So you want to market your new book?
You want to put it into the hands of all the readers.
Awesome!
Do you know how to get that book and the next one in to a reader’s hands?
This is something you absolutely can’t wing. You need to develop a brand and a marketing plan.
Don’t just throw garbage up and see what works.
Because if you do the things below, you’ll guarantee a dumpster fire and yourself a big disappointment.
READ MY BOOK! BUY MY BOOK! LOOK AT MY STUFF!
People buy experiences, not things.
Continually asking people to do something for you is a major turn off.
Don’t you hate it?
This includes asking folks to buy your book six times a day on Twitter.
You haven’t let them get to know you first. This goes back to author brand.
It’s much more valuable to post about you and your characters – likes, dislikes, hobbies, activities, thoughts.
Thoughts on what? Anything – a new book, a news story, state of the world.
Let your peeps get to know you and give them free stuff (bags, mugs, pens, corsets, whatever).
All people love free stuff.
The bookmark is overrated. Do something cool from your book.
Aaron Michael Ritchey gives out a red bag with candy in it because there is a red bag in his book.
Cool idea. Plus, I love candy.
HERE IS MY ONE POST FOR THE WEEK
Your one post?
You are selling a product.
That product is you, the writer, and your book.
If all you offer is one post a week, that doesn’t allow potential readers to get to know you or your book.
And readers buy books from word of mouth.
If people aren’t talking about you, they aren’t buying you.
Cultivate a following on one social media outlet and get really, really good at it.
Grow your email list and talk to them.
If you really want to get wild, do videos and podcasts as well.
WRITE IT AND THEY WILL COME
Really? The publishing industry is a business. Period.
If you want to sell books, readers have to know it exists.
Whining about the audacity of publishers or anyone else expecting you to market is a waste of time.
Mark Twain was a marketing machine.
Charles Dickens? Jane Austen? Total marketers.
Bob Mayer gave a talk last year and said he couldn’t believe the audacity of the publisher to ask him to market his work AND they still gave him only 15-30% of the cut.
That is worth complaining about.
Marketing is a necessary evil. It’s the part of the job you have to put up with to get to the paycheck.
LEAVE TEAMWORK TO FOOTBALL PLAYERS
Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but publishing is absolutely a team sport.
Today’s publishing business is saturated, which means it’s a publisher’s market, not a writer’s market.
That doesn’t mean it is Fort Knox. It is penetrable. You can get your name and your book out there.
One of the best methods I’ve seen is to tag team with other authors and build a street team.
You promote them, they promote you.
You talk about their book. They talk about yours.
Build a team of people who are as excited for you to succeed as you are.
It doesn’t have to be hard to market your new book.
I know it’s not as much fun as actually writing it, but with enough creativity, you will get your book in the hands of the readers.
And they will tell all their friends how crazy awesome your book is.