The Tale of Three Bobs - 2024

Over the last few months' we’ve been discussing all aspects of book marketing. This month I wanted concentrate on you the author, your expectations, and your goals. To do this we need to first ascertain what kind of author you are.

Following is a blog article I wrote in 2015. It might give you an idea to determine which category you will fall into – the hobby writer, the semi-serious writer or the serious writer/publisher.

Bobby, Robert and Bob are self-employed plumbers who also sell their own (plumbing) products. Each man is around the same age, but each steers their plumbing career differently.

Bobby is a motivated man who loves being a plumber and is open-minded, – especially when it comes to learning new ways to promote his plumbing service and his products. Bobby learned early in his plumbing career that being a good plumber wasn't enough, and that to be successful he would need to build a brand and take control of the sale of his products. Nobody was going to do it for him and there was no 'Magic System' that would market his products.

Bobby invested in an impressive website and hired a team of experts to assist him with his Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make sure that his site was easily found on all the major search engines and remained user friendly and current. Visitors could purchase products from his site, learn all about his plumbing and read useful tips and advice.

Twice a month he writes a blog covering simple topics from how to fix a leaky tap, to finding the right plumber for the right job. He uses social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to get his message out and to sell his products. He even shoots his own informational videos using his smartphone and regularly uploads them to his website and YouTube for free.

The work is time-consuming but after a period of timea period his blog has gained a large following and Bobby is now a known, respected and sought-after plumber. Soon he will be able to hire a company to run his social media and blog, leaving him more time to spend on his passion (plumbing) while still selling products.

Robert is a good plumber but he has old-fashioned ideas. His full name is Robert L. Smith, which he displays proudly above the word ‘Plumber’ on his homemade business cards. This is the extent of his brand. Although self-employed, he dreams of one day working for one of the big companies so that he won't have to work so hard anymore. He believes it will just be a matter of time before one of those companies will hear how good a plumber he is, and they'll make him an offer that will change his life forever.

Robert has a website that a friend built for him for free some years ago, but it hasn't been updated in all that time, isn't user friendly and can't be found on the search engines, so it receives no visitors. For this reason, Robert has reached the conclusion that websites are a waste of time and money.

Robert hates social media. 'Facebook, huh, why do people feel the need to want to tell everyone what they're doing?' he says. He isn't interested in how social media could work for his brand. He doesn't know that he can have a page on Facebook for his products or that writing a blog could help him sell more products. The truth is that the technology scares him a little so he shuns it.

Robert picks up work here and there, and if he's lucky he gets to sell a few products every now and then. Robert believes that he should be allowed to concentrate on plumbing and leave the marketing of his products to someone else. Because of his attitude, he's wasted time and money while constantly looking for that 'Magic System' and he's even been ripped off by companies who promised to market his products.

Bob is a handyman/plumber and he also sells a few products here and there. He's aware of social media networking and the importance of having a website, but he hasn't bothered to build a brand. Deep down he knows that he could be more successful and that his lack of motivation to succeed is holding him back, but he doesn't care.

Everybody tells him how great his products are and that they can't understand why he isn't more successful. The truth is, Bob enjoys what little work he gets and sees his plumbing as more of a hobby than a job. Bob is a happy man!

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If you haven't figured it out already (of course you have), I want you to go back and read the article again, but this time change the words plumber to writer, plumbing to writing, and products to books.

Then ask yourself, honestly, which Bob are you? Once you know the answer to that, you can begin work on your marketing campaign.

Write on …
Andy