If you have any questions on marketing, feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I will answer them this week.
Plan it in small chunks!
Each Monday morning (or Sunday evening, or whenever you do your weekly planning) write down 5 marketing activities you will accomplish during the coming week. Break each down into quick-to-do tasks and larger tasks. Then schedule them into your week — and do them.
Your Heart is where your Brand is
Here is a great class (Know Your Brand) Jenn Stark teaches if/when you want to learn how to brand yourself. Jenn Stark will be one of our Marketing interviewees coming soon. To find out more about your personal brand - this article talks about on how to begin your personal brand.
Who are you?
Define your Author Brand vs your Book Brand. Remember they are different things even though they link together. If you are pre-published start thinking about your author brand now!
Me and my Shadow
A Shadow brand is a brand every one of us gives off without knowing. What is your shadow brand. Is it fear? it is over confidence? Is it professional? Is it approachable? Find out what "vibe"you are giving off as an author. Make surethat is the brand you want to give off.
From the Marketers Mouth
Molli Nickell (who spoke at a Southern Breeze conference not the editor!). has an an editing service for writers. Great prices and I know she has great advice and insight. Check out her web site http://www.getpublishednow.biz/, then to the "Writers' Services" tab. For a limited time, she is offering a “Spring ahead” special: 1.5 hours of her assistance (editing, revising, rewriting, advising, or whatever you need) for the 1 hour fee of $75. This gives you an extra half hour at no additional cost—a 50% bonus. (Offer expires May 15, 2009).
Just because
Visit book reviewers and librarians sites. Comment on their blogs. get the name recognition. Ask yourself what can you do FOR THEM. When your books come out - they may remember you :)
Stressed Out?
Don't get stressed out about marketing. It's not worth it. It should just be something fun you do to get ready for the day that your book is picked up and put on the shelf. Have fun with it!
More Book Trailers
Here is a great interview with Sheila Clover English of COS Productions giving you some information on how Book Trailers Offer Excellent Branding Opportunity. Thanks to a blogger for suggesting this as a hot topic. More to come on this topic this week.
Speak up!
The other day, Sarah Davies from Greenhouse mentioned it was critical for every author to be sure they learn to speak well. The way you speak and present yourself in public is part of your brand. Are you funny? Engaging? How do you look? It is all a part of the brand image you are building. For example: for me when I speak, I try to be organized in though but flexible, informative but engaging, funny, yet relaxed. I usually wear jeans when I speak - not trashy ones but I don't wear a suit or business attire. I want to be approachable. That is all a part of my brand. Here are a few resources to begin learning speaking skills. Everyone can get a head start.
Each Monday morning (or Sunday evening, or whenever you do your weekly planning) write down 5 marketing activities you will accomplish during the coming week. Break each down into quick-to-do tasks and larger tasks. Then schedule them into your week — and do them.
Your Heart is where your Brand is
Here is a great class (Know Your Brand) Jenn Stark teaches if/when you want to learn how to brand yourself. Jenn Stark will be one of our Marketing interviewees coming soon. To find out more about your personal brand - this article talks about on how to begin your personal brand.
Who are you?
Define your Author Brand vs your Book Brand. Remember they are different things even though they link together. If you are pre-published start thinking about your author brand now!
Me and my Shadow
A Shadow brand is a brand every one of us gives off without knowing. What is your shadow brand. Is it fear? it is over confidence? Is it professional? Is it approachable? Find out what "vibe"you are giving off as an author. Make surethat is the brand you want to give off.
From the Marketers Mouth
Molli Nickell (who spoke at a Southern Breeze conference not the editor!). has an an editing service for writers. Great prices and I know she has great advice and insight. Check out her web site http://www.getpublishednow.biz/, then to the "Writers' Services" tab. For a limited time, she is offering a “Spring ahead” special: 1.5 hours of her assistance (editing, revising, rewriting, advising, or whatever you need) for the 1 hour fee of $75. This gives you an extra half hour at no additional cost—a 50% bonus. (Offer expires May 15, 2009).
Just because
Visit book reviewers and librarians sites. Comment on their blogs. get the name recognition. Ask yourself what can you do FOR THEM. When your books come out - they may remember you :)
Stressed Out?
Don't get stressed out about marketing. It's not worth it. It should just be something fun you do to get ready for the day that your book is picked up and put on the shelf. Have fun with it!
More Book Trailers
Here is a great interview with Sheila Clover English of COS Productions giving you some information on how Book Trailers Offer Excellent Branding Opportunity. Thanks to a blogger for suggesting this as a hot topic. More to come on this topic this week.
Speak up!
