Can @oldspice get me an agent?

[Regan Leigh]

Okay, I'm joking. Kind of... :D

Don't know what I'm talking about? Read this: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ho ... ternet.php

But really! How brilliant is it of them to market with social media in this way? As others have said, they get the internet in a way that many people don't. It's about them connecting on a personal level, even if it isn't directed specifically at you. They also made it an event in real time. People were paying an unbelievable amount of attention to the @oldspice guy as he made videos like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPlg9ez4 ... tube_gdata (As you can see, he was talking to celebrities as well as random internet followers. He even proposed for someone.)

What does this tell us about how we might market ourselves better as writers? (Ignoring that we don't have the ability to do such high end work as these folks.) I know, I know... this is debated amongst our kind.

Here is my opinion, but simply put I think we all need to promote and market ourselves to the best of our ability. It's our book. Our baby. Don't shove it out the door before it can walk on its own, right? *Wonders if that makes sense. It's late.*

Can authors be more personalized and real-time in their marketing efforts? Does that matter to our readers?


I'm off to tweet @oldspice guy to see if he'll do a video asking agents to sign me. ;)

[ryanznock]

Clever idea. Good luck. I wish I'd thought of it.

(I would have sent something like, Dear Old Spice guy, I'm trying to get an agent for my time travel cyberpunk pirate romance novel. Does the power of Old Spice help attract literary agents? Sincerely, Ryan.)

[Robin]

I love the Old Spice guy. He is quite a charmer.

[Mira]

I find this brilliant, and a completely logical next step, but alittle scary, actually. It takes marketing to such a personal level. I guess that's what we're doing with books, but buying a cologne because of a viral video. Wow.

On the other hand, it's very new. What will happen when everyone is used to this type of thing? Will the market get saturated with social networking types of techniques? Will people become cynical and/or saavy?

Should be very interesting to watch!