facebookYes, Facebook can help you move books, says first-time novelist Teymour Shahabi in  a Digital Book World post. Not say, counters another writer, Michael Alvear.

I myself think this is YMMV, a book-by-book matter. Some books might be Facebook naturals—for example, one by a celebrity close to her fans. But for the the typical writer? Based on my experiences with my own novel, I’d side more with Alvear.

The issue isn’t just results. It’s also how much time and money you’ll need to spend to achieve them. Here’s an excerpt from Alvear:

“This is always the biggest shock to most authors and even publishers: Facebook will not allow you to reach “friends” or the people who like your page unless you pay them. On average, Facebook allows less than 16 percent of your fan base to see your posts.

“Let this sink in for a moment: whether you have 338 friends or 20,000 fans, Facebook allows only about 16 percent of them to see your posts. And if you want everyone to see them? Take out your wallet, because Facebook has a business to run. You wanna play? You gotta pay.”

According to Alvear, “you need at least 20,000 followers on Facebook before you can start to make a dent in sales."

OK, TeleRead community members, how do you feel about Facebook as a book-mover?

Any personal experiences to cite?

1 COMMENT

  1. I agree with Michael Alvear. Facebook won’t help me sell more of my books through my posts or through paid advertising. In fact, I wouldn’t accept a free year-long ad from Facebook if they offered me one. Why waste my time? I have 50 to 100 unique marketing techniques that are much more effective than Facebook will ever be.

The TeleRead community values your civil and thoughtful comments. We use a cache, so expect a delay. Problems? E-mail newteleread@gmail.com.