Marketing Misconceptions: Let's Talk About Affiliates, and Audience Reaction

Regular readers know that among the various hats I wear I'm an author, RPG designer, and occasional audio drama creator. However, what I feel like a lot of folks either don't know (or forget) is that probably a third of my income every month comes from affiliate marketing. I've talked about what that is and how it works on this blog before in posts like If You're An Author, You Really Need An Affiliate Marketing Account, but the short version is that when you're an affiliate marketer you make special links to products that you then share on your social media, in your content, and so on. Whenever someone clicks your link and buys a product, the company gives you a cut of their proceeds as a commission for being instrumental in making that sale.

And there seems to be a lot of misconceptions about this process, who it does and doesn't hurt, and how it actually works. So I wanted to take a moment to talk about a recent experience I had, because it illustrates a lot of things folks out there might now know.

Landlords don't take wooden nickels, friends. We do what we have to do.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Mercenary Work For A Good Cause

For folks who don't know, Owen K.C. Stephens has had a recent run of really bad medical stuff come his way. An RPG designer and big name in the community, he put together two really big bundles of gaming content to try to help him pay his bills. Owen's Medical Bills Bundle #1 and Owen's Medical Bills #2, in case you haven't checked them out yet, and you're a fan of TTRPGs.

When I saw the news about what was happening, and I saw the bundles go live, I wanted to help. After all, if I were in his position, I'd want people to do the same for me. However, before I made a single post, I reached out to Owen and asked him if he was cool with me attaching my affiliate ID to the links I shared. He knows the struggle of being a game designer as well, and he enthusiastically supported my doing that. Because both of us knew that the 5% commission I would receive for the sales I helped make wouldn't come out of his earnings... they would come out of what Drive Thru RPG, and its parent company One Bookshelf, would have made.

So with the blessing of the person I was trying to help, I set about sharing the link and boosting the signal. By the end of the day I'd been permanently banned from two forums, temporarily banned from one more, and had at least two more posts removed. In every, single case the reason was because I had used an affiliate link instead of a "clean" link. Several individuals left comments claiming I was "just trying to make money" off of someone who'd received a cancer diagnosis, and others argued that since I didn't have any products in the bundle then I had no right to make this kind of link. Other colorful things were also said, but those were the two most common accusations.

Most important to note here, though, was that no one said these bundles didn't belong in the groups I was sharing them in. No one argued that they were not a good deal, or that they shouldn't be present. Only that the way I'd chosen to boost the signal (namely taking my commission from DTRPG) was somehow so bad that it tainted the entire process. Fruit from the poisoned tree, and the like.

There were some very strange flexes, is what I'm saying.

First things first, I want to make something clear. The commission you receive as your affiliate payment is your motivation for helping do the marketing for someone else's products. Even if I like someone, even if I enjoy their work, or even if I want to help, I do not have an hour or more a day where I can just share a link around on social media. Especially when you consider a lot of groups limit how often you can post things, meaning that I would have to choose between paying my own bills by sharing something I made, or helping someone else by sharing something they made. Being able to still get paid for helping boost other creators' signals is the reason I can actually afford to help get eyes on other peoples' work.

Secondly, let's say that sharing these bundles was a purely numbers-driven decision on my part. Let's say I didn't know Owen, and I didn't care about his condition, but I felt that these bundles would make sales, so I decided to do my part to share them around. What does that change? I am still boosting the signal on his bundles, I'm still getting more eyes on his product, and I'm still helping make sales through those efforts. Not only that, none of the money going into my pockets is coming from him as the creator, or from any other creators I've helped over the years.

Again, One Bookshelf is giving me a cut of their profits. The company's profits. The same way that if I use an Amazon affiliate link, I'm getting a part of what Amazon would make, not part of what the seller is getting paid. End of the day, whether it was an affiliate link or not, the person who made the thing is making the same amount of earnings.

Don't Defend Corporate Earnings

I get it, none of us like advertising. None of us want to be exposed to constant posts about buying stuff. However, I feel that it's important that we understand the mechanism for how these aspects of our online experience work, and about how they affect the creators we see in our spaces.

