Legends of Windemere

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Now that I’m fed and have gone on-line, I can talk about my experience with Thunderclap.  I got 102 supporters and it went live at noon.  So you can imagine the boost in sales I got for my books:

Well, you’re going to have to imagine it because nothing happened.  Wait!  Don’t go running away just yet.  There are benefits to this experience even if sales didn’t occur.  As an indie author, you have to think outside the box.  Did anything beneficial happen from this experience?  Yes and I’ll get to it after I make a few points:

Thunderclap Observations

1. My highest joining days were the first 24 hours and the last 24 hours.  It seems you’ll get your trusted allies at the start and then you’ll have people step in to save the day at the final hour.
2. A LOT of people retweeted, reblogged, or shared about the campaign without joining it themselves.  If you do one, make sure to factor this in because you can’t assume a slew of retweets is a sign of enlistment.  This can be disheartening, but take solace in the idea that they are at least trying to help.  Honestly, even if they reblog and don’t join, there’s always the chance that a friend or follower of them will.  Every little bit counts.
3. Many people told me that they didn’t want to sign up with Thunderclap because it asked for their email contacts.  Took me a second to figure this out, but it really asks for permission to use the social media offering (Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter) for the successful post.  They don’t spam or anything like that, which is something you might want to say early on if you do one.  It’s entirely understandable that someone won’t sign up for a foreign site since Thunderclap is still gaining steam in the indie author world.
4. I got more supporters by writing a blog post and adding a few hashtags into the title.  As far as Facebook goes, I got very little beyond the first day.  More on that later, but you should focus your energy on your blog and twitter to gather supporters.  Hashtags are essential in this one.
5. There is a Thunderclap Facebook page that will help you out if you like.  They stepped in during my last 24 hours to give a good boost.
6. VERY IMPORTANT!  Remember to include hashtags in your Twitter message that will go out upon success.  I think this is where I screwed up.  I forgot and added one at the last minute, but I still didn’t get anything.
7. Know your social media power!  Aim for the low amount if you aren’t sure you have enough influence.  If you reach too far then you’re bound to fail.  Low ball the number because getting more than the minimum doesn’t hurt you.  It just means you have more than expected.

So, what were the benefits if there weren’t any sales?

• I made a lot of new friends on Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress.  Just gathering supporters introduced me to people who I hope will help me if I ever do something like this again.
• I realized my own social media influence.  It’s rather minimal.  Mostly, I learned that the majority of my non-computer friends and family didn’t join in.  That was pretty disappointing, but I’ve been wondering about that for a while.  It’s a strange silver lining, but it’s nice to know where I stand.

Suggestion for Thunderclap Use?

While it might not help with book sales, Thunderclap could help if you’re doing a sale or a special event.  For example, Chris McMullen is thinking of using this to promote READ TUESDAY this December.  I think it could help a lot with this.  Even the act of gathering supporters can bring attention to the event.  After all, it looks to be used predominantly for events and causes.

Well, that’s my thoughts on Thunderclap.  Will I do it again?  Probably not for my books, but maybe for any special events that I do in the future.  Anyway, that’s it for me on this one and I’m glad to put this baby to bed.  By that I mean the 5-year-old is still awake and hyper.