Confessions From The BubbleCow: How It All Started

[Note #1: So I’m thinking about giving away a free product for you . . . IF you’re potentially interested in learning how to promote and sell your book online. It’s going to take some significant time to put together. But before I go crazy making this thing, I want to make sure you actually want it (so I don't feel like an idiot). More details near the bottom of the article.]

[Note #2: In case you’re wondering, this post is a FOLLOW UP TO THIS POST which received more than 100 comments from all around the world! I try my best to respond to as many comments as possible, BTW].

As most of you know I am not only the co-founder of BubbleCow, but also a published writer.

I actually write history books for children, well to be more precise I write the books I wanted to read when I was an 11-year-old boy.

But I digress . . .

How This Whole BubbleCow Thing Started

I remember the EXACT moment it all started.

Caroline (Mrs BubbleCow) and myself are both writers.

In 2006 we were both struggling to build our reputations as writers (Caroline is now a bestselling novelist BTW).

Money was tight as we fought to juggle writing and ‘real’ work. Though advances were bigger than they are today, they were still barely enough to live off.

To make ends meet we were both working as freelancers. Caroline as an editor and me as an editor, but also a researcher for the horribly successful Horrible Histories series.

Each month we would fight to find clients, constantly tapping into our ever dwindling list of contacts.

One Friday, after a frustrating week of searching for work, Caroline suddenly announced, “We should make this into a business. You know with a real website, name and business model.”

We mulled it over and realised that a business would give us the platform we needed to help writers to get published. After all, we were in the unique position of having insight into two worlds. On one hand we were writers, but on the other we had worked closely with publishers, agents and big writers for years.

Over the next two days we drew up a rough business plan, hacked together a website and debated endlessly over a name.

Now a question we get asked on a weekly basis is, ‘Were did the BubbleCow name come from?’ I always try to answer this honestly, but I have never told this story on the blog before, so here goes…

We wanted a name that did two things:

• 1. Had no competition on Google.
• 2. A domain name that was not already taken.

We also wanted to show that we were not the run-of-the-mill editors. We wanted to show we knew the internet and could help the new breed of internet savvy writers that were beginning to emerge. After all this was in the days before the Kindle. How did we survive?

We went through loads of names.. and I mean loads.

We tried traditional names, wacky names and downright stupid names. But we liked the idea of combining two words to make a new name (I know, very web 2.0).

We really liked the idea of bubble-something, and after rejecting rat, bull and cat we provisionally settled on cow.

The decision didn’t go firm at first. In fact, it was not until we found the logo (not the one at the top of this page) that the choice was made. This cute cow picture made up our minds and the name was decided (you can see that photo if you look at the avatar on our @bubblecow twitter account).

So come the following Monday morning BubbleCow was born. The website was up (thanks to WordPress!) and we were eager to change the world but…

No one knew about us!

Caroline was already running a blog and had a Twitter presence and this seemed to attract a few writers.

However, it was all pretty scary.

Days passed and writers didn’t flock to BubbleCow.

Now I would like to say that the next step was to spend loads on traditional advertising, but we didn’t for two very good reasons:

• 1. I knew magazine advertising was an expensive and unmeasurable way of attracting attention.
• 2. BubbleCow was skint! All the money BubbleCow was earning was going to pay bills.

Then…

Two things happened that changed BubbleCow (and me) forever.

The first was that I was lucky enough to stumble across of book called Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. Well, it was a review copy sent from Wiley (and the well thumbed copy is still sitting on my desk BTW).

I am trying to keep this short, but this is important.

This book set out a blueprint on how to attract customers using the Internet. In essence it develops the idea that if you build a web platform, and then produce valuable, sharable content targeted at potential customers, they will come to you.

The second huge revelation was an interview I heard with Internet superstar Guy Kawasaki (NOT Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. as Caroline insists on calling him!) At the time Mike, sorry Guy Kawasaki was one of the key early adopters of Twitter, and he had built a huge following.

Anyway… in this interview he laid out his strategy for attracting followers. He explained that his approach was to send out 5 or 6 tweets each day with links to interesting articles.

A huge light went off in my head and I suddenly realised that I could use social media to build a business.

So I did…

The blog was born and I launched headlong into Twitter.

From that day to this, each working day morning I have sat down and found 5 or 6 links I can send out via Twitter. (No joke, I do this everyday!)

