What can you learn about competing books that
will help you promote your book?
First,
think about who your competitor is. It’s
obvious if your book’s topic is narrowly focused, such as a book on diabetes,
weight loss, planning for retirement, being a better parent, relationship
advice, or traveling to Europe on a budget.
But even if it’s not so obvious, think about books within your genre
that would make for good role models to follow.
So
let’s say you checked out various best-seller lists, award winners, or books
that received a fair share of media coverage.
When you look to search these authors for clues as to what you can do to
be just as successful, think of things in the following manner:
·
Which
awards did they win or get honorable mention in? Should you apply for them as well?
·
Who
are their followers/connections on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, or other social
media outlets? Can you connect with them
as well?
·
Which
media covered them via interviews, reviews or stories? Did any of them allow
for guest posts or byline articles from that author? Can you contact the same journalists at each
media outlet to seek out coverage for you and your book?
·
When
you look at the author’s website, do you see things worth copying and modeling
for your site?
·
Can
you reach out to those who provided testimonials for these other books and seek
out endorsements for yours?
Perhaps
directly contacting these authors is worth the risk. They may be able to help introduce you to
some helpful contacts or resources. It
can’t hurt. The worst they could do is
ignore you. Certainly you have more to
gain from a relationship with them, so if any of them help, great, and those
that don’t, it’s no loss.
Of
course there are, many reasons as to why these authors got the results that
they did. Perhaps they spent money on PR
and advertising. Maybe they cashed in on
personal friendships for favors. Perhaps
they are on their tenth book or are affiliated with a major organization. Maybe they got lucky or their books really
are great. Well, none of it matters. Take what you can get, however you can get
it. And when you don’t succeed at
replicating what another author did you needn’t worry or feel bad. The circumstances for one author may be
different from those surrounding your
book.
Competitors
in all industries copy each other, compete for the favor of the same
influencers, and seek to exploit current conditions to their favor. It’s perfectly fine to research, rip-off,
and recruit other authors. Okay, not
rip-off. Don’t commit a crime, but do
use any public information, especially what authors provide on their site,
social media, or news coverage, to your advantage.
Authors
can certainly help each other, sometimes unknowingly. Befriend them when you can, but never let the
opportunity to model them slip away.
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
Authors
Need Holiday Card Approach To Book Marketing
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Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
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 © 2018. 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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