On The $500+ Publicist

I was reading Seth Godin's blog this morning and it hit me - do authors and publishers really appreciate all that book bloggers?

See, the average cost of a book is $16.95. If even a small blogger with say 21 followers chats about the book via a strong review and each of their followers tells one person, the sales potential rounds to $700.  This is just one day. Imagine what happens over time. Now, think about those book bloggers with over 3,000 followers!

Seth's post talked about a guy named Wade and how he went out of his way when his microphone stopped working.

Well…not every author can afford a mic, and while those who can, there is nothing like a personal testimony from a trusted party.

As Seth stated, we are 'in an era when loyalty is scarce.' Further, he shares a tidbit about Krulak's Law - 'the future of an organization is in the hands of the privates in the field, not the generals back home.'

Sadly, while book marketing speaks to garnering early reviews and reaching out to bloggers, not  once does it say empower said bloggers.

I am not sure how the appreciation of bloggers can be instilled in authors, especially since they are hooked on Facebook ads, sponsored Amazon listings, and mailing lists that seem to be so focused on sales that I unsubscribed faster than I jump out of bed in the morning for coffee!!

What would I wish for?

1. For authors/publishers to collaborate with book bloggers in offering giveaways - rather partnering with other authors only. How would this work? Have a group of authors who want to do a giveaway, reach out to bloggers who read their genres, and develop a tour. Bloggers get to do what they do best - read and showcase their sparkling reviewer's wit - and authors get to reach a targeted audience and promote their giveaway. 
2. For authors/publishers to consider doing sponsored posts with bloggers in their genre - Why Facebook ads? I left Facebook for many reasons and ads were the main culprit. Sure, you can set the demographics and target your followers. But, what about those outside of your demographic? For example, I read mostly mysteries, some thrillers, and urban fiction. But, I just read my first paranormal cozy mystery. (Now, I am hooked.) But, I would not have been in the target audience and they would have missed out.  How would this work? Authors would reach out to the bloggers who read their genre (or have a serious interest in doing so), provide a copy of their book, and agree (this is the sponsor part) to showcase the blogger on their website and/or mailing list. (Still fleshing this idea out, but I hope you get the idea)
3. Authors would actually visit the bloggers (no…not physically like our friend, but virtually on their blog) and interact with them. Why? It shows their other readers that they care about more than sales. 

Basically, I don't want to be the Wade in Seth's blog. (I feel that way at work way too often). I don't want bloggers to feel that review posts, which as I said here is the pure essence of any book blog, are no longer their go-to posts. But, sadly, if you look at many book blogs, you will see various tags and memes. Sure, these are fine, but are they being posted to keep an audience entertained until the next review, or are they there for other reasons, none of which contain the words 'for kicks and giggles'?

What do you think? Do you think authors should interact more with bloggers? Do you think these author groups should incorporate bloggers into their marketing strategy?