Thompson On...A Hard Look at my Web Marketing Habit!

    My evenings are designated times I reserve for writing chapters in my fifth novel, Chasing The Wind While Riding A Greyhound.

However, there is a nagging thought in the back of my mind that keeps attacking my creative moments. Eventually it stops the creative process and now I must satisfy my “Web Marketing habit”.  I reluctantly close the word document and go online where the internet lurks. The internet demands time to satisfy my “Web Marketing Habit.” It is an addiction that must be fulfilled or I am afraid I will not generate any significant book sales.

            Everyday of my life I work the “Rule of Five”. What is the Rule of Five? It is something I learned from John Kremer, a few years ago, where I do five things everyday to market my published novels…365 days a year. 

             For example, I might give out business cards in the checkout line in the local supermarket to people interested in learning about my novels, or people on line to buy coffee at the local coffee shop or going online and working the social media websites.

            It is work, work, work and then hope I produce book sales.

            What is nagging me is my “Web Marketing Habit” addiction. Is it a habit that produces tangible results?

            From looking at the book sales results, I see miniscule upward movement. On Smashwords, I see people opting to download the first few chapters of A Brownstone In Brooklyn and Philly Style and Philly Profile. However, E-book sales don’t match the free downloads of my books.

            I have been interviewed on blog talk radio, on a regular basis, internet television, and still I have not seen the book sales spike at any time.

            On Amazon.com my national gold medal winning novel, Ghost of Atlanta, has a reduced price and yet the sales are creeping upward and not moving at a steady pace.

            This past weekend I visited the Barnes & Nobles in Snellville, Ga. and noticed the bookshelf empty of Ghost of Atlanta and that is a good thing. The Barnes & Nobles sales person said they were ordering more copies.

            A positive is that A Brownstone in Brooklyn, which was published twelve years ago, is still selling while most books printed at that time are out of print or the authors gave up marketing.

            Yet, my “Web Marketing Habit” must be satisfied or I don’t feel like I am working for my published books. I feel edgy, nervous and not productive.

I feel if I am not working Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc., then I am missing sales opportunities. As a published author how can you judge when your “Web Marketing Habit” is producing sales and not just producing passing interest?

This “Web Marketing Habit” is affecting my creativity.

            Am I correct in my feelings that my “Web Marketing Habit” is not producing significant sales? What determines a good sales quarter?

            I am working on changing my “Web Marketing Habit”. Any ideas on creating new marketing platforms to produce success and increased book sales?

            Help! Help! Help!