Authors
and publicists have looked far and wide to find the secret sauce to influencing
people to buy their books or provide them with media coverage. They craft press releases, work the phones,
blast off e-mails, or try to call in favors.
So what really works? A touch of
laughter.
Yes,
that’s it. Be funny, witty, and cute.
In
an article in Reader’s Digest (September), called Laugh Yourself
Smarter, we learn that “humor activates our brain’s and enhances our
well-being-perhaps more than anything else.”
So how might this apply to your efforts of selling books and securing
attention for your book?
If
you use humor in your pitches, headlines, conversations, or social media posts
you will engage the minds of others at a level that captivates others. Based on the way our brains work, humor
activates neurons in a way that opioids would.
The
article says: “It can kick off a cascade of brain activity that bathes the
neurons in feel-good neurotransmitters and other chemicals. The more neurons that are activated (and the
more activated they are), the more pleasure we feel. In essence, learning and problem-solving get
us high.”
Humor
helps our cognition. It makes us pay
attention. It makes us feel good.
So
how do you become funnier, not just funny looking?
Reader’s
Digest
suggests:
·
Build
your jokes around an incongruity – an inappropriate, above or unusual
combination of different ideas.
·
Question
everything and see the absurdities of everyday life.
·
Increase
your blood flow (walk, exercise, dance, clean) to get ideas moving.
·
Use
elements of shock, surprise, word-play, exaggeration, fantasy, outrage, and
fear to tell a joke.
Still
not feeling funny?
Read
books by comedians. Surf the web for
memes. Go to a comedy club or listen to
your favorite morning zoo radio show. Laughter
can be found anywhere and everywhere.
Inject
humor into what you do - it disarms people, makes them feel happy, and helps
soften the blow when discussing serious or depressing topics.
Late-night
talk show hosts get their points across by telling jokes. Why not you?
I know being an author is hard and taking on the job of a stand-up
comedian is not your plan, but if you can tell a few jokes, you’ll go much further
than before. Try it.
Pool of Book Readers Declines
The
ugly news is in. No, not talking about
the coming of a recession or the re-election of Donald Trump as president, but
I am the messenger of this:
The
percentage of U.S. adults who said they had read a book in any format over the
past 12 months dropped to 74% last year from 79% in 2011, according to Pew
Research Center. At that rate of
decline, where will we be in 20 years?
A Book Publishing Amendment?
Since
1787, over 11,000 amendments have been proposed to the United States
Constitution. Only 27 have been ratified
by the states. Among the rejected
proposals:
·
Forget
a presidential election. Just select the
office holder by lottery.
·
Make
divorce illegal.
·
Rename
our country to the United States of Earth.
Should
there he an amendment or two as it relates to books or language or
literacy? We have free speech covered,
but do we need to assert or protect certain rights to ensure the nation remains
one that values reading books, pursing ideas, respecting truth, and preserving
English over all foreign tongues and emojis?
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
How authors get their book marketing mojo – and avoid failure
Authors cannot succeed without the right attitude
So what is needed to be a champion book marketer?
Should You Promote Your Book By Yourself?
The Book Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
How authors can sell more books
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.