1) You get support. This means that when you are down, the blogosphere can help you feel better. When your family doesn't understand why you write or when your friends are not interested at all in reading anything penned by you because they only want to talk about themselves...you will never be alone.
2) It's not what you know it's who you know. Yes...you connect with people from all kinds of backgrounds who know all kinds of people. When the time comes to market your book, they will spread the word for you. They will retweet your tweets. They will post pictures of your book on their sidebars. They can even do reviews, mark your book "to read" on Goodreads so that other people that don't blog, think "hmmm...there's a lot of interest in this book...I wonder if it is good."
3) They will keep you informed. You will see from reading their blogs what the hot thing is...where they heard that a certain agent is looking for a certain kind of manuscript...who is paying for what, etc.
4) Never do this campaign to pick-up customers. I think the percentage of people that could possibly buy your book because they followed you is really low...maybe less than 5%.
5) Networking is a two-way street. People will visit your blog once and then click follow. But if you don't follow back, they will never visit you again. Plus, you need to read their blog so that they will reciprocate. To expect someone to only read what you write is VERY arrogant. I don't want to burst your bubble...but nothing you write or say is more important than what anyone else has to write or say. You ARE NOT A CELEBRITY if you are reading my words. I hope that doesn't make you mad, but it is the truth. I'm not one either. Mediocrity is my middle name. So an ounce of humility will really give you the best tool to get the most out of this blogfest.The list of campaigners closes on Wednesday, February 15th. Come and get connected. I hope to see everyone spreading the word and having fun.
I think you and I are in a couple of groups Michael. I'm super excited about that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with number 5 completely. I always follow the good folks who follow me. It's just plain manners.
Have a great day!
Excellent write-up Michael, and such a good point that you'll only get out what you put into it. Yes, it takes effort, but it's so much fun.
ReplyDeleteSo do you actually follow all 500 followers of yours? Somehow I doubt it. No one has that much time. But it does make you look important to have hundreds of "followers" for your blog.
ReplyDeleteVery true Michael! I'm excited for the campaign this time around.
ReplyDelete@Grumpy: I think I follow darn close to 500 folks. I don't get around to their blogs every week and have a set few that I check every day. But I cycle through the whole list about once a month.
ReplyDeleteThe campaign has been amazing so far... wow! Seriously so much fun. :D
ReplyDeleteI'll be there! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your points. I've met lots of great bloggers last time and have learned a lot from them since, but that's because I took the tie to follow and visit. Takes time, but it's worth it in the long haul.
I...
ReplyDeletewhat...
*sputter**Gasp**Spit-take*
I...
am NOT A CELEBRITY?
My world is spinning.
I am NOT a celebrity? Wha--? I mean... Wow. Well, my bubble just burst. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteMy whole day is ruined.
Totally agree with you on number 5. I'm headed over to check things out. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHa! Briane P and I had the same reaction at virtually the same time. (That's because we were in a limo together on our way to a big Hollywood party and we were discussing your blog and our upcoming massive publishing and film deals. You know, over champagne and oysters. Actually, I'm not even writing this. It's my PA, Rudy. HI FROM NEIL'S PA RUDY! GO MIKE!) There.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was following your blog but I guess I wasn't. I just became #500!
ReplyDeleteLee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out. So far I've come in contact with some really interesting and amazing folks through the blogoshpere.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the mini-campaign. It's a great way to network.
ReplyDeleteNumber five is so important - for blogging in general!
ReplyDeleteToo busy this year with my book release and the A to Z Challenge. But considering my followers doubled from the event last year, I think I'm good to go.
I totally agree that you get what you give. Glad to meet yo and I look forward to visiting again.
ReplyDeleteI did the campaign time before last and am still trying to deal with the flood of traffic that created. I've decided not to participate again until I have a better system for handling the large numbers of people that can intoduce me too.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about the support and friendship given by people out there in the blogging world. Funny how the moments when they just sweetly acknowledge my existence makes me feel better. But while I don't know if I have time to sign up for this fest, I'll certainly make an effort to stop by some of the blogs and spread the support. Paying it forward.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all your points, but because my time is limited, I can't write fiction and do all this blog stuff at the same time. So I had to pick one. Not that I don't want to meet new people.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised Briane didn't also say that his words are more importanter than others words.
ReplyDeleteHeh
I'm opting out of this one. I just don't have the time to adequately participate. It would be sort of cheating to just sign up and not do anything, so I'm letting it slip past.
I do not follow every single person who follows or comments on my blog simply because I think building friends over the Internet takes time and a connection, just like any real life friendship. If I have fewer blogs to follow, I have more time to read and support the people I already care about. As the saying goes, I would rather have a few close friends than many arm-distance ones (or something). That is not to say that I won't follow your blog, the number of people I follow is slowly building, but I want to enjoy following your blog and not feel like I have to.
ReplyDeleteI expect nothing more from others. I would rather you liked reading what I have to say then simply skim it because it's "mannerly."
The challenges are pretty cool. I only got the chance to participate in one last time. As always, it's always good to connect with people who write in my genre.
ReplyDeleteI'm finding it hard to keep up with all my friend's blogs. That's why I'm not joining any more blogfests although I find them to be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points, I am still trying to figure out how to write, blog, and read everyone's stuff. Too often their things are MORE interesting than mine but I'm still plugging along.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Michael. Except for the part about me not being a celebrity. That really hurt my feelings. ;-) looking forward to campaigning with you!
ReplyDeleteI loved doing the campaign last time. Regretfully, I'm going to sit this one out. My calendar is about to explode. ;)
ReplyDeletegood write up that - hi we meet again for a month of fun:)
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you again!
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by to say hi! I'm in short stories, Sci-fi, fantasy and YA of Rachael Harrie's Writers' Campaign. I've been a part of Rachael's campaign for a while now. It's amazing how we can network like this and meet some many awesome people.
yeah, one thing i try really hard to do is to always hit anyone's blog who comments on mine. I have other people i hit too, but if you comment on mine, i'll comment on you. It's only fair.
ReplyDeleteHi from a new follower! (Number 501?) I'm signed up for the campaign for the first time and so excited... lots of good points here...
ReplyDeleteHi Michael, Just saying thanks for helping Rachel with the Writer's Platform-Building Campaign. This is my first time participating and I am looking forward to it!
ReplyDeletehi! I am a new follower through the Campaign. Look forward to connecting!
ReplyDeleteHi there, I'm a new follower and this is my first time joining the campaign. I'm looking forward to it and I did enjoy your snippet btw. The points I was going to suggest have already been addressed so I'm not going to rehash. Overall it was a beautiful scene.
ReplyDeleteI'm new to this platform-building thing, but we're both in the science fiction group.
ReplyDelete