Political Conventions Provide Marketing Lessons For Authors

 

Whether you are affiliated with the Democrats or Republicans – or declare yourself an independent – you may have caught some or all of the political conventions put on by the two major parties at the end of August. Authors can learn some marketing lessons from watching how each party staged a show and sought to convince voters (customers) to vote (buy) for their brand.

This year’s conventions were not like any other. They were not the huge spectacles they had become. No huge crowds packing arenas to cheerlead the party line. No surprises or suspense. It was just a zoomfest of taped, prepared, or staged speeches strung together. It was the ultimate infomercial.

Of course, authors don’t have conventions or troves of speakers to come on and support them, but authors, like politicians, are selling something. They both sell ideas and personalities as their product. They each sell the promise of something. They each seek an emotional purchase, that the voter will support a belief and that the consumer will support a concept or vision.

Authors, like politicians, use the resources at hand to market their brand, sell their book, or impact people with a powerful message.

Authors, like politicians, need to: 

·         Look the part and package themselves

·         Refer to stories to make the message personal

·         Plea to one’s needs, desires, beliefs, ethics, and dreams

·         Sound energized and full of vision

·         Appeal to one’s emotions

·         Empower the spirits of the listener-viewer-reader

·         Promise a pay-off or something of value

Politicians lie, cheat, steal, and bully. Authors, don’t model such behaviors, but do replicate how they market their messages and build their platforms. They will use the news media, ads, social media, speaking venues, and mail (email or snail) to get their message out. So will you.

Authors need to act as if they are selling something bigger than themselves or a single book. They are marketing a brand, an ideology, and a spirit. They stand for something. They should sell their voice and soul. Politicians try to grow their popularity by aligning with what is popular. They move from placing a spotlight on themselves by instead supporting a political platform that they know at least half the country agrees with.

You can do the same. You just need to show how your writings align with the causes, passions, desires, and needs of others.

 

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com.  His insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are the product of his genius. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2020. 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.