You may have noticed that I'm in the process of setting up a paid street team. The very early stages. Embryonic. Maybe pre-embryonic. What would that be called? Date night?
Anyway, the plan is to assemble said street team of bookstagramers and reading enthusiasts and to pay them for their time. Not for reviews or likes or whatever. Their time. Why? Because we'd (indie authors) would all be dead in the water without them and these guys spend a expend a lot of effort in maintaining their accounts.
As you will no doubt see (if you've clicked on the link to the Google form) I do not want people who only give flat five star reviews, because they are essentially hot air. I want honest reviews and recommendations. Even if they hate it, I can (almost) guarantee someone else will read their ick and one click it.
But this isn't just for me, because, let's face it, that would get really old, really quick. I want to link this to an online bookstore, because I can't think of another way to track referrals and get them paid out, and open it out to other authors who might be interested in another reader grabbing process.
What do I know about bookstores? Other than the fact that I love to visit them, not much more than the average author. Or reader. That's why it's gonna take me some time. However, what I do have is a working background in digital marketing, ecommerce and advertising. Does that mean it'll keep Amazon bosses up at night? Will they wake up in a cold sweat, dreaming about kissing their book sales bye bye? Erm, no. Probably not. But, it can't hurt, right? Unless your an author on KDP. In that case, I hope to see you on the customer side.
Now, since I've gone and mentioned it, I will say right now that I am a 'wide' author. I tried KDP. Very briefly. It wasn't for me. And my Apple sales outstrip Amazon by about 700 to 1. If Amazon went bust over night, it wouldn't make a whole lot of difference to me. But I understand that some authors make their living over there.
So, if you're interested in my date night bookstore/street team, here's the link: https://forms.gle/6vrmjmLhpNspYjA59
Comments