Chatbots are here, and they’re here to stay. Love them or loathe them, you should not dismiss their potential. Kerry Gardiner is the owner of The Book Bots, a chatbot based book marketing company, and author chatbot creator. Chatbots are an incredibly powerful tool that can help you read a wider audience, combat mailing list fatigue, and engage with your readers in a way that a newsletter can’t. Kerry will show why you should have your own chatbot, the benefits of having one, and dispel some of the negative connotations that spring to mind when you hear the word ‘bot’.
#IndieAuthorFringe Chatbots: Book Marketing for Authors @ajcarella bit.ly/2y4VtFp Share on X
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GIVEAWAY
Attendees will get a 50% off coupon for Kerry’s author chatbot training. Details can be found at thebookblueprint.teachable.com/p/bots-f This course is designed for authors who want to create, publish and use their first chatbot. Readers are growing increasing tired of signing up to mailing lists and as a result, it is getting harder to reach them. Are your newsletter open and CTRs low? Do you have subscribers that you can’t reach, no matter what you do?
For the people who don’t understand what a chatbot is even after the explanation that it’s much like a text equivalent of Siri or Alexa, maybe they could think of it a way to save them personal time interacting with inquiring readers without requiring their readers to go spelunking for the answers they need. Kerry, I appreciate you walking us through all of this. I’m the kind of person who is more inclined to search (and do the legwork myself) than ask (unless I’m “asking” Google), but my reader base is more inclined to ask than search — a perfect use case for a chatbot. I like the prospect of my potential readers being able to get immediate answers to lead them to making purchases without having to personally be on-call to answer their inquiries. That said, I’m more of a fan of the basic tree-based bots rather than an AI or hybrid; there’s far less likelihood of something going awry than in the Brave New World options. 😉 Thank you!
That’s a great way of looking at it Julie! There are so many ways of using this technology but at the minimum it’s a great way of providing readers with answers to their questions and that frees up time – time better spent writing!
I’m not sure why some attendees felt a little lost. I can absolutely see a few ways I can use chatbots. I know just enough about technology to be dangerous, so I’m not sure how easy it will be, but I’ll probably take the plunge. Thanks, Kerry, for a thorough examination of the what, how, and why of chatbots!
Glad you found it helpful Robin! Any problems, feel free to reach out and I’ll see if I can help. 🙂
Kerry, will the chatbot training you’re providing for Mark Dawson’s course be exactly the same as the training in your own course, or an abridged version of it? Thanks.
Hi Emily! I’ll be providing the same training for Mark’s course, as it stands at the moment. Obviously I will be updating mine frequently as things change, or new functionality is added, but it will certainly be sufficient to get you up and running with your own bot.
Same problem here – i still don’t get what a chatbot is or why it is necessary.
It’s definitely not necessary, David, just one way for authors to create engagement, using a new and fun tool that can be very time effective. Some authors feel it’s not for them as they prefer to keep connection with readers personal while many other authors are enjoying this new technology. Like all tech, it takes a bit of getting used to and the only way to know if it is for you is, perhaps, to try it? As indie authors, we are always learning by doing.
Hi David! A chatbot is simply another way of reaching your readers using Facebook’s Messenger platform. Many authors that are doing it are saying that they get a much better connection to their readers by having one. They are giving their bots personalities in some cases, making it fun, and readers love it. They particularly love the fact that they don’t have to sign up to an email list to enjoy it. It is new, but it is having great results and that’s why so many people are using the technology. It is, largely, an untapped market and it’s always a good idea to be at the forefront of such things! 🙂
Hi Deborah, I’m sorry you felt lost. I started the presentation by explaining the three main different types of chatbots as that is one of the questions I get asked the most, and one of the most common misunderstandings that people have when they think that a chatbot is not within their reach. I’m happy to help to clarify in any way I can, please just email me at [email protected] and I’ll see what I can do to help!
I was lost right at the very beginning of this presentation. I don’t know what a chatbot IS, or where they are found, or anything about them. Are they part of Facebook’s messenger app? Or something else? Starting off with “trees” isn’t helpful unless you already know what a chatbot is.