Moving Mountains
High or low, the bet is blind
Hey! Are you convinced?
The biggest question in all of sales and marketing is what exactly pushes a potential lead over the edge and into a deal.
The best estimates may break down the finest details and the most abundant data, but in the end it’s nearly impossible to know what exactly triggered a specific decision.
Oh, our best guesses are more than good enough, but it’s a fundamental flaw in how we understand each other.
Like wondering whether or not the green I see is the same green you see.
And I never downplay my struggles with understanding all this deal-making, sleight-of-hand marketing magic.
Which is somewhat odd, given how I do very much enjoy finding new ways to connect with people. In fact, just last week another Significatorius collaboration came through.
Kisara’s Moon brought Palena Moria to life with a little fanart and one of the songs from the book.
Will any of that convince any of you to buy a copy though?
That’s the question that I doubt anyone but the individual can answer.
But just in case, here’s a tiny nudge in that direction:
Practical Means
More than waxing philosophical about the limits of a marketing campaign, I wanted to mull over my own issues with the overly confident rhetoric of the salesman.
For as much as I may have reasonable thoughts around this gap in knowledge, there’s a certain indescribable finesse (one I wouldn’t be uncomfortable calling an art) for the best of the smooth talkers who enrich themselves and those around them.
To that end, I want to better understand my own means.
And so I thought I’d attempt a few uncharacteristic calls to monetary action. Something I neglect far, far too often.
Ko-fi
For the millennials and older in the audience, Ko-fi is like Patreon. An evergreen fundraiser where you can directly support me and my work, without having to ask Mr. Bezos for any favors.
One of the most basic features is support for tips and donations, but I’ve discovered there’s so much more to it: exclusive content, a storefront, and perhaps most importantly brand recognition.
Now, my Ko-fi page is still a bit of a work-in-progress, but it is functional and you can follow and support me there:
As I fumble around with edits and formatting, I think I’m most excited to set up a storefront. Having a way to sell my books directly to people not only cuts out some of the middlemen, it also feels a bit more personal, doesn’t it?
I could also add little things like official signed copies. But with me being an ocean away from North America, that may be prohibitively expensive or inconvenient for most.
StampFans
While I have been thinking about Ko-fi for a long while now, my mind shifted to actually taking action when I stumbled across StampFans.
The idea is more or less the same as a newsletter, except you have to pay a subscription for it (the platform keeps the first $3, everything above that goes to supporting me) and they send a physical letter out to everyone who’s signed up.
A little gimmicky, but it does seem well aligned with the needs and wants of a writer. Once I came up with the name Monthly Moss though, my enthusiasm really ramped up:
I enjoy the novelty of it all and I know many people out there still like receiving real mail.
My worries boil down to three:
I don’t want to resend old newsletter content
No one will care or want to sign up
Creating something new would be wasted effort
So, I decided if I were to actually try out this service, it needed to be something worthwhile. I believe I’ve landed on just that:
My goal is to fill up a blank page with my handwriting.
That would certainly include odd doodles and less than legible letters, but it’d be true to who I am. If nothing else, that means it would be unique and exclusive content.
Maybe it will go nowhere, but I’ll have fun with it for at least that first month!
Substack
My good ol’ Substack, Nightly Noise. This place where I’ve faithfully written week after week has pretty tightly integrated monetization. I don’t bring it up very often because it feels like a strange thing to do.
But if there were ever a contrived time to do so, this is it:
Indeed, there are even tools for exclusive posts and whatnot. Proper incentives to get more potential subscribers onboard. However, I don’t want to section off my newsletter into different tiers of walled gardens.
I prefer having it be an open forum to build connections.
Besides, I’m pretty committed to saving the cold calls for book sales.
A Big Ask
A bit out of character this week, but maybe that’s a good thing. It looks like I’m finally tackling a question I should have answered a very long time ago:
What is my work worth?
I’ve poured my heart out for years, but it hasn’t led to much in terms of monetary or marketing success.
Passion alone hasn’t translated into sustainability.
Consistency is only part of the picture.
And it’s on me to balance the rest of the equation.
I’m not sure if it’s some sense of shame or misplaced guilt or even pride, but I feel like I need to prove my worth before asking my audience for anything at all.
Maybe that’s the key though.
It’s time I had more confidence in the worth of my words and stories.
Until next time,
—JMB
Another great read! And thanks for the mention. I've been telling people about your books 😊