Think about a purchase you made recently. Why did you buy it? Think about the last time you fell in love with something and you recommended it to everyone you know. Did people buy it because of your recommendation? More than likely, you bought the thing you bought recently because someone you trust told you to. And more than likely, your strong recommendation influenced others to buy the thing you love.
It’s uncommon for people to purchase things because their maker told them to. We’re far more savvy about marketing and we’re generally more distrustful of brands than we used to be. When you become an author of a book, you also become a “brand”, you’re the creator of a product. It’s important for current and future readers to get to know you so they can relate to you and trust your voice, but unless they’re your biggest supporters and would buy anything you make, they’re probably not going to buy your book simply because you told or asked them to.
Whenever you have an idea about something you should do, ask yourself: is this something that a reader could do? I’ll give you a tangible example.
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