My inbox started to fill on Monday with the Black Friday sales. Today, I had to laugh when I got an email from a company that said it was the “last days” to buy something at 50% off, because you know what? They sent an email last week that said it was my final twenty-four hours. And it wasn’t the first time this company (non-book related) did this.
I know authors are gearing up for Black Friday, planning group promos, special sales, and all that jazz. And you know what? This year I’m opting out of Black Friday offerings for my readers. To be honest, I have taken advantage of a couple of Black Friday specials (both of which could be considered writing-adjacent expenses), but mostly I’m just opting out.
As authors, the worst part of marketing books is the sales-y part. In a capitalist system, it is very difficult to market without lies. Limited time offers, special perks, doors open only for the first # of people, all of these are sales tactics taught by every business coach, and now marketing author coach under the sun. And let me be clear before someone “not all book marketing coaches” at me, there are people talking about marketing without the sleeze, without feeling like you have to lie. But a lot of the “easy money” type marketing advice is just that–lies.
Mark something up, discount it to above the price it previously was–tada! It’s “on sale”. How many times have we seen that?
You can only get this (insert special thing here) if you order now and then suddenly the extras go on sale at a later date either as another kickstarter add-on or just plain for sale. Even if it’s not an intentional lie (I can think of a few kickstarters that have done this), it’s not really telling the whole truth. Yes, it would remove the FOMO that someone might feel to say “Depending on leftover stock, extras may be offered in my webstore or used as add-ons in a later campaign, but prices cannot be guaranteed.” It’d also be truthful. That way the customer can make an informed decision about whether to buy it now, or take a chance and get it later. If they decide to take a chance and it’s not available or the price has increased, then that’s on them. But at least they had the agency to make the choice.
A lot of Black Friday sales (and a lot of sales, honestly) are all about taking away the customer’s consent and agency. By giving them the feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) you try to entice them to buy. This is marketing 101. But there are ways to do this without lying to the customer and ways to do this well, on ways which border on unethical.
Why am I talking about this? Because it taps into your creative nervous system. If you don’t feel ethically comfortably about the ways in which you market, and let’s be honest, our system often makes us feel as if this is not even an option, then you’re going to struggle with the marketing. It’s like having a cover that you’re not happy about with your book. If you get bad vibes every time you look at it, perhaps remembering a publisher or a cover artist that missed your vision, or worse yet, didn’t care about it at all, then you’re going to struggle with showcasing that cover to the world.
What does this mean?
It means that if you say you’re ONLY discounting on Black Friday, then do that.
It means that if you are offering special swag, be honest as to whether the swag is only for that purchase or something that readers may get later and how.
These are just a couple of different ways to add more honesty into our marketing. I’d love to hear how you are balancing ethics and marketing, especially as we go into what is traditionally a pushy sales season.