Because if the argument had been that someone didn't want to see advertising, that's a fair enough statement. If the objection had been that nothing for sale should be posted in these groups, then that would make sense. But the argument was that I was trying to take advantage of someone who I was specifically trying to help earn more money, and that I should have just shared the link to the bundle without attaching any of my affiliate information to it.

And I genuinely believe that people making this argument have no idea how the process works. Because that statement basically boils down to two things:

- You shouldn't be paid for any of the work you're doing on behalf of another person.

- The corporation shouldn't have to share their earnings with you, despite you being responsible for helping them make money with your labor.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be mad about the constant monetization of everything in our world, or that there shouldn't be limits on where people can promote their work, and how often they can do that. However, if you are specifically mad about affiliate marketers getting paid for doing a job on behalf of themselves and fellow creators, take a moment and ask yourself why. Why are you siding with corporate profits over people doing a job getting a small piece of the pie for their efforts?

Because if someone out there wanted to do essentially free marketing to try to help me move copies of my books, I sure as hell would want them to get a commission from the corporation who owns the platform my work is on so that both of us can pay our bills at the end of the day.

Speaking of Good Causes...

If you got to the end of all of that, and you're wondering how you can help Owen out, give my blog entry Help Owen K.C. Stephens Roll His Save Against Cancer (And The Healthcare System) a read.

And if you'd like to help yours truly, my first Kickstarter just went live yesterday, at time of writing. So if you're in the market for an unusual TTRPG experience, check out Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, and help me reach my goals on it today!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Does Your Fantasy Story Really Need Archaisms?

No matter how long I've been a writer, it feels like there's always something new for me to discover. This week I found out about the term "archaisms," and while I've known what they are for some time, I didn't know there was a word for them until now.

If you're hearing this term for the first time, an archaism is a word, or a sense of a word, style, or speech of writing that belongs to a historical epoch beyond living memory, but which has somehow survived into a few practical settings or affairs. These are words that have fallen out of general use, but which may still show up in use in court, in a religious setting, or similar, niche places. Thou, thee, forsooth, troth, and other old-timey words all fall under the idea of archaisms.

And a lot of us, as fantasy authors, love using these... but should we?

Prithee... why doth thou query?

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Archaisms... Do We Really Need Them?

The major uses for archaisms in our fantasy fiction is that we use them as a way to try to make our settings and characters seem like they're part of another era. Whether it's old Thor comics where he speaks like someone out of Shakespeare, or dialogue in A Song of Ice and Fire where older forms of words are used to try to make the story really feel like it's from another era, we've all come across this use of language, and a lot of us choose to imitate it in our own worlds for the same purpose.

But... does using these really help our stories?

The thing about archaisms is that they're archaic, and even if they're well-known to you as the writer, that doesn't mean their original use is well-known to your audience. And even if it is something your audience is familiar with, archaisms can often act like stumbling blocks when someone is trying to grasp the meaning of your text... particularly if the rest of the story is written in a more colloquial style.

Or, put another way...

Have you ever been reading a novel, and come across a character with a really thick accent that's written phonetically? If it's one you're not familiar with, then it's going to completely stop you dead in your tracks to try to figure out what it is this character is saying. And if you manage to decode that character's speech, then you have to go through the same process every time another character has lines in your story, pretty soon readers are going to run out of the energy to care.

Archaisms are sort of like that. Because the best-case scenario when you use archaisms is that they'll sink into the background and provide a touch of flavor. However, they can often end up making your readers stop, blink, and tilt their heads as they try to figure out what it is this turn of phrase means in the context of your story. The other issue with archaisms in fantasy is that they can raise questions of why language developed the same in different worlds. While not every fantasy story is set in an alternate world, enough of them are that it could make your audience stop and ask why words with particular historical or literary context from our world is showing up in a place with dragons and wizards.

Does that mean you shouldn't use archaisms? No, it's your book, and you can do whatever the hell you want with it! But it's important to make these decisions deliberately. But the Literary Mercenary tip of the week is that if you want your setting to feel unique, you might want to consider creating terminology and language for your setting specifically, instead of trying to just port in terms from old plays, Romantic era poetry, or even nursery rhymes.

