Marketing, Naked Thursday Style

(Warning: On Naked Thursday, I sometimes may tell you more than you want to know)

So I hear stuff sometimes, right? Stuff I'm 'Supposed to' do, and if it rings true to me and I feel even remotely capable, I'm like 'yeah, okay.' I've got FOMS, see? (fear of missing something) so I generally am open to experimentation. Broadly... Like I'm totally easy.

But SOME of this stuff, I just think ARE YOU HIGH? Stuff that either seems like just an insane amount of work, an insane activity, or REALLY BUGS ME when I'm on the receiving end, so I just am loathe to start bugging people as badly as some people bug me. Make sense?

Anyway, I thought I'd do a little series on this as I lead up to having to promote the heck out of myself... just ADMIT to y'all my ISSUE with something that I'm theoretically supposed to do, and see if you can talk me into it<--this is your goal, if in fact you disagree with me: TALK ME INTO IT. Look at it as a challenge.

Today I'm going to start with a biggie because it fits TWO of the categories above. It both seems like an insane amount of work AND bugs the crap out of me. (no offense if you do it—we've all been told we're supposed to, so I only blame you as part of a collective, not personally.)


Mailing Lists

Now I could be on THIS (Hell's mailing list)

I DON'T WANT TO BE ON ANY. That doesn't mean don't email me. By all means, DO if you have a personal or small group of friends type plea or question. But all that NEWS? No. I want to get that in my Facebook feed or from your blog. NOT in my inbox. My inbox is where I do BUSINESS and I don't want it clogged when I am trying to look at what I need to do.

(now if I've signed up for something, that's another matter entirely—by all means, remind me)

(and likewise, if you've done me favors—hosted me, shared stuff—then PUT ME on your list of people you are asking for stuff from (this goes for pretty much ALL my regular blog visitors), but I look at this as 30-50 friends unless you're Alex and really HAVE several hundred friends--and for a specific REQUEST, not NEWS--I don't look to my email for NEWS unless you are my agent or editor)

But everywhere I turn it says 'Oh, an author needs a mailing list' like it's a REQUIREMENT to be annoying in order to sell books, and this just doesn't ring true... But maybe that's just me.

So here are my questions:

1)  Do you LIKE getting a newsletter from authors?

2)  How often is too often for a mailing list mailing?

3)  Do you mind mass mailings for favors?

4)  Do you READ stuff that comes to you and 200 other people?

5)  Do you HAVE a mailing list?

6)  Has it really done miracles for you and if so, explain.

Go on! Convince me!