To be completely honest, I have some learning to do about marketing myself, and this book. It will be a learning process in itself. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
We've Made It To Amazon ... Now How Do I Market This Book
Wendy and I finished the manuscript for our book at the beginning of February. It looks like the publishing wheels are turning.
To be completely honest, I have some learning to do about marketing myself, and this book. It will be a learning process in itself. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
To be completely honest, I have some learning to do about marketing myself, and this book. It will be a learning process in itself. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
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This is awesome! Congratulations to both of you!
ReplyDeleteYou will need to start with a Marketing Plan.This will include identifying your audience, goals (how many books you want to sell), and actions you need to take to reach your goal. Think of it as developing your BRAND. You can google "Book Marketing Plan" to find ideas and develop a strategy of your own. Break it down to more manageable pieces.
You already have an on-line community via this blog. Expand this with Facebook and Twitter. If you haven't already, set up accounts specifically for marketing this book where both you and Wendy can engage with your audience. Make sure people can find links to these accounts from your blogs.
Attract readers to your blog so you can communicate with them on an individual level. Reply when people comment on your blog. It makes people feel special and they will have a more positive feeling about your and your book. Then encourage them to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter. If they like what they learn or experience, the will "share" or "retweet."
Join up with like-minded blogs and facebook pages. Support theories and ideas on these pages in a positive way by comments and conversations. Comment using your BRAND identity (i.e. facebook page rather than personal facebook account) so people reading will be able to find you. Connect with these blog and facebook page owners and ask them to review your book, allow you to guest blog, or hold a contest and give your book away as the prize. Ask the winner to review your book, etc. Engage with your audience. Respond and answer all questions.
It will be a lot of work, but think of it as an investment not only for this book but future writing as well. You will have a built in audience for your next book :)
Good luck!
Oh my word - Love the cover. SO EXCITING!!! Congratulations to you both. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd all the advice already given, I second it. And I don't have to type it, which works out well for me and the arthritis flare up. lol I'll start spreading the word on my pages as well. WOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!
One suggestion - write up a press release (or maybe your publisher already did this?) and send it to folks like Peaceful Valley, Baker Creek, etc. They might be interested in reviewing it, stocking it - or they may just print your press release on site or in a catalog as is to help get the word out.
ReplyDeleteGah, I should stop hitting Publish because I keep thinking of things. LOL Contact Michael Bunker - I bet a lot of his readers/listeners would loooooorve this. (And Wendy's first book, as well, actually.)
ReplyDeleteGrafixMuse, thank you so much for your very detailed answer. I think it will be a lot of work, but it will be fun work. I will be digesting you answer more fully in the coming days.
ReplyDeleteMelonie, thank you for your suggestions. Don't worry about the publish button ... it just makes it look like there is a lot more discussion happening.
ReplyDelete