For some time now, I’ve been following Derek Doepker, an author and marketing guru, who recently recommended a concept called Anti-Marketing. I’ve seen this before, but I’ve never taken the time to apply it to my own brand. What enticed me to give it a try was Derek’s insistence that it is much more fun than the typical pleading or problem-solving self-promotion that most of us stoop to, to try to sell a product.
I’ve engaged in my share of standard marketing ploys, and the force is draining out of me. (Sick to death of it, I am.) So, it’s time to try something new, if for no other reason than to preserve my sanity.
Anti-Marketing is just how it sounds: you reverse-engineer the finer selling points of your product to explain to people why they should stay away from it, while touting it at the same time. If your response to this is, “Huh?” then take a look below. I think the concept will become quite evident in its practice.
Of course, this model leads down a path of utter silliness, and as I cannot resist a good giggle, I had to try it myself. So, I’ve embarked on a daily(ish) Anti-Marketing campaign on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. For those of you who don’t “social,” here is a list of what has featured so far. Check back regularly throughout the next month (and change) to see other reasons why you should NOT read An Heir of Realms.
(And maybe, just maybe, I’ll use this tactic on Amazon Ads, too. What have I got to lose?)
Reasons NOT TO READ Heather Ashle’s An Heir of Realms:
#99: World-building and the mere prospect of jumping from world to world gives you motion sickness.
#216: You occasionally fall asleep while reading in bed and hit yourself in the face with your book (cuz this baby’s 1.5lbs).
#8: You only read non-fiction because your life is perfect, and you don’t need a fantastical escape.
#63: Short, easy-to-devour chapters sound like the easy way out.
#127: You refuse to read printed books because of your paralyzing fear of paper cuts.
#54: You only read books written in present tense.
#12: You prefer stories with weak, underdeveloped characters that can barely drive themselves to work, let alone drive an entire story.
#341: You fear this series will use up all the space on your e-reader. (This one may be legit.)
#75: You only read one-offs because a series takes too long.
#49: Empowered female characters trying to save multiple worlds from annihilation sounds like a real snooze fest.
#82: Allowing others to discover that you read books would hurt your image.
#31: You prefer to read books with only one-star ratings, you rebel.
#198: Portal travel between realms is a little too much like time travel, and you’re not into that.
#79: The idea of reading about characters’ struggle with life-or-death circumstances sends you into a panic attack.
#258: You have sworn off the holding of anything heavy enough to give you a hand cramp.
#24: You prefer books without dialogue.
#300: Dragons are just “overgrown, winged lizards,” rather than magnificent creatures that call to your soul in the night and guide your dreams through star-streaked, galactic skies. Or whatever.
#105: Puzzles, secrets, misinformation, and the intrigue that stems from them makes you sleepy.
#87: You live exclusively in a dark cave and have no source of light to read by.
#6: The act of reading—feeling the weight of a book in your hands, smelling its paper, flipping its pages, poring over the words hidden between its beautiful covers—makes you gag.
#147: You prefer simple plotlines that are not deeply interwoven and intriguing.
#202: You already have an excellent flyswatter and don’t need a substantial 1.5lb alternative.
#77: Invented words—you know, like, “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”—make you want to bludgeon fantasy novels with a dictionary.
#239: You’ve never wanted to become a dragon rider.
#37: You don’t like fantasy novels that also tie into your own present-day world.
#60: You read the last chapter of the book first.
#148: You only read books in formats other than 6”x9” paperbacks.
#19: Reading “luscious language [that] flows off the page and brings the characters to life” feels too real to you. (Thank you, Amazon Customer!)
#81: You only read steamy romance novels.
#135: You broke both wrists in a recent skiing accident, and you do not own a book weight.
#96: The only dragon you believe in is Tad Cooper. (#galavant)
#284: You prefer excessively descriptive language that beats you over the head with an image rather than letting your imagination do a little creative work.
#42: You’re unclear on the difference between dragons and dinosaurs, and you’re unwilling to learn.
#117: You prefer to read a series out of order. (Hahahahahaaaaaaaa, good luck.)
#58: You don’t read books with dragons on their covers.
Line 6a. Reasons NOT TO read Heather Ashle’s An Heir of Realms. You need a couple days to do your taxes before you embark on a great and much-needed escape. Add book to line 7, TBR. #anheirofrealms #realmridersseries #realmriders
#156: Your teetering bookshelf can only hold one more short, lightweight book, o it may collapse.
#270: You only read books that rigidly adhere to their intended genre and don’t have, say, a few elements of science fiction mixed in with their fantasy.
#67: You feel censored in real life and subsequently prefer books with lots of profanity.
#302: You can only read books with fluffy, perfect characters with no motivation, misguided or otherwise.
#15: You don’t need to read books anymore—you’ve gotten through the dictionary, and it has all of them in it.
#36: You only read completed series so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
#1: You’re afraid if you connect with the multifaceted characters in this immersive story, you’ll want to read the next one. And *gasp* maybe the one after that.
-HA
What do you think? If you saw an Anti-Marketing ad on Amazon, would you be more or less drawn to its product? Please let me know…!
