A
little over three weeks ago I went on a diet.
I was finally ready to commit – out of anger and fear – to take hold of
my health and life. I already feel and
look better, though not ready to claim victory.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
It’s a way of life – forever. But
as I reduce my caloric intake, increase my level of exercise, and start to make
smarter choices of what goes into my body (I’m avoiding bread/chips/crackers),
I realize that in similar fashion, authors need to go on a book marketing diet
and find a system that works for them to get them where they want to be.
Diets
are not easy. They take honesty,
planning, discipline, sacrifice, decisions, and resources to make them
work. The same is true with book
marketing approaches by authors. So,
knowing there’s a high diet failure rate – and a high rate of failed authors,
what should be done by the writer who wants to grow her brand, increase his
book sales, and get an empowering message out there?
Step 1:
Commit Yourself
You
may not know everything that will need to be done to succeed at the start, but
you know to do little or nothing will get you nowhere. Make a commitment to yourself, of yourself,
to dedicate the time, energy, and resources to successfully market your
book. Meet challenges head on. No reason to lie to yourself or delay action
or to make excuses. See that you can
control your destiny. Dream, but act
now.
Step 2:
Remove Psychology Of Failure
Don’t
accept failure or assume defeat is imminent.
Instead, do things – take real action steps and get out of your
negative, fear-filled self-talk, and look to increase the odds in you
favor. Park your excuses and long list
of shortcomings or past failures. Fresh
start, new day. If you just want to
whine and be a victim and settle for drama instead of actual success, quit now.
Step 3:
Be In Shape
You
don’t need to be a multi-sport athlete to be good at marketing a book, but you
do need energy and brain food. Eat
better, sleep right, and work out to relieve stress.
Step 4:
Visualize Success
Call
it meditation, prayer, or plain old visits to a therapist, but get your head
focused on what needs to be done and what your success will look like. Be singularly focused on the task at hand and
on the goals you seek to achieve. No
distractions, no stalling out, no bullshit.
Step 5:
Educate Yourself
You
will need to learn more about marketing, publicity, advertising, social media,
and speaking. Do your research online.
Read trade publications, attend seminars, take workshops, or buy
instructional books. Read my blog! Knowledge is power. You need to know what is available to you,
how things work, and ways to improve.
Step 6:
Rely On Support
Reach
out to friends, family colleagues, neighbors and anyone who has ideas,
connections, or a sounding board. You are
not in this alone! Additionally,
consider getting professional help on the areas you are weakest in or simply
don’t have time or the skills or desire to pursue.
Step 7:
Change Habits
You
can’t keep doing what you do and expect new results. Determine what you want to change in how you
approach marketing your book and then go down that fresh path. Take risks.
Challenge yourself.
Step 8:
Act Out of Urgency, Not Desperation
Be
moved to act, every day. No delays. No time for massive planning and
pondering. No waiting, for ideal
circumstances. Plunge in and immerse
yourself. But don’t act out of
desperation. Stay calm.
Step 9:
Put In The Time
Book
marketing takes time. A lot of it. You don’t just email 10 people and get all
yesses. You need to do research, email,
call, send books, make public appearances, craft pitches, create a website, be
active on several media, etc. Schedule
your time – set priorities – and be willing to make a proper effort over the
long haul.
Step 10:
Have A Plan
Simple
enough: make a book marketing plan. It may include key areas: speaking, media, social media, direct mail,
advertising, etc. For each of those
areas, determine what needs to be done. Set deadlines. Realistically put time and resources aside to
get the plan going. Periodically
evaluate progress and revise the plan as needed.
Step 11:
Know Your Why To Know Your What
You
can’t do anything without knowing what you should be doing – and to do that you
need to know why you are executing a book marketing campaign and why you wrote
the book. Your goals will define the
action steps needed. Are you looking to
boost your brand? Sell books? Be a best-seller? Get one job/promotion – or launch a
business? Trying to impact lives and
share a positive and empowering message to a targeted group? Prioritize your why.
Step 12:
Brainstorm
Part
of any venture is having time to think/create, and brainstorm. Find others who can help you think out loud
on how to resolve challenges or pursue your goals. Come up with your best ideas – research
others – and then commit to them.
Step 13:
Park Your Ego Or Sense Of Entitlement
You
don’t deserve anything but what you earn.
Don’t assume everyone should like you or want your book. Most don’t and won’t. Go out there and prove your book is worthy of
media attention and book sales. Don’t
demand it – pursue it and work hard and smart to succeed.
Step 14:
Celebrate Small Victories
Work
hard, play hard. Every step taken towards
achieving a big goal means smaller benchmarks need to first be hit. Celebrate these wins on your way to the big
prize.
If many of these steps are not taken -- or you try and fall short -- do not despair. Get back on your book marketing diet -- or buy a big chocolate cake to eat your sorrows away.
DON”T
MISS THESE!!!
The Book Marketing Strategies Of
Best-Sellers
How Authors Can Sell More Books
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019
Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
How Authors Get Bulk Sales Now
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views,
provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are
his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should --
follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He
feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is
copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now
resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book marketing blogs
by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and
recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also
named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a
panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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