Solved: Finding a book marketer

1ba06f65 · ‎01-20-2018

Hi,

Sorry to trouble the community with the obvious, but there seems to be no actual "upwork help" contact option available (even if I choose "other" and "no", the community help is the only option). This would deter a wise man from even considering using the site, but since I'm free of the burden of wisdom I'll try anyway.

I'm trying to find a book marketer. I'm looking at upwork because of a web page (https://www.upwork.com/hire/book-marketers/) which listed book marketers on upwork. Yet there is no category "book marketer" when I try to create a project. So I figured I would try the next best thing. The people listed on that page all have a tag "Book Writer", so I assume that would land me in a superset of the necessary category. But there is no such category as "Book Writer" available when I try to create a project. Sigh.

Does anyone have an idea how to do this basic thing: look for somebody who is a book marketer? It somehow doesn't fit into the absurdly simplistic tree-based classification scheme used and since they don't allow multiple tags, it is impossible to figure out the right approach.

Since I can't simply propose a project without directing it at a specific inapplicable category, I have 2 choices: write a script to auto-create the same project in every category and then filter the spam, or go back to Freelancer.com --- which doesn't seem to have this problem. Or I could hire someone ON Freelancer.com TO write that script, I suppose...

Anyway, I'd really like to offer the freelancers on upwork some opportunities, while praying they are far better at what they do than whoever designed and runs the website itself.

Snarkiness aside, any help really would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Ken

michelemazibuko · ‎01-20-2018

Hi Kenneth,

I am not an Upwork support member, but rather a freelance writer on the platform. Perhaps my 2c will help.

Although there may not be that specific "book marketer" category, this does not mean that your project won't be seen by the relevant freelancers. As a recommendation, I would suggest you tag your project under the category of "Other - sales and marketing" which falls under the marketing section. Do you have this category on your end? Secondly, make the title of your project "Book Marketer."

Your project should appear in the general job feed for most freelancers working in the marketing category. In addition, it will appear in searches by freelancers looking for that type of project, and any freelancers who have not specifically narrowed the types of projects that appear in their feed.

It may be difficult to imagine what Upwork looks like from the freelancer side of things, and I understand your concern that it may not be picked up by your target market - rendering the activity of posting the project useless. With that said, speaking as a freelancer, I would like to put your mind at ease.

Jobs visible to freelancers are not specifically limited to their skillset. For example, I can currently see projects for virtual assistants and SEO specialists, although I do not work under those categories. We scroll down the list and open the jobs that are relevant to us. In some ways, the tag just helps those who specifically narrow their searches to chosen categories.

I hope that you see this response and that you haven't given up hope on Upwork. It really is a wonderful platform for clients and freelancers, and I am sorry that your first impression has been a negative experience.

Please do go ahead and post your project under the nearest applicable category, trusting that it is seen by us in a much more general sense. I hope that you find a wonderful person here that has an almost intuitive understanding of your needs and is able to serve them well.

Warmest regards,

Michele Mazibuko

View solution in original post

joanbonjoc · ‎01-20-2018

Hi Kenneth,

To run a search:

Click on Freelancers tab and then click Find Freelancers. Search by keyword or browse category. After your initial search, use the filters in the box to the left to refine your results.

~ Jo-An

1ba06f65 · ‎01-20-2018

@Jo-An B Thanks but I'm not trying to search for freelancers. I'm trying to post a project proposal.

mtngigi · ‎01-20-2018

Sorry - completely misunderstood your issue. Maybe this will help:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Clients/Client-Tutorial-Videos/m-p/99871#M4469

1ba06f65 · ‎01-20-2018

@Virginia F Thanks, but the problem isn't the search term; it's the requirement that I specify a category when creating a project. Only a single category is allowed. If I look under marketing there are many things, none related to books and most likely inapplicable to them. Under writing there are many categories, none relating to marketing. Either way, I'll likely miss the target group. As for the help site, I did try that. Several times in fact. They are lying; there is no way to reach any customer help contact. The only option presented (and I tried many routes) is the community forums. As far as I can tell, the "powers that be" is some 15-year old kid programming in PHP in his mom's basement. There is no indication that the company has any actual staff.

1ba06f65 · ‎01-20-2018

@Virginia F Ah, I see. Then there is no way to create a project and let freelancers express interest or bid on it. This is just a web-directory of freelancers, and I have to locate and contract with them individually. Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

michelemazibuko · ‎01-20-2018

Hi Kenneth,

I am not an Upwork support member, but rather a freelance writer on the platform. Perhaps my 2c will help.

