LL Barkat is one of those friends whom I met exclusively through blogging. We’ve never met in person, although I do look forward to the day that I can sit down with her and a cup of her homemade tea. I was originally attracted to LL’s blog because she can take everyday experiences and draw out a spiritual truth. I also appreciate her commitment to building community and “spurring each other on toward love and good deeds.” I love her perspective on blogging.
1. How long have you been blogging and why did you start?
18 fascinating months. As to why I started, can I quote my own blog post?
Here’s what I said in part:
“Over a year ago, I heard Andy Crouch’s public declaration: ‘Blogging is a waste of time.’
His declaration coincided neatly with a bit of advice I received from a Simon & Schuster Director of Marketing and Promotion. ‘You should start a blog,’ she said. ‘We ask all our authors to start blogs.’
The S&S person’s enthusiasm tempted me to begin blogging post-haste. But I admit it was the nonconformist in me that provided hidden energy. I wanted to confront Andy’s bald-faced statement. I wanted to become a blog scientist of sorts, to test out the veracity of his assertion.”
2. How do blogging and/or blog tours fit into your overall marketing plan?
Can I be honest? Many blog tours bother me. When I’m blogging and I come across them, I tune out. Worse, I often have this odd sensation that it’s not for real. I feel like it’s a “rigged” effort and I’d rather come across posts from people who just blogged about a book because they really loved it. Bottom line: blog tours tend to lower my respect for the book being highlighted.
One exception is the Sci-Fi tours I often come across when I visit my colleague Mark Goodyear’s blog. Maybe these tours don’t bother me because I feel like they are a club kind of thing. Sci-Fi people talking to sci-fi people. I never read the full posts, but I always comment on something in them, because I respect Mark and support his efforts regardless of whether these fit with my own interests.
As for how blogging fits with my marketing plan, I feel that an author must respect the medium. It’s a social affair. I show up week after week and if people like me and my work, then they do. If not, well, I can’t force it.
If people are attracted to my writing, this may ultimately turn into book sales, but my experience has been that blogging is more likely to create unexpected and important connections. Would I, for instance, have met Scot McKnight if not for blogging? And would he have given my book such a strong endorsement? I doubt it. Yet even with that, it is not something I could have “planned”. We happened to meet, to genuinely like each other’s work, and so it went.
Beyond this, I think blogging is part of marketing at a much different level. It’s not about me selling to people. But I do learn what sells, what interests others. And this is the early part of marketing . . . finding ideas that the marketplace has a positive response to. In fact, my latest book idea, which you can see here: God in the Yard came from this kind of “market research”. But of course that’s almost a ridiculous thing to say. I never set out to test the idea. Rather, it was an organic occurrence. I did a series of posts on Wendell Berry and living small and focused, and people showed a deep interest. Bing. I realized there was something deeper that just might be worth exploring in a longer work.
3. What are three (or less) keys to your success in promoting your books through blogging?
It remains to be seen whether my book will be a success due to blogging. In fact, I expect blogging will only be an enhancement to what my publisher is doing. I’m happy to be with InterVarsity Press because they have reach into established groups, and I think this will be the main cause of my book’s success.
4. What do you think are the Big Mistakes writers make when blogging for promotion?
Self, self, self. Bloggers generally want authentic connection, so the promotion of self is inappropriate to the medium. That doesn’t mean that a writer can’t talk about his life work and books. I do. But it’s just a small part of what I discuss. My larger focus is on other people, their cares, sorrows, dreams and struggles. As I’ve said elsewhere, I write to love. It’s really hard to do that and always be talking about one’s self.
5. What does a blog tour accomplish, if anything? What data or analysis has led you to believe that?
For this, you must go to my Mount Hermon co-presenter Mark Goodyear. He’s the stat man. And as I recall the stats weren’t so great. On the other hand, he and I have discussed the success of a book that tipped to best-seller status as a result of about 300 blogger’s efforts. This is mentioned in the book The New Rules of Marketing & PR.
That said, I don’t think the bloggers that New Rules mentions participated in a tour. They received books and maybe they blogged about them and maybe they didn’t. The effort had, I believe, a more natural feel to it from the user side.
6. What should be the goals of a blog tour and how do you track whether or not a blog tour is successful?
Hmmm…. As you can probably tell, I don’t have plans to do a blog tour. It would be a compromise for me to do so. That doesn’t mean I won’t engage my blogging community in ways they find affirming. For instance, you can take a look at my two book club efforts to see how I plan to serve my readers in what may be understood as a reciprocal relationship.
This site is mostly for readers who just want to say something about their experience with the book: Stone Crossings Book Club Blog.
And this site is for readers who really want to go deeper, approximating a true book club experience where people can hear and see each other and participate creatively: Stone Crossings Book Club Wiki.
For someone who chooses to do a blog tour, I would simply suggest considering different forms than what’s been classically done. So. If blog tour participants are enabled to engage creatively and they actually achieve this, then I believe that’s a measure of true success, because it will buffer some of the “rigged” feeling that’s problematic.
7. Any other additional thoughts on blogging and blog tours?
Just to encourage people to respect the medium. As I said before, this is a social medium. It’s important not to be anti-social at this great blog party we’re privileged to attend. To paraphrase a famous bible guy, “Let everything you do be guided by love.” Even blogging for promotion.
Be sure to stop over at LL’s blog and witness community in action.
To read the other interviews in this series, click here.
You can read the summary posts and discussion of what I’ve learned through these interviews over on my personal blog, click here.
Thanks so much for posting this.
Also, I wanted to share another tool I just created that might interest some of your readers here. It’s based on the old Media Tool Kit idea.
A Blog Post Tool Kit
[...] or – even worse – a used car lot, where the salesman is only interested in making a sale. LL Barkat notes, “Bloggers generally want authentic connection, so the promotion of self is [...]
LL – Very nice. I see it to be very similar to a Social Media Release. Marcus would be proud.