[vlmain]

Social media is not dead. Book reviews are not worthless. Marketing is not hopeless. (Paid advertising is a different can of worms, so I'll leave that alone for now.)

Here's my advice to you, and not just from a writer, but from an old guy who has spent over two decades in sales and marketing:

Fix your expectations.

Agreed. I have worked in advertising and marketing for over 20 years, and I find that too often people have unrealistic expectations, and become discouraged when they don't see immediate results. Paid advertising works but it doesn't happen with one or two ads. Consumers need to see an ad multiple times over a period of time before the majority will respond. A lot of people pull the plug before the ads even have a chance to work.

Targeting is also critical. We need to identify who our audience is and go where they are. If we are writing books on dog training, we need to be buying ads on pet forums, pet related blogs, and similar websites and magazines. Ads on Facebook might generate a few sales, but for the most part, people don't go to Facebook looking for advice on how to make their dog stop barking. They are there to socialize. But if someone has a dog whose barking is driving the neighbors crazy, they will go looking for information on forums, pet blogs, Q&A sites, etc.

Paid advertising should be a part of everyone's marketing plan, but it has to be targeted advertising, and done over a long period of time. Otherwise, it would be a waste of money.

Just my newbie two cents worth.