While
browsing the stacks at Barnes and Noble recently, I came across Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to Be More
Creative No Matter How Busy You Are, by Danny Gregory. It’s a wonderful book, filled with colorful illustrations
and a series of ideas and nuggets of inspiration for today’s artist. It says it "teaches you how to carve out time
for painting and drawing, and shows how making art for even just ten minutes a
day can lead to a richer, more fulfilling life.”
We
need such a book that shows writers the same thing. Or better yet, a book that reveals how to
book market for 10 minutes a day.
Some
of Gregory’s suggestions for artists to embrace their craft most certainly can
be applied to an author-turned-book marketer. Behold:
1.
Do
something to market your book every day.
2.
Commit
to doing this for 30 days.
3.
Don’t
go crazy with buying media lists or marketing tools.
4.
Be
consistent and look for opportunities to promote.
5.
Skip
perfection – any kind of publicity is better than none.
6.
Just
try it – and don’t judge.
7.
Get
a book marketing buddy.
8.
Get
used to eating cold toast. Initiate a
book marketing activity before eating breakfast.
Just
as the author encourages artists to enjoy their craft and recognize they can
achieve “some amazing things in their spare moments,” I could support your book
marketing efforts however you can find the time to get it in. “Your time’s your own,” Gregory writes. “And now you know how to make the most of
it.” He’s right.
I suspect
Gregory knows that real artists can’t just practice their craft while in
between errands or while waiting online and call it a day, but he knows it’s a
great start and a way to encourage people to explore their talent whenever
possible. Once bitten by the bug, many
artists will not only fill spare time with art but will carve out whole chunks
of days to pursue their love.
Authors
looking to market their book will draw the same conclusion, naturally. Once they allow themselves an introduction to
promoting their book, and they do so with success, they will likely want to
spend even more time at getting the word out.
Book promoting can be addictive.
When’s the best time or situation for you to market your book? Which tasks can be broken down to fill your
schedule comfortably?
Book
marketing could involve:
·
Researching
·
Writing
·
Social
media posting/sharing/responding
·
Brainstorming
·
Seeking
advice
·
Speaking
appearances
·
Raising
funds
·
Making
Phone calls
·
Contacting
the media
Figure
out which tasks need quiet or privacy or need to be done during certain hours
of the day. Look at what should be
prioritized, delegated, or delayed. Then
start filling in gaps while commuting, before breakfast, just before you go to
bed, in between gigs, during lunch, or while multi-tasking. Then look to see if you can reserve some time
for your book marketing efforts – separate – from stealing 5 or 10 minutes here
or there.
All-New 2017 Book Marketing & PR Toolkit
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 2016 ©.
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