Remember to say thank you

Last year I received an email from a woman who had heard me speak at an event in Seattle. She had recently self-published a short story as an e-book, and she said that even though she knew I was extremely busy, she was hoping I would give it a read.

The short story was available on Amazon for just $.99, so I bought it for my Kindle. Then, I replied to her email and told her I’d purchased it and was looking forward to reading it.

I never heard from her again.

At first I thought she was just busy, but it has been months now. I am clearly never going to hear from her, and she clearly has no idea how to be a good marketer.

If you email people you barely know and ask them to buy your book, and they do, it is important to THANK THEM. I’m sure this woman probably sent a message to everyone in her address book, and I have no idea how many of them actually replied like I did, but it couldn’t have been so many that it crashed her email.

As you begin your book marketing campaign, you’re going to have to do a lot of outreach to get the word out. But if all you do is ask people to buy your book and then move on, you’re not going to engender a lot of goodwill. Not everyone is going to respond to your request, so it’s important to acknowledge those who do. Remember, a little bit of courtesy goes a long way!

Palo Alto native Maria Murnane is the best-selling author of the romantic comedies Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, and Honey on Your Mind. She also provides consulting services on book publishing and marketing. Learn more at www.mariamurnane.com.

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2013 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.