The other day, Sarah Davies from Greenhouse mentioned it was critical for every author to be sure they learn to speak well. The way you speak and present yourself in public is part of your brand. Are you funny? Engaging? How do you look? It is all a part of the brand image you are building. For example: for me when I speak, I try to be organized in though but flexible, informative but engaging, funny, yet relaxed. I usually wear jeans when I speak - not trashy ones but I don't wear a suit or business attire. I want to be approachable. That is all a part of my brand. Here are a few resources to begin learning speaking skills. Everyone can get a head start.
- Toastmasters- International organization to help people overcome public speaking fears and speak more effectively.
- SpeechSkills - help you achieve the impact you want to have on your audience.
- SpeechMasteryTips to to speaking well: Be passionate; Be enthusiastic; Be natural; Let your body language and/or voice reflect your personality; Be there to genuinely teach the audience something; Dress your best
Don't Trail behind?
Authors can now create a video representation of their book, to show their market exactly what they are buying, before they buy. Book trailers are still few and far between, but their popularity is growing. In short order, everyone who writes a book will be creating a book trailer. Here are a couple of introductory articles: how to make your own Book trailer and the elements of a successful Book trailers
That's some Cool & Crazy Marketing
People do some really creative things to market their books. Check out what this author did to turn some heads while he was on a book tour. Hopefully it sold some books.
Study up on social media
Check out this study. Social Media Marketing: Time Trap or Opportunity Magnet? New Study Reveals the Answers To read about the study: http://tinyurl.com/c4ggux To download the free PDF report: http://tinyurl.com/dcz4ep
All Hands on Deck
Have you heard of "Tweet Deck"? It is an application that makesit easy to follow people on twitter. I love it. It organizes your tweets and if you want - you can put a tone so you know when a tweet comes in. INstead of going to twitter - you just view your Tweet Deck and can see everything from tweets, replies, to direct messages. Try it!
Authors can now create a video representation of their book, to show their market exactly what they are buying, before they buy. Book trailers are still few and far between, but their popularity is growing. In short order, everyone who writes a book will be creating a book trailer. Here are a couple of introductory articles: how to make your own Book trailer and the elements of a successful Book trailers
That's some Cool & Crazy Marketing
People do some really creative things to market their books. Check out what this author did to turn some heads while he was on a book tour. Hopefully it sold some books.
Study up on social media
Check out this study. Social Media Marketing: Time Trap or Opportunity Magnet? New Study Reveals the Answers To read about the study: http://tinyurl.com/c4ggux To download the free PDF report: http://tinyurl.com/dcz4ep
All Hands on Deck
Have you heard of "Tweet Deck"? It is an application that makesit easy to follow people on twitter. I love it. It organizes your tweets and if you want - you can put a tone so you know when a tweet comes in. INstead of going to twitter - you just view your Tweet Deck and can see everything from tweets, replies, to direct messages. Try it!
On the Road Again (Book Tour Tips)
- While you ultimately want to increase your book sales, the purpose of a blog tour is to generate buzz about your book.
- Don’t just announce your tour on your personal blog, announce it in your newsletters, in press releases, and through traditional media outlets like radio interviews.
- While it can be rather costly to send out review copies of your books to every blogger in the blogosphere, especially if you’re not sure how popular a blog is, you can offer to hold a book drawing for every blogger who participates in your blog tour and then give away one to five books to whosoever name you pull out of a hat—at the end of the blog tour.
- Ask if the blog host will post a link to the sales page of your book whether it’s on Amazon.com or another affiliated program.
- Be sure to target blogs with target audiences that match your book’s target audience.
Eco-Friendly Marketing
These are the best ways to market with the earth in mind: Blog/Blog Tours, Website, Twitter
Social networking (Facebook, Myspace)
Podcasts are cool
Here is a podcast on how to best sell your book to libraries/schools by Dana Lynn Smith (author of "Selling your book to Libraries" and the Savvy Book Marketers Guide.)
Market Your Fiction
Check out these tips on how to market fiction!
These are the best ways to market with the earth in mind: Blog/Blog Tours, Website, Twitter
Social networking (Facebook, Myspace)
Podcasts are cool
Here is a podcast on how to best sell your book to libraries/schools by Dana Lynn Smith (author of "Selling your book to Libraries" and the Savvy Book Marketers Guide.)
Market Your Fiction
Check out these tips on how to market fiction!
2 comments:
Great links. I hope you'll periodically update it and maybe have a link on your sidebar to the most updated one. Great idea to offer a blog contest to more than one site at the same time to cut expenses.
How do you easily find the book blogs to target, i.e. review books in your genre? There are so many of them. And also how many do you recommend reading and commenting on?
How do you decide which blogs to visit in a blog tour and find the ones that you may not be following? There are so many out there that I just can't follow them all. Feel free to answer just one question.
Thank you for collecting these top posts -- I will definitely check out the ones I haven't read yet. :)
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