 I frequently hear from people who see blog posts here and/or ads for Unlived Lives on Facebook and Instagram. (If yours is one of them, thank you for the interaction.) The overwhelming majority of what is said is positive.
There are patterns in the replies, some of which I've mentioned previously. With more than 2,000 responses to date, it's time for an update. The question that gets the most reaction is: "Given the option, would you visit lives you would have lived had you made different choices in the past?" The largest categories of responses to that are:
Number 1 is the reaction I hoped for. Readers find Raymond's story, and soon, Shelly's, to be entertaining, causing them to think about their own past choices. Numbers 2 and 3 suggest they don't understand that they would only be "visiting", not giving up what they currently have. You can only live one life, but you can think about those you would have lived had you made different choices. If that's you, and you're not happy with what is, why not think about what might have been? Doing so might lead you to a better what could be. Would you like to visit lives you would have lived had you made different choices in the past?
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 Disclosure: Another post for those thinking about or who are writing a book.
You need a book marketing plan, one that includes essential marketing mix elements that apply to selling books:
You might get some traction with just that last one, but it's unlikely that many people will be looking to interact with you unless you advertise. Other than friends and family, they won't know that you or your book exists. How you do that is covered in some of the previous posts in this blog. If you have questions, message me; I'll be happy to help you however possible. Once you're doing that, there are two metrics you want to follow closely:
The graphic in this post is a month-long website traffic summary for The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn book page on my website. An upward trajectory for both page views and unique visits, with a slight drop in the average number of pages visited on my website. So was June bad, mid-July onward, good? If so, what made the difference? For starters, there wouldn't have been a 'trajectory' had I not advertised. I did, and both Views and Visits were relatively flat from June 28 to July 16. Seeing that, I reviewed my advertising, turning off underperforming ads completely, reducing budgets for those that were doing okay, reallocating the money to ads that were performing well above average. The result is an increase in traffic with sales trending upward as well. An oversimplification, but you get the idea. You have to pay to play. Just make certain that what you pay for is producing.  In 2013, I published "The 7 Keys to Change": a nonfiction account instructing readers how to deal with personal and professional change.
The book began with the results of a random survey of 512 people aged 18 to 70, asking how much they felt each of 20 statements relating to change described them. Here are two of the 20 responses:
Sixty-two percent agreed that "Change is inevitable, you couldn't stop it if you wanted to". All the Unlived Lives characters are given a choice. They can choose to stay as they are, in which case whatever that is will become their eternity. Or they can choose to visit lives they would have lived had they made different choices, searching for something better. The comments and private messages I receive regarding Unlived Lives indicate approximately 1 out of 4 people who have only seen a description of the book would not risk visiting an unlived life looking for something better. When it comes to how most people feel about change, not much has changed in the twelve years since I wrote 7 Keys. I feel for the approximately 1 out of 4 who fear change, particularly those who also feel there is nothing they can do about it. Feeling powerless about something you believe is inevitable is never good. |
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