Why Platform Isn't Enough To Sell Books
250k followers doesn't = bestseller; the "secret" is proof of concept + power of conversion
Welcome to The Weekend Rant where an off-duty literary agent discusses cultural moments that explore how we build our lives, the tools we use to do it, and the commentary that surrounds it.
Note: this article is primarily for non-fiction projects, but of course fiction authors will be able to take notes from it as well.
I have been in the book business since 2009 and back then social media wasn’t a launch pad for book creation—only because it was in its nascent stages. Back then TV personalities were the equivalent of what content creators have become. It was media figures that are familiar to the average citizen like morning show hosts and sportscasting. Over the years the power shifted from linear television to mobile technology—I’m not going to recount the history of this because many of you are familiar with it—but in the context of book publishing it’s important because the power to convert from screen (big or small) to page is everything. We are influenced by the media in front of us.
We’re now in the small screen conversion era. For example, influencers selling supplements, but also author brands selling book units. I’ve written extensively about author brands over the years. I used to teach a webinar about the concept of the author brand to thousands of you per year. It changes constantly with each era of the internet. A big following could (and largely still can with the right positioning) definitely get someone a book deal, but there’s a difference between a big following and a big following that is proven to buy something from you. (If you’re wondering “how many followers one requires to get a book deal” my answer is at the bottom, keep reading!)
This is something that has changed. So back in the early 2010s I sold a Twitter account→book project based on the voice alone. (That could not happen the same way today.) It became a bestseller. It was a (successful) novelty. Same with the blog→book era. Then I sold cookbooks based on blogs, now I sell cookbooks launched from video-based social media platforms. In the heyday of blogs, the creator revenue was generated from ad sales and affiliate marketing (not direct-to-customer product based). Now, with social media the revenue is often generated from product sales (merch, supplements, courses etc), affiliate marketing (still works!), or creator ad funds (like Ad Sense) and very much IS direct to customer which is why this era of power is different. Creators own their audiences in a different way. But it’s all proof of concept: your voice, your vision, your storytelling style on apps, your point of view, your angle.
Stop right now and think about 5 accounts you follow on socials that you would never buy something from. Now think about 5 accounts that you would or have bought something from. There are many creators you wouldn’t buy a book from even if you consume their content.
I’ve learned this the easy way and the hard way with client books. I’ve worked on books by influencers and experts that became bestsellers and I’ve worked on books by influencers and experts that didn’t convert. Sometimes it was the changing winds of algorithms (the way the person built the following is not the way the audience could be sold to) and sometimes everything hits at the right moment and soars. Here’s an older NYT article on the phenomenon.
It’s not that reaching a 100k following is when things get easy—it’s very all hard—it’s that 100k followers are not necessarily primed to buy something from you. The only way to prove that your followers will buy your book is to prove that they have bought something else from you. Their eyeball attention isn’t enough (also known as attention economy) in today’s actual economy we need to know that they’ll also part with dollars + time—the two things most people have limited amounts of.
I have written about how the K-shaped economy is going to be a big theme this year and this is why it matters. The upper part of the K has no problem shelling out money for their wants, but the lower K is focused on their needs. And books aren’t in the category of many peoples’ needs. (I know everyone reading this feels differently!)
Power To Convert
So let’s talk about the 5 ways the power to convert happens. If you’re someone who is building a following and working on promoting your expert-driven book the power to convert happens in the following ways:
Demand - Is this a product that truly fills a gap in your reader’s life? Or, is it the book that your fans have truly been banging down your door for? (And proven they’ll pay for courses/workshops on the topic)
Urgency - Good direct-to-customer sales people understand the power of urgency but books often have little urgency because once they’re on sale they’re just available. And this can seem like a good thing: people can buy it at their leisure! But alas, not helpful when gaining momentum with sales.
Volume - This is self-explanatory because the more followers you have the more of an opportunity to convert them into sales. But, creators can’t get lazy here. Just because you have followers it doesn’t mean they’ll buy the book (see above).
Connection - Do you have an intimate relationship with your audience and do they know what you are working on? Do they feel part of the process?
