Using Headtalker/Thunderclap to Send Up a Flare

Just a week ago or so I read about somebody who had paid about fifty bucks for support to a Headtalker.

That fellow paid WAY too much.

Maybe I ought to start by telling you folks just what a Headtalker or a Thunderclap is.

Basically, a Headtalker/Thunderclap is a social media mechanism that allows an author to gather a certain amount of supporters who agree to allow a Tweet or a Facebook posting or Linked In comment to appear on their own Twitter Feed, Facebook Page and/or Linked In community.

It’s a little like sending up a flare.

Let’s say I want to promote one of my e-books.

Let’s say it’s Kelpie Dreams.

First off I sign up to be a member of Headtalker and/or Thunderclap.

Either way, it doesn’t cost me a cent.

Here, take a look at my latest Headtalker KELPIE DREAMS program, live for the next 14 days.

OR – take a look at my latest Thunderclap for KELPIE DREAMS – live for the next 7 days.

I’m running two of them to try to help get the word out regarding my Kindle Press e-book, KELPIE DREAMS. Understand, I would have better results using a proper promotional site like ENT, Bookbub, Robin Reads and the like – but each of those sites cost money to use and I am currently on a personal budget that looks a little bit more severe than the Bataan Death March.

So, better than nothing, I use Headtalker and I am trying Thunderclap just to see if one is any better than the other.

Personally, I find Headtalker a little bit more convenient to use – just so long as you DON’T pay for support. A lot of those bigger gigs offering ONE MILLION SOCIAL REACH or more are mostly fattened up with a lot of empty bot-sites that don’t do a thing for your promotion except fatten up your potential “reach”.

Speaking for myself, I run a Headtalker campaign about once or twice a month. It gets me a few extra sales without a lot of effort. I advertise it on kboards on the Headtalker/Thunderclap thread, as well as on a couple of Facebook groups. I set the needed support level at 25 – the LOWEST you can set it at. That way it doesn’t take you very long to fill your quota. I usually wind up with about 25 to 50 supporters – maybe one and a bit million social reach – without paying a dime for it.

I’m trying a Thunderclap right now but it is a little bit depressing in that takes a MINIMUM of 100 supporters to go live – unless you want to pay extra.

That “if” is the kicker. You can ALWAYS use money to pay for extra support and theoretically beef up your Headtalker/Thunderclap – but I would not recommend throwing too much money at it. And that is coming from a fellow who actually sells Headtalker support. I only charge a dollar – but you can pay a whole lot more.

Personally, I wouldn’t pay anything at all – unless you were absolutely on your last day and could NOT round up any other sort of support. Even then, I would keep it to a bare minimum. There are quite pricey services who over you 50,000 or 500,000 or one freaking million supporters for your Headtalker/Thunderclap campaign, but they’re right up there with those dudes who over to sell you a million new Twitter followers.

Odds are all you get for your money is a million new bots who won’t REALLY do a thing for your campaign at all..

Lastly – let me say this one more time.

Headtalker and/or Thunderclap campaigns are NOT a good substitute for proper promotional sites like Robin Reads, ENT, Bookbub and the like.

What’s the difference?

Well – a Headtalker/Thunderclap campaign is the metaphorical equivalent of being marooned in a dinghy in the middle of a midnight sea and sending up a flare without knowing if there is ANYONE out there who will even see that flare going up.

A proper promo site – such as Genre Pulse, Robin Reads, Fussy Librarian, ENT, Bookbub and the like – allows you to send up that same flare aimed at an entire shipload full of eager readers. Now, some of those readers might be enjoying the all-you-can-eat ship’s buffet while others might be snoring or boinking in their bunks and that randy old lady in the flowered hat is probably hunting down the cabin boy and the captain is probably drunk – but odds are SOME of those readers are going to spot that flare and swim out to read you.

All right – I think I’ve stretched that metaphor to the absolute limit…

Yours in storytelling,

Steve Vernon