---
layout: post
title: It’s not a Unicorn: The truth about Online Promotion
author: Steven
date: 2019-08-13 01:32:00
categories: 
- Musings
tags: 
- audiobook
- business
featured_image: https://www.stevenjaycohen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/unicorn-face.jpg
---





I know that this may be hard for you to accept but regardless of what that Social Media Guru/Ninja/Barista says, Liking, Sharing, and Retweeting content is not actual promotion.



Yes, I can also point to oddball, unicorn cases where something went viral completely organically. But, remember, those cases are called UNICORNs for a reason. They are so exceedingly rare that they might as well be mythical!



Platforms like Facebook have been systematically reducing the number of people that your content reaches organically. They do this slowly over time to keep us all from realizing that they are monopolistically gaming the system. And, for the most part, that works for them. More businesses are paying to reach their audiences today than in the last few years.



Since Royalty Share work has become a regular part of the audiobook world, the next time a rights holder answers your query about how they are going to promote their work by mentioning the size of their social media following, look around the room for a unicorn.



Go ahead... I'll wait...



Yeah, I don't see one either. So, you're wondering what your next question to that Rights Holder should be, aren't you?



What percentage of your social media following have responded to your past calls to action by purchasing your other books (do not include free books/sales/giveaways in this number)?What is the actual budget for paid social media promotion for this project? Under what circumstances would that amount increase? Decrease?Aside from social media, what other paid venues will you be using for promotion? How big is that budget?



I've had some narrators tell me that they feel uncomfortable asking questions like these. All I can say is if that is the case, you really do need to get yourself comfortable.



When a Rights Holder asks you to narrate their book, what they are really asking you to do is to become an investor in their new business venture. But, instead of asking you to write a check, they are asking you to work without the guarantee of receiving payment for that work. The questions that I suggest above are just a few of the possible questions that you could use to assess the risk.



If a Rights Holder seems put off, caught off guard, or even insulted by questions such as these, odds are their project is a high risk one and is unlikely to be worth your time.