You
ever look up your neighborhood on Google’s Earth Maps, you know, just to see
what your house looks like from above – and to casually spy on your neighbors?
We
all do it.
At some point our curiosity takes over and we go online to see what images have been captured by Google that represent us well – and those we know leave us in a compromising position. What if we could click on to an Earth Maps that showed us snapshots of what each author is doing to market his or her book?
At some point our curiosity takes over and we go online to see what images have been captured by Google that represent us well – and those we know leave us in a compromising position. What if we could click on to an Earth Maps that showed us snapshots of what each author is doing to market his or her book?
Okay,
so such an app doesn’t yet exist but don’t put it beyond our tech giants to
come up with such a thing. Still, imagine, if you could see what authors are
doing to brand themselves and promote their books? Would seeing someone
hustling their wares inspire you – or would viewing a slothful author help you
justify your positon of being inactive when it comes to book marketing?
To
succeed as an author, you need to succeed at book marketing. To succeed at book marketing you need to have
a sense of all the things that you could be doing – and to be aware that you
have many competing authors seeking to do the very same things.
Consider
these strategies to employ for yourself:
1.
Do what you are capable of doing.
If speaking before groups is your strongest skill, pursue speaking engagements. If tweeting is your game, play it every day. If writing byline articles is your strength, contact publications or websites immediately.
If speaking before groups is your strongest skill, pursue speaking engagements. If tweeting is your game, play it every day. If writing byline articles is your strength, contact publications or websites immediately.
2.
Hire professionals to fill in the blanks.
You may lack skills, desires, or time to execute certain aspects of a solid book marketing campaign. That’s okay – subcontract it out.
You may lack skills, desires, or time to execute certain aspects of a solid book marketing campaign. That’s okay – subcontract it out.
3.
Experiment and see what works.
A few press releases here, a couple of YouTube videos there, and a sprinkling of Facebook ads over here – try a little of everything to see what gets traction.
A few press releases here, a couple of YouTube videos there, and a sprinkling of Facebook ads over here – try a little of everything to see what gets traction.
4.
Mirror what successful authors do.
So whether you have the skills, knowledge time, money, or desire to do something, do whatever other authors are doing if it works for them.
So whether you have the skills, knowledge time, money, or desire to do something, do whatever other authors are doing if it works for them.
5.
Do nothing and hope to get discovered.
Good luck with that strategy of praying for a miracle.
Good luck with that strategy of praying for a miracle.
I
suspect if we had Earth Maps covering every author we would see many that do
little or nothing to promote their books.
They give up too soon, don’t give it their all, and choose to pursue the
wrong things. But then we’d see other
authors who are seriously trying to break through the clutter, but they just
need some direction, a little confidence, and a lucky break. Whatever other authors do – or don’t do – is
irrelevant. You need to simply give it
your all and not give a crap what other authors are doing.
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“Reading is among the most private, the most solitary things that we can do. A book is a kind of refuge to which we can go for the assurance that, as long as we are reading we can leave the worries and care of our everyday lives behind us and enter, however briefly another reality populated by other lives, a world distant in time and place from our own, or else reflective of the present moment in ways that may help us see that moment more clearly. Anyone who reads can choose to enter (or not enter) the portal that admits us to the invented or observed world that the author has created.”
--What To Read and Why by Francine Prose
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