Support The Literary Mercenary

For folks who just want to do their part to help keep me making more content, please subscribe/follow me in these locations:

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Daily Motion Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

The Cynical Reality of Self-Promotion in The Age of The Internet

Apologies in advance for this week's topic. I usually try to bounce back and forth between Craft and Business, but this is something that's been digging its way under my skin for a while, and I felt a need to just get it out before the frustration builds any higher.

If you are going to be a professional author (or really a creator of any type), you're going to end up doing the majority of your own promotion. You're the one who makes your social media posts, who shares links to your content, who makes videos and blogs talking about your book, who sets up interviews, etc. And because there are so many of us out there all trying to get a little bit of attention, it's understandable that a lot of groups, pages, forums, etc., want to set ground rules for when and how someone promotes their own work.

The problem you'll run into (and that it feels like I get clocked by at least once a week) is that no one out there seems to have an intuitive definition of what, exactly, self-promotion is. Instead they treat it like the infamous definition of pornography... they can't tell you what it is, but they can call it when they see it.

And that doesn't help anyone... but there is more to it than there seems to be on the surface.

Words mean things... but do they matter?

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Why Is This So Damn Difficult?

To begin with, I don't want to get into the particular schedules or requirements different parts of the Internet have regarding how often creators can promote, what kind of promotion they're allowed to do, etc. That is a different topic for a different day, and honestly not one I really want to weigh-in on. If you manage a FB group, a Twitter page, a forum, a Discord, etc., it is entirely up to you how often you allow self-promotion, or even if you allow it at all.

However, before we ever touch on that topic, it's important that we all come to a functional definition of what self-promotion actually is, because it feels like a lot of folks just use it as a catch-all for, "Stuff I don't want to see."

And that isn't a definition that helps anyone.

Since I brought the topic up, I think I have a fairly simple definition of self-promotion that we can all agree on. In short, self-promotion is when someone promotes their own work. It doesn't matter if it's a free-to-read article, a blog entry, a YouTube video, a podcast, or a link to the sales page for your book; if you made it, then it's self-promotion when you talk about it.

I don't think there's a lot of folks out there who would argue with me on this topic, as it seems pretty cut-and-dry. If you're trying to get eyes on your own work, or work that you had a hand in helping create if it was a team effort, that should be considered self-promotion. I would even concede that you could stretch the definition slightly to include affiliate links to other projects, because those are directly meant to help you earn a commission, even if you're boosting the signal for something you didn't work on, which would make it "promotion" without the "self" part.

However, here's a short list of other stuff I've seen struck down as "self-promotion" that doesn't fit that definition:

- Sharing the work of someone you know.

- Sharing too many articles/videos from the same creator in a row even if you don't know them.

- Sharing the work of someone who was published by a company you were also published by in the past.

The list gets more ridiculous after this point, but I think that most of us would agree that sharing content made by your friends is not, by definition, self-promotion. Sharing content made by strangers isn't self-promotion either, especially if you stand nothing to gain from doing it. And if you use the argument that any time you share a publisher with someone then you're essentially promoting yourself by boosting their signal, you may not know just how small and inbred the independent and third-party publishing community actually is. If we followed that logic, none of us would be allowed to talk about anything, because there's probably no more than 3-4 degrees of separation between a lot of us.

At End of The Day, Though, It Doesn't Really Matter

I don't think there is some legion of moderators and page managers out there who are looking over all of the posts creators make with a magnifying glass, trying to find out when we violated the rules just so they have justification to bust us. Nor do I think this is a simple case of people not knowing what basic words mean, or who need to have a nuanced discussion on the challenges and difficulties that come with surviving as a creator. I don't even think the problem is people just interchangeably using "promotion" and "self-promotion" when it comes down to it.

Does all of that happen? Sure. All of these options imply something kind of ridiculous, though; that human beings ever operate on rules when they are given discretion and authority to just do whatever the hell they want with minimal-to-no consequences.

There is no 5D chess... you're just depending on other people's good mood.

