There
are any, many ways one can promote and market a book. In fact, the slew of options can feel like a
curse, as all of the different roads that lead to the same goal can seem
overwhelming. Your precious, dwindling,
resources of time, money, and mindshare can only absorb so many tasks and
obstacles. So what’s an author to do?
Speed
marketing.
Ever
hear of speed dating? That’s when you
attend an event where single people gather and interview each other in three to
six minutes. At the end of an hour, you may have spoken to 15 or 20
prospects. You may have even eliminated
a few before you spoke to them, just based on certain criteria such as age and
appearance. It is such an effective and
focused way to filter through people and at least dismiss those you don’t have
an interest in pursuing. You may not
find true love in three minutes, but you’ll be on your way to seeking out a
potential mate.
Book
marketing can be done similarly.
Here’s
how speed marketing can help you:
1.
You
can experiment with a number of marketing services and tools and quickly see if
they meet your needs. Dismiss the ones
that aren’t a fit and commit to go heavy on the rest.
2.
Once
you know what you’ll focus your time and resources on, give yourself time
limits to zero in on singular tasks and then move on to the next one. This may sound like the lifestyle of one with
ADHD, but it can really help you maximize your time and sustain your focus on
book marketing.
Often
with book publicity and marketing you need to try multiple approaches. For instance, you can’t just rely on one type of media when doing publicity. Do
at least two of the big four: TV, radio, print, online. Further, you need to utilize at least two or
three social media platforms – not just one or none: Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, blogging, podcasting. Additionally, you can’t do just news media
promotions or just social media marketing.
You need to do both – simultaneously – and you need to do other things
such as speaking engagements, pursue bulk sales, do bookstore signings, buy select
advertising, etc. Speed marketing can
help you set a course for success.
First,
map out your overall book marketing plan – setting a start and end date (based on
your book’s publication date). Identify
how you plan to reach your targeted readership and then break it down into daily
and weekly tasks.
Second,
designate set amounts of time to a project – and then move on when the time
runs out. Success doesn’t happen in a
vacuum or under ideal terms. We go to
war with the soldiers we have and do our best to fight under the known and
existing conditions. We can always do
better with hindsight or unlimited resources but we need to be realistic and
operate under the circumstances at hand.
Third,
be prepared to rotate or adjust your plans.
For instance, if you end up getting through a task faster than planned
or you determine it’s not a worthy task, move on. Be positioned to switch out one task with
another, and to reallocate resources to proven areas of success.
One
thing that results from this is clarity.
Due to the self-imposed time constraints we force ourselves to think
smarter, to be more efficient, to confront our fears, and to challenge our
assumptions or dreams. Time is real,
permanent, and concrete. You must work
within its limitations.
So let’s
say you have 90 minutes you can dedicate to book marketing today. Break it down into smaller segments, maybe
three half-hour modules. Assign a task
to each half-hour. Don’t allow for any disruptions during your work time. That’s right, don’t check your email, make a
call, or put up the laundry, or check on an eBay bid. Be distraction-free.
For each
task, think of the best way to get it done.
For instance, if you delegate 30 minutes to Twitter today, what specifically
will you do? Will you just read
comments, send out tweets or search for connections? Will you spend time learning how it works or
will you use time to look up those who post using hashtags of relevance to
you? In this session will you connect with 15
people? Will you retweet 20 posts? Will you learn 3 things? Set goals. Quantify and qualify your actions. Hold yourself accountable.
If speed
dating can lead people to find the love of their life then authors can use
speed marketing to promote the love of their life – books!
DON’T MISS: ALL NEW RESOURCE
OF THE YEAR
2015 Book PR & Marketing Toolkit: All
New
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog
are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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