People buy from people.
Let me illustrate. Because I find this true in ALL avenues and business ventures in my life.
Last week, I was out with some medical/fitness business partners. We were in DC attending a great presentation by Biznow with some amazing speakers (Sheila Johnson and Stasia Kelly – yes we can discuss the name similarities at will too – it freaked me out for a few and she was trying to meet me just as I wanted to meet her) and walking long distances to the presentation and the subsequent meeting after wards. I have NEVER been on the Metro so much in one day.
After we left our meting, Corry commented on some shoes she just ordered, how comfy they were, how great they looked with long pants, how she was waiting for hers to show up. (I tried dropping in picture, but they have it set so you can’t, and I’m too tired to go make a picture of it…just follow the link if you want to see the shoes.) We were tired of walking in stylish shoes and boots and griping about how much walking we were doing. Now, she doesn’t get a revenue from commenting how much she likes the shoes, and for the record, neither do I. And at that point, I could have cared less. My feet freaking HURT. I came home…looked them up, and then ordered a pair. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE COMPANY.I bought those shoes completely on her recommendation. She’d tried on a pair a friend had and loved them.
How does this relate to writing you ask?
Reading is an addiction, a good one.
Second reference, Deb (go check out her site, she’s got GREAT Subliminal Monday posts, really) offered up a great review about hush, hush – a great YA novel by Becca Fitzpatrick. Do I know the author? No. Do I trust my friend’s judgment? Hell, yes. I went out and picked up a HARD BOUND copy and read the entire book that NIGHT. (I blame my recent addiction to reading YA novels on my Twitter writing pals. You know who you are. And, yes, some of these books are linked to my Amazon Associates account, then again, some aren’t.)
What else have I bought/picked up on referral?
- Broken by Shiloh Walker – because she was tweeting about it so much and getting great (and well deserved) reviews.
- Mad, Bad, and Dangerous by Cat Marsters – because I know her AND I loved her first book, Almost Human (that’s the one that started us talking and wow, I’d like to think I can call us friends now).
- Heat Wave by Richard Castle – yes, Castle is a fiction character, but how can you not go buy a book with Nathan Fillion on the back cover
Please, even the guys are reading it.
I’m trying to think, I know there were a lot of others. I know I bought Candace Havens, Take Me if You Dare, recently. And, several James Patterson books.
So, what have you bought on referral lately? I’m finding I’m doing a LOT of purchasing purely on referral, from Twitter, FaceBook and networking.
PS – of course I am dying to get my hands on an iPad, purely for the hype, so yes, ads do work too
Ooh, I thought I saw AH there in that picture! And yes, you can TOTALLY call us friends now. I’ve referred to “My friend Stacia in DC” more than once recently!
I’m not sure I’ve entirely bought much on referral lately, but I was browsing for books to take away with me next week and saw a Trisha Ashley book on the shelves. I ‘e-know’ her from the RNA, so I picked it up!
And…well, I suppose my biggest purchase on referral was my Mac. So many people had responded to my increasingly frantic bitching about my old PC with “Get a Mac,” that when it came time to buy a new machine, I took the plunge. And I’m totally happy with it!
*winks* I couldn’t put Mad, Bad, and Dangerous up there cause i have it on the Kindle. And that’s good, cause I’m constantly talking about my friend, Cat.
See, I ended up with my Mac that way too. Love it, except for the HD failures and the services in Tysons, but that’s an issue for THIS Mac.