Although there may not be that specific "book marketer" category, this does not mean that your project won't be seen by the relevant freelancers. As a recommendation, I would suggest you tag your project under the category of "Other - sales and marketing" which falls under the marketing section. Do you have this category on your end? Secondly, make the title of your project "Book Marketer."

Your project should appear in the general job feed for most freelancers working in the marketing category. In addition, it will appear in searches by freelancers looking for that type of project, and any freelancers who have not specifically narrowed the types of projects that appear in their feed.

It may be difficult to imagine what Upwork looks like from the freelancer side of things, and I understand your concern that it may not be picked up by your target market - rendering the activity of posting the project useless. With that said, speaking as a freelancer, I would like to put your mind at ease.

Jobs visible to freelancers are not specifically limited to their skillset. For example, I can currently see projects for virtual assistants and SEO specialists, although I do not work under those categories. We scroll down the list and open the jobs that are relevant to us. In some ways, the tag just helps those who specifically narrow their searches to chosen categories.

I hope that you see this response and that you haven't given up hope on Upwork. It really is a wonderful platform for clients and freelancers, and I am sorry that your first impression has been a negative experience.

Please do go ahead and post your project under the nearest applicable category, trusting that it is seen by us in a much more general sense. I hope that you find a wonderful person here that has an almost intuitive understanding of your needs and is able to serve them well.

Warmest regards,

Michele Mazibuko

wendy_writes · ‎01-20-2018

Kenneth, adding to the first few paragraphs of Michele's post.

1. Be sure to tag your RFP with book marketing, book sales, eBook marketing (if applicable), Internet book sales, book public relations - and as many more as you can think of.

2. If you are self-publishing make use of Amazon's tutorials. The more insight and knowledge you have - the better.

3. Do a specific search for English native language / books sales / book marketing / book public relations, etc.etc. Review profiles and then send Private Invites to whomever you uncover.

4. If the book will be available online and even if you find someone to help market it - reach out to relevant people you know and ask if they are willing to read your book and then mention it on their websites, social media, if it is a business related book ask them to do a LinkedIn post quoting a few lines and then add their thoughts. The LinkedIn is a win-win situation for you both.

I'll give it some more thought and update this. BTW, you are 110% correct; the categories leave a lot to be desired when it comes to specific needs and talents.

@ Virginia - 🙂 hope this helps a bit.

mtngigi · ‎01-20-2018

@Wendy C wrote:
Kenneth, adding to the first few paragraphs of Michele's post.

1. Be sure to tag your RFP with book marketing, book sales, eBook marketing (if applicable), Internet book sales, book public relations - and as many more as you can think of.
2. If you are self-publishing make use of Amazon's tutorials. The more insight and knowledge you have - the better.
3. Do a specific search for English native language / books sales / book marketing / book public relations, etc.etc. Review profiles and then send Private Invites to whomever you uncover.
4. If the book will be available online and even if you find someone to help market it - reach out to relevant people you know and ask if they are willing to read your book and then mention it on their websites, social media, if it is a business related book ask them to do a LinkedIn post quoting a few lines and then add their thoughts. The LinkedIn is a win-win situation for you both.

I'll give it some more thought and update this. BTW, you are 110% correct; the categories leave a lot to be desired when it comes to specific needs and talents.

@ Virginia - 🙂 hope this helps a bit.

Well ... I hope it helps Kenneth at least. Frustrated clients is not something any of us want to see.

1ba06f65 · ‎01-20-2018

@Wendy C Thanks for the suggestions. I have indeed had the displeasure of dealing with Amazon's KDP platform and ad campaign system 🙂 The private invite method I'm aware of, but generally find this to serve better as a refinement step. To start, I'd much rather get a sense of who feels confident working on this rather than ask each person who looks promising whether this is up their alley. I appreciate the suggestions for self-marketing but have pretty much tried all the basic stuff (Kirkus, NYRB ad, Amazon ad campaigns both broad and specific, and of course shamelessly hitting up friends as well 🙂 I hadn't thought of using Linkedin that way, and like your idea! But basically, I'm in a situation where I am focusing on a couple of novels and don't have time to devote to my already self-published book of short works, but feel it's worth hiring someone to do it for me (if I can). Thanks for taking the time to reply, and for the ideas!

1ba06f65 · ‎01-20-2018

@Michele M Thanks for the clarification and very detailed description of the way in which freelancers see project requests! This definitely alleviates my concerns. I put the project up under writing (since that was the tag most book marketers seemed to use), but if that doesn't work I'll definitely give you category suggestion a shot. I'm going to mark it as solved, because you've pretty much addressed my concern!

Cheers,

Ken

michelemazibuko · ‎01-21-2018

Glad to hear it, and all the best!