Scams are a part of everyday life. They’re all over the place, covering just about anything you can think of. I’ve written about self-publishing scams, but it’s time to address book marketing scams.
I’ve seen these scams firsthand.
Clients tell me after the fact that they hired ‘such and such’ to build a website and promote their book. I’ll take a look at the sites, and they’re awful.
The website content isn’t clear, and it has grammatical errors. It’s always obvious it’s not a professional job.
What I find interesting is that a couple of times I brought it to an author’s attention, and they didn’t seem to care.
Why might this be the case?
1. The author thinks I’m wrong. 2. The author is embarrassed about spending so much on unprofessional work. 3. The author doesn’t care. 3. The marketing service has them so deceived that they can’t see what’s really going on.
Whatever the reason, an unprofessional website does the author a disservice.
The website is where a potential reader goes to learn more about the book. It can make or break a buying decision. It’s also the place someone who has already purchased the book goes to learn more about the author.
In either case, having an unprofessional website sends a poor message.
An example of this.
A client hired a marketing company to create her children’s author website. After they created it, she asked me to review it.
It was clear the company didn’t know how to market children’s books. I learned the company subcontracted a service to build the website, and unfortunately, that service didn’t know about marketing children’s books either.
The client paid a lot of money and ended up paying me to explain to the service what needed to be done to fix the problems.
These problems also apply to the book marketing end of these services.
Book marketing scams using social media ads are all over the place, along with unsolicited emails. A service claims it will promote your book and boost sales through videos, book trailers, social media campaigns, press releases, and so on.
I’ve had clients and writing friends fall prey to these unscrupulous and hard-selling services.
How they usually rope you in: You buy one service, say a self-publishing package that includes editing (usually by unprofessional writers). Once the book is published, they’ll insist you have to market it. This will consist of an array of services they’ll try to force you to buy.
If these services can actually get you the promotion you need to sell a lot of books, they might be worth the cost. BUT scam book marketing services do everything as cheaply as they can.
Here's what you'll probably get:
-Websites that are poorly designed with unprofessional content -Social media marketing campaigns with no followers -Generic press releases at 10x the cost of doing it yourself -Tons of fake book reviews -Videos posted with little to no views -Other enticing but ineffective services
In fact, some scammers will take your money, and you’ll never hear from them again.
So, what do you do?
Tips to avoid book marketing scams:
1. If a service will edit your book, self-publish it, distribute it, and market it for you, along with creating an author website, THINK TWICE.
2. Look into pricing. Scam marketers will charge ridiculously high fees.
3. Look into pricing. Scam marketers may be cheap, but cheap promotion and content are exactly what you’ll get.
4. Ask for references, examples of sites they’ve created, and testimonials. However, their testimonials may not be valid, so be on guard.
5. Ask about these services in your writing groups, with writing friends, etc.
6. Research the company carefully before jumping on board, and even check the Better Business Bureau.
7. Check sites like Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), Writer Beware, and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
8. Learn how to market your books effectively.
Cedible book promotion services exist; it’s a matter of finding them.
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, book doctor, editor, and self-publishing consultant. I help turn your idea, outline, or manuscript into a book you’ll be proud to call your own—and provide hands-on guidance through every step of the self-publishing process.
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