces himself. He immediately assaults me with his book’s info. It would have been nice for him to start off with, “Hi, my name is Bob, and I am a mystery writer based in San Jose, California. I recently released my debut novel, Treasure Chest Mysteries.”

Problem #3 – Where are your links at, bro? I’d like to check out the cover, your publisher, your bio, etc. If you are contacting me with a request, why in the world would I need to hit Google to search for your book? You need to make things convenient for me. Why? There are by far a lot more authors than there are book reviewers. Book bloggers receive more requests than they can read, so you need to be creative and informative to stand out and grab their attention.
 
Don’t be lazy. Take the time to choose reviewers. As a book marketer, I know you can’t write 300 original book review request emails per week. Or month or year. What you can do is take the time to read the about me and contact page of the reviewers to get to know them. Pull info out of their provided information to include in your email to them that shows you made an honest attempt to select them for a solid reason. It matters. I promise.

Good luck,
Sage

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