About a year or so back, I experimented with launching Thoughtful Thursday as a hashtag project on Twitter. (#thoughtfulthursday). The goal of it being to simply take a few minutes out of each Thursday and help someone (or even a few people if you had the time) in your personal social media network.
My own workload increased dramatically last year and I was forced to set the idea aside for a while. But I liked the thought of taking some time each week to try to help others. Nothing formal, just a quick sort of "how can I help you today?" thing. I was hoping it would catch on in a big way, and while some others did pick it up, it wasn't planned out all that well and was probably trying to do too much too soon.
So I'm revisiting this idea now - but on a personal level only. If other people want to start doing this again, that's great - the universe can always use more positivity. And if you end up committing to this (the way I hope to be able to) and want to link blogs, etc. then feel free to contact me.
In the meantime, I'm going to kick this off today. I won't be able to handle all the requests, but if you think I can help you in some way, then feel free to leave a comment below. Presumably, given the three areas of my life that I focus on most: writing, producing, and martial arts - your request for help or assistance should probably involve one of those. Maybe you've got a new story you'd like feedback on (I'll consent to read five pages of anything, but no longer due to legal reasons), or you've got questions about the film/TV industry, or maybe you need advice on self protection.
Or maybe you'd just like me to let my network know that you're looking for a new job in Kalamazoo. It's up to you. I can also be reached on Twitter @jonfmerz or over on Facebook at The Jon F. Merz Page.
So, drop me a line, tweet, or comment here.
Thoughtful Thursday: How can I help you today?
-Jon
OK, Jon here goes. I priced my book, DEEP ROUGH, at $2.99 and was selling 5 copies a month on Kindle. B & N was selling 15+ (don't know why). So I dropped the Kindle price to $.99 and have sold 42 copies in less than a month. I also dropped the Nook to $.99 and have sold 3 copies in 10 days - explain that? Anyway, keep the price @ $.99 and attract readers? I am now the # 1 Sports Gambling book on Kindle. If I jump up to $2.99 will I stay there? THANKS
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea! I've added this blog to my blogroll and retweeted your annoucement on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteCB, whew, I don't know for sure. I'm trying to figure this whole pricing thing out myself. Here's what I've done recently:
ReplyDeleteI dropped the price on Parallax to 99 cents for a limited time and stuck a 2-chapter excerpt into the back of it. the idea was to use it as something like a gateway drug - get people into my writing for under a buck and then get them into the Lawson series, which is priced at $2.99 for novels. Parallax sold pretty well, but then it got picked up by a Barnes & Noble email blast and ended up selling about a thousand copies before the interest waned.
So, I put the price back up to $2.99 yesterday (not sure if it's taken effect yet) and dropped the price on my first Lawson book, THE FIXER, to 99 cents - hoping to more directly get people into the series. I've sold about forty copies since yesterday evening at that price.
So, I don't know. I think if you raise the price back up, you will still have good sales since you're #1 right now and that visibility will probably continue to get you sales. How long will it last? I don't know. I wish I had a better answer for you, but this is still unknown territory and things can be awfully whimsical. I was selling very strong into this past Sunday and then sales dwindled down - could be because of gas prices, Libya, who knows?
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!
Thanks Rebecca!
ReplyDeletePricing certainly is a mystery but thanks for the tidbits of info. I got the Fixer on my TBR list and look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you.
Chris
Chris, put a link here that I can tweet out later. Got one scheduled for about noon time (did another book earlier today) and then I'll tweet yours later this afternoon. Let's see if I can drive some sales your way, okay? :)
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.editurl.com/?i=qzy
This should work - much appreciated Jon.
Thanks Jon, my questions have to do with getting the word out. I am going to publish a novel soon on Amazon. I was thinking about the kindle advertisement program. Do you have any thoughts on that? Also do you have any advice for getting the word out about a new novel other than twitter, facebook, etc. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBen
Hi Ben, not sure I know which program that is. For my buck, I tend to concentrate on Twitter, Facebook, and putting up a post over at the Kindleboards. I use bit.ly to shorten all of my links to book pages so I can track in real-time how many people are clicking and when. I'd also suggest getting yourself a page over at Facebook (not your profile, but an actual fan page) to help promote the book. Let me know if you have any other questions - and best of luck! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon, there is some advertisement that goes out to Kindle subscribers either daily or weekly. I haven't seen one either, but I have heard about them. I assume it is like the B&N emails or Borders emails that focus on a book or a few books each email. I was just curious if it was a wise business decision to use it or not and if you had any knowledge of the program. Thanks for your reply. How would you drive people to the fan page?
ReplyDeleteI figured out the exact thing I was speaking of, it is the Kindle Nation. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBen
Ah, Kindle Nation - yeah I've heard of that. I've heard mixed reviews about its effectiveness. I haven't tried it myself because the lead time was so long and the cost was a bit much, I thought.
ReplyDeleteI'd set the page up and then tweet the address to folks who are on facebook to send them there. Twitter is usually my first stop for blasts since I have a good sized following. From there, I got to facebook and post the same thing.
It's nice to see you revisiting this, Jon. I remember when you started last year. I like the idea. It's something positive in a world that sometimes feels entirely too negative.
ReplyDelete