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David Perlmutter's avatar

"The best example I can think of is Star Wars. I can’t think of any film where people would camp in the parking lot for three days so they could purchase the first ticket. Even if you have criticisms of Star Wars from a storytelling point of view, you have to acknowledge it as a marketing masterpiece."

Part of that was because Twentieth Century Fox had so little faith in the film truly being a success that they signed over most of the merchandising and licensing rights to George Lucas' company. So when the film succeeded, it was good for him, but not so much for them.

And then Disney bought them both, but that's another story.

The biggest problem I have with being a writer is the self-promotion thing. I would much rather have experience hands take care of making my name known while I actually concentrate on my writing, but I can't yet afford to have someone help me do it on a full-time basis.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Yes, I'd like that too. But I wonder if it's a dream? I wonder if the marketing teams really do more harm than good. It's something I think about, I don't have an answer.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

On the other hand, some authors (Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote) were very good at doing promotion of themselves and their work. But they all had ego problems that prevented them from working well with others, which is what I want.

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Gene Wood's avatar

You are spot on .. this matches my experience as I tried to grow my small business. Activating customers is the challenge of the century

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thank you!

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Jen Phillips April's avatar

Nothing beats the personal touch! It’s tough to transfer to online though.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Yes, it's an ongoing challenge.

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Margie Peterson's avatar

I appreciate reading what you share. The idea of a following eludes me and your stories give me ideas.

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Valerie Van Cleef's avatar

Call me lazy, but I follow so many accounts that if the actual post is too long, I tend to not read it. But I love you you’re great! 🥰

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thanks Valerie. Yes, I skim through most of what I read too.

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Ellen Kornmehl MD's avatar

Yes, I agree. Too much emphasis on follower numbers and not enough on the demographic that is most likely to convert to people who become loyalists

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Absolutely!

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Rusty's avatar

Walter, I’m very new to social media, never been on fb, twitter, anything, but a friend introduced me to a writer here and I’ve found a lot of common ground.

I’ve made comments on a few things I’ve read, and I have noticed that you often respond. I appreciate the time it must take to read them, and formulate a response. Thanks for that!

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Walter Rhein's avatar

I do my best, usually I try to swing back to anything that is posted that day. Comments on older posts I sometimes don't see.

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Dannys's avatar

There are those who use the word MAGA to excuse what is happening. It doesn’t work any more. The word is Republican.

Get over what republicans “used to be”. This is who they are. They always were. Get over it.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Yeah. I think "Conservative" is just as corrupt.

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Dannys's avatar

They don’t call their party the Conservative Party. And if you look at the definition of the word in all its meanings, they have blown thru most of the meaning of the word. The word Hypocrites fits their Actions better when you look at their history.

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Suzanne Kane's avatar

This makes so much sense. Whatever you're trying to promote/sell, whether it's a car or a blog subscription, multi-channel promotion is crucial to success. I know I have a lot to learn about this, and you're giving me valuable advice.

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