Think about that time a cop pulled you over. Maybe you were speeding, but you told a joke that got him to laugh, so he let you go with a warning and told you to have a nice day. Maybe you weren't speeding, but you reminded him of his ex that he was still mad at, so he wrote you a ticket and threatened to do more if you said anything other than, "Yes, sir," or "No, sir," when he asked you a question. Think about that friend of yours who managed the local restaurant who always gave you the "friends and family" discount when you ate there, or the boss at the gas station who said that if he didn't see the food go missing, then he was going to write it down as properly thrown out. Or on the other end of the coin, think about that I.T. guy who decided he didn't like you, and so he always "lost" any reports you made to him, or dropped your calls when he went to "transfer" you to someone else.

The unfortunate truth about self-promotion online, or even just helping signal-boost other creators, is that you are entirely dependent on people, and their whims. No matter what the rules are, people who like you are going to bend or ignore them to help you out, and people who don't like you are going to do the same in the other direction.

I say this because I have been in the game for a while, and this is the reality you're dealing with when it comes to self-promotion in online spaces. Are there going to be some spaces where moderators, page managers, etc., will look at your behavior and make a reasoned choice about whether your posts are allowed by the rules set forth in the group? Sure. I'd even venture to say that roughly half the places you try to promote your work will have that kind of attitude. The other half? Well, best-case scenario is that your work catches the eye of the folks who run the place, and they decide they're going to help you boost your signal. Worst-case scenario, they slam the door in your face and ban you because... well, just because.

Should you follow the rules when it comes to self-promotion? Yes, because much like blatantly violating the speed limit, it's going to draw attention, and get you pulled over for cause. But just as with the highway patrol, keep in mind that following the rules and minding your own business is also no guarantee that you're going to be able to get ahead if someone decides you, "look suspicious," or, "they don't want you doing what you're doing in this neighborhood."

And I say this not to rag on people who manage social media pages, or to try to paint moderators with a broad brush. I say it because as someone who tries to follow the rules as they're laid out, it is much less frustrating when you understand that those rules are a paper shield. You should follow them if you expect to be a good member of an online space... but at the end of the day, those rules don't have any weight to them, and you can't appeal to those rules. All you can do is appeal to people, and hope that you end up making more friends than enemies.

If You'd Like To Help, It Would Be Appreciated

Now, after saying all of that, I think I've made it fairly clear just what a challenge it is to get anywhere as a creator who has to do a majority of their own promotion. That said, if you wanted to help me out, please consider some of the following options:

Things That Cost Money
- Buy a Book From My Amazon Author Page

- Buy an RPG Supplement

- Become a Patreon patron
- Buy me a Ko-Fi

Things That Are Free
- Subscribe to my Daily Motion Channel
- Subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel
- Browse through my Vocal archive (I get roughly 1 cent per every 3 reads)
- Subscribe to my social media channels (found at the bottom of the blog)

Thanks in advance!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Thoughts and Prayers Don't Help Anyone (Especially Not Creators)

There is a ritual we go through in America whenever something bad happens. Whether it's something big like a terrorist attack or another school shooting (and isn't that a depressing statement), or something personal like someone struggling to pay their rent or worrying about losing their job because their car broke down, we immediately chime in with phrases like, "You can get through this," "Hang in there!" and the ever popular, "Keeping you in my thoughts!"

This has become almost a Pavlovian response on social media. We see somebody struggling, and immediately throw one of these empty phrases out the same way you'd offer condolences someone who was grieving a recently departed spouse. And while it isn't something you're generally supposed to say out loud, I wanted to explain something to folks out there who do this as a knee-jerk reaction.

Stop. No one needs empty words and meaningless prayers. If you see someone in need, and your response isn't to do something to meaningfully provide that help, just save it.

Seriously, folks are drowning out here. Don't stand on the shore and clap!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What This Has To Do With Your Favorite Creators

Generally speaking, the creators you follow are not supposed to talk about how dire the straits are when it comes to doing this for a living. But with the exception of a relatively small percentage of celebrity authors, YouTube heavy hitters, rock stars, etc., most of us who make art professionally are constantly just trying to keep our heads above water. And while we usually try to make our requests for help subtle (like how every YouTuber casually reminds you to like the video and subscribe to the channel, or how every blog entry I write has easy links to all my social media down at the bottom), sometimes we have to come right out and tell you what's going on, and to ask for your help.

