|
|
Post by jaydax on Jul 26, 2015 15:08:21 GMT -8
I was tempted by a promotion offer which offered to tweet from 8 sites, post the book on these sites and place it in newsletters from these sites. A mere $99. Then I did some research and found fake followers and websites with few visitors. Of course identifying fake followers may not be an exact science. There's little doubt about fake followers when a twitter account is identified as having just 14% of real followers though. I used www.twitteraudit.com/ to check for fake followers and the Alexa toolbar to check the websites (http://www.alexa.com/toolbar). You can see my full findings at authorbookpromotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/are-some-book-marketing-sites-cheating.html I didn't identify the group responsible though but I will identify it here because nothing in my findings can't be verified by others and I gave opinions rather than accusations. The group of promotion sites was authoradnetwork.com/ Site 3, which I felt was worth promoting on was awesomegang.com/. This isn't the only promotion site I'm unhappy about - there are lots of others. One I identified some time ago has been suspended from Twitter and Facebook. Isn't it time we authors got together and named and shamed the rogue sites? I'd be happy to keep track of these. Remember give opinions and reasons why you don't trust them - no accusations. A genuine promotion service should be happy to find and fix problems. |
|
serbanvcenache
SWF Writers
Posts: 712 
|
Post by serbanvcenache on Jul 27, 2015 2:14:51 GMT -8
Thanks for letting us know, Jaydax. And thanks for mentioning twitter audit. According to them, 98% of my followers are not fake; I know that can't be right. LOL. I'm pretty sure more than 40 of them (as they indicate) are spammers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ted on Jul 27, 2015 3:26:38 GMT -8
Finding and listing 'rogue' sites may or may not be useful as it is quite simple and quick for any mentioned 'rogue' to popup another site; it becomes a roundabout race.
Finding and listing 'rogue' sites may be useful for authors seeking info on pay-to-play ebook marketing or promotion sites, as the site may prevent someone from using the service.
But if you compare the success of Author Beware pages - and the like - listing scummy ebook service companies like Author Solutions to the financial success of Author Solutions you'll quickly see having a site listed on Author Beware page does little to stem the profit stream of outfits like Author Solutions. People still use them in droves.
Pay-to-play ebook/book marketing outfits prey on the greed and lust for success of authors, sucking them into believing it only takes a little money to turn a turd into caviar. These ebook/marketing sites play upon the ego and emotions of authors and their desire for the world to recognize their wonderful work.
These sites know full well few works ever earn an author a living, but still they offer the dream of success for only a pittance of the enormous profit potential available to you - dear author - who is brave enough, smart enough, self-confident enough to fire up that visa card, debit card, or better yet a cheque with all your banking information on it and grant them the right to make you a millionaire.
Authors shouldn't be impatient and expect their work to appear on the best seller list two weeks after publishing. There is a ton of competition out their for ebook sales, so authors need to write well, be patient, and don't become desperate to use any of these fee-based promotion/marketing outfits. A good books takes only one person who read it to spread the word; waiting patiently for that one person to come along is the key to success.
|
|
|
|
Post by jaydax on Jul 27, 2015 5:53:36 GMT -8
I'm at 98% on my followers too. 184 listed as 'fake' out of 10,216. I don't auto-follow and usually wait 2-3 days before checking out any new followers. If they fit my requirements I'll add them. You'd be amazed at the number of people who unfollow within 2 days.
I'm pretty sure the people who sell followers are getting wise to the fake followers sites. Many now use a stolen image and profile, autotweet from a bank of tweets and will randomly retweet and add fake replies. Still, I have to suspect the integrity of a site owner who is paid to retweet and promote yet lets 86% of their tweets fall on deaf ears without apparently doing anything about it.
|
|
chelsfield
SWF Writers
Posts: 700
Joined: Mar 28, 2012 3:07:24 GMT -8
|
Post by chelsfield on Jul 29, 2015 0:57:31 GMT -8
Thanks for this post, jaydax, and for the sources. It may be the case that a significant number of authors are not as honorable as you. The name of the game with social networking sites is still number of followers. A lot of writers, heck people, by into that perception. And the perception is: if people think I have a lot of followers, then they will think I have a lot of readers, which means more (real) readers will be attracted to my work. So, I don't think they are into interrogating their numbers too closely and not above adding a few for a price themselves.
I definitely suspect most celebrity tweeters of this. Unless they are mega,it's nuts the number of followers they are supposed to have, sometimes overnight.
It's like the Thunderdome out there, and honorable, although a good long-term strategy for some, does not translate into the quick wins everyone wants...
|
|
|
|
Post by Ted on Jul 29, 2015 3:47:45 GMT -8
There's a quick win?? Geez, and here I am working 24 hours a day trying to figure out how not to work. Sheesh.
|
|
Ria Stone
SWF Writers
Posts: 1,055 
|
Post by Ria Stone on Jul 30, 2015 13:16:51 GMT -8
Thanks Jaydax: Useful information as always. I know on my twitter accounts, I am constantly blocking "junk" tweeters of all sorts.
|
|
|
|
Post by jaydax on Aug 13, 2015 17:16:50 GMT -8
There's a quick win?? Geez, and here I am working 24 hours a day trying to figure out how not to work. Sheesh. What! You mean you DON'T know about the Magic Promotion button? Here it is jaydax.co.uk/MagicButton/As for 'turds into caviare' - What about 50 Shades...? |
|
|
|
Post by Ted on Aug 14, 2015 4:51:10 GMT -8
As for 'turds into caviare' - What about 50 Shades...? Biggest one yet. Barely able to squeeze out 15 fully mistake-laden pages before flushing it down the toilet. |
|
|
|
Post by jaydax on Aug 14, 2015 7:01:32 GMT -8
Yep. Riddled with grammar errors, spelling mistakes and UK expressions used by an American (My favorite was 'tarmac', which in the US is 'blacktop'). You have to admire her marketing though.
|
|
serbanvcenache
SWF Writers
Posts: 712
|
Post by serbanvcenache on Aug 14, 2015 11:41:23 GMT -8
Loved the link. ^ _ ^
|
|
|
|
Post by jaydax on Aug 15, 2015 5:42:10 GMT -8
That link is an svg button which I'm putting in an e-book. "An illustrated guide to getting published"
|
|
