One of the things us “small” authors (and by that I mean those of us who don’t have a dozen or more books out and whose names are not household words) need to do is marketing/promotion. We want to get word out about our books. We know that the best way to get more sales is to let more people know we’re out here writing books of our hearts.

We all love our work. Otherwise, why would we do it? So, it makes sense to us that other people will love our work, too. All they to do is see it, read it. And we sometimes are willing to do anything to get our names in front of everyone.

The saturation bombing principle of marketing is the easiest thing to do. Just tell everyone, everywhere and you’re bound to hit something, right?

However, that is called spam, and generally no one likes.

This blog post lists five obnoxious things writers should avoid.

I have an acquaintance whose book I edited for her small publisher. For a few months, she would send me a mass email saying, “Please tell everyone on your mailing list about my book.” While I enjoyed working on her book, I kinda feel it’s not my job to spam my friends for her.

Similarly, when I follow someone on Twitter and immediately, I get a direct message back saying “Thanks for the follow. Buy my book,” I am sorry I hit that follow button.

Most of us are smart enough not to have every status update or tweet say “Buy my book, buy my book,” but I think a little reminder doesn’t hurt.

What obnoxious marketing idea do you think should have made the list?