And do you know what isn't helping in that situation? Saying, "I'm sure it will all work out, you've got so much talent!"

You can't pay bills with talent. Only traffic.

The issue isn't just the performative commentary (though that is part of it). Rather, the issue is that a lot of people see someone who's struggling, and then they do something that doesn't actually help, but which they feel excuses them from the necessity to actually take action to make a positive change.

There's a social media post about someone asking their spiritual leader why god made atheists, if he truly made everything. The priest responds that atheists are here to be an example, because when they do something to help another, or make life better, they do so not out of a hope of a reward in heaven, or out of a fear of hell, but because it is the right thing to do. The lesson goes on to say that when you see a person who needs help, you shouldn't pray that god helps them and go on about your day. Instead you should, in that moment, become someone who does not believe there is a benevolent figure out there who will reach down a glowing hand to lift that person up. You should become an atheist who recognizes that it's their job to help their fellow humans when they can, and to throw them a line so they stop drowning when you have the capacity to do something to stop it.

Rule 303, and Making a Difference

Rule 303 is a term that's been around for a while, and it has a rather checkered history to it. While the video below from Beau of The Fifth Column goes into some of that history, a lot of folks understand it to mean something pretty simple. "If you have the means to help, and the opportunity to help, that confers upon you the duty to help."

It's important to remember that we're talking about real, material help here. We're talking about action. Because thinking about helping, or wishing you could help, doesn't do anything for anybody. But taking action, even if it's relatively small action, does something. And if enough people do something, it can end up making a really big difference.

Let me give you some examples. If someone reading this right now wanted to help support me and my work, they could do any of the following things:

Things That Cost Money
- Buy a Book From My Amazon Author Page

- Buy an RPG Supplement

- Become a Patreon patron
- Buy me a Ko-Fi

Things That Are Free
- Subscribe to my Daily Motion Channel
- Subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel
- Browse through my Vocal archive (I get roughly 1 cent per every 3 reads)
- Subscribe to my social media channels (found at the bottom of the blog)

Take a look at that list, and think about your means, and your opportunity. What on this list could you do, if not for me, then for other creators that you like?

If you have money, even a couple of spare bucks, you could easily become a Patreon patron for someone, give that person a tip, or buy some of their merch to ensure they made some money that month. That is real, material aid to someone who is struggling, and you helped them. Maybe you can only afford to do it once, or you sign up to give them a little tip every month, but that is direct action to support someone in their struggle to keep making things.

Maybe you don't have money to spare. That's fine, too, because you still have the ability to take direct action to assist. If your favorite creators make videos, you can watch them, or if they're on Spotify you can listen to them. Hell, you could just let their playlists run in the background, even if you're not even in the room just to boost their numbers. As mentioned above, if they write articles or short stories that you can read for free, spend a little bit of time every day consuming it to help them get their numbers up.

You can follow this logic even further. Subscribing to a creator's social media, their YouTube channels, etc., weights their posts more heavily, sending a message to the algorithm that they should be promoted to other site users. Sharing their posts and content, whether it's making posts on your Facebook wall, leaving links in subreddits, or tossing out stuff into Discord, all helps, too. Sure, you might not have thousands of people eating up your shares personally, but you are still lending your hands to help a creator push a rock up the hill, and that's no small thing. And this isn't an either/or situation; you can mix and match whatever actions you're capable of at any given time to support other people as your means and opportunity shift.

This focus on action is especially important when you consider the frankly absurd numbers it takes just for us to pay our bills, to say nothing of actually saving for a rainy day. More on that in If 90,000 People Read This Article, I Can Pay My Rent This Month, if you're curious about a numerical breakdown by platform.

And since there's at least one person out there who is wondering this, yes, leaving comments on social media helps, too. But if you really want to feel like you did your part, please consider more than just high-fiving the drowning person's hand and walking away when you could do something to help us at least tread water for a little while.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!