15,000 tweets later we have over 11,000 Twitter followers (the majority of which are writers) and a platform on which we can build a business and, most importantly, help writers.

In The End, And After Some Work…All My Passion and Drive Has Worked…And in a BIG Way.

Back then, when we were where arguing over names such as BubbleRat, StickHamster and JollyCat, I would never have believed that:

• We would have helped thousands of writers to take one step closer to their dreams.
• Had famous clients (that we had to keep secret).
• Had publishers and agents asking us for advice!
• We would be employing and training our own editors and proofreaders.

But In Addition To Being Humbled By The Impact I’ve had, I’ve Also Been Blessed to Have A Very Gratifying Lifestyle (My Friends Call It Amazing . . . I Just Enjoy Having Flexibility).

For example, I get to work FROM HOME with writers all over the world (thanks Skype), and know that I’m making real and meaningful connections with people (and that those connections and my advice can create dramatic changes for the better).

I never would have dreamed that I’d get to make my own schedule (so I can be more available for my children and family).

And I never would have imagined that I would NOT have to do ANY traditional marketing . . .

So Here’s What I’m Coming To . . . Here’s What’s Being Demanded Of Me . . . And Here’s What I Feel Compelled To Do . . .

Here’s the deal.

The demand for detailed, practical and most importantly WORKING training for writers to market and sell their books is overwhelming.

I have considered offering a consulting service where I help writers to build their own platform and market their books on a one-to-one basis.

But there is only one of me… I would never be able to help enough people. I’m finding over and over again that the need for training is so much bigger than I could ever fill in a thousand life times.

So I feel that our community is being compelled to step up to the plate. As one commenter in the last blog post wrote, “I would absolutely love to see this sort of advice coming from a successful business such as yours. I’m looking at putting my work out there in the professional world, and it would be invaluable to me to be armed with any knowledge that can help me along the way.”

In my heart of hearts, I want excellent marketing training to be readily available for all writers. I’ve wanted this for a long long time. And this is way overdue.

But the huge task of reaching the thousands that need to be reached CAN NOT be done alone.

But by providing down-in-the-trenches proven (over and over again) techniques that actually work. We can spread the knowledge and give all writers a head start.

I’m Thinking About Making A Free Resource Kit For You

I’ve been really humbled by the buzz surrounding my last blog post. There has been A LOT of interest in the training program that I’m POTENTIALLY developing.

But to test the waters . . . I’m thinking about making a value packed, 100% free “Blueprint To Promoting And Selling Your Books Online” for you.

IF you’re serious about learning to promote and market your book.

Here is what the free “Blueprint To Promoting And Selling Your Books Online” will include:

• Three recorded interviews one with a high level book publisher (the current MD and former Marketing Director of the Osprey Publishing Group), one with a successful self-published writer (this is a secret, I really can’t spill the beans), and one with myself. In these interviews we talk about the individual steps you can take to promote and sell your book online. This not only contains the blueprint we have used to promote BubbleCow, but also the systems used by self-published (and professional writers) to get their books noticed.
• A set of quick start videos and written guides. This set of videos (and ebooks) outlines set out the key principles behind selling your books online. These not only explain the principles behind building a online platform, but also outline a set of tips and tactics that you can immediately apply to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and your blog.
• A ebook called 101 Blog Titles That Will Get Shared. This ebook shows you how to construct blog titles that will entice people to click and visit when seen on social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

But Here’s The Catch

Because I’m a helpless perfectionist and will inevitably blog this thing way out of proportion and make it into a much bigger package than it needs to be (or you even want) . . .

. . . I want to get a list of everyone who is interested in having this free “Blueprint To Promoting And Selling Your Books Online”.

So Here’s What I Want You To Do

I’m making a list of everyone potentially interested in getting my free resource kit AND getting in at the start of all this.

Anyway, if you’re interested, then: (1) enter your email address below, and if I end up making it I’ll send it to you at the email address you list below (leaving a comment with any suggestions on what you’d like get from the kit would also help).

If enough people get on this “interest list” (I’m thinking 500 or more) then I’ll make this free thing and send it to EVERYONE on the interest list.

If no one wants the free “Blueprint To Promoting And Selling Your Books Online” then no worries.

Gary