Who
do your connections know? Will they
introduce you to those who can help grow your writing career, sell books, get
media coverage, or influence the public with your message?
That’s
what book marketing comes down to: Who
you know, who they know, and even who those people know. It’s your best hope. It costs nothing. You risk nothing. It’s not hard to do. The potential payoff is immeasurable.
Ok,
so how do you break down the necessary steps here?
Let’s
start with your database. Divide it up
into different sections, such as these:
·
Family
·
Friends
·
Acquaintances
·
Work
Colleagues
·
Community
·
Social
Media
Now
let’s break this down further:
Family
You
have immediate people – spouse, children, grandkids, grandparents, parents,
uncles, aunts, first cousins. You know
who you are close to and who you are not.
Those closest to you should be approached. Those not so close can best be reached not
just by you, but by other family members who are closer to them. For instance, get your aunt to help reach out
to her grandkids or have your mom reach out to her distant cousin.
Friends
It
should be obvious who’s your friend, but there are also people whom you lost
touch with but didn’t have a falling out, like former classmates, ex-coworkers,
former neighbors, or someone who used to belong to your house of worship. Reach out to who is close – and enlist their
help to approach others that you both know.
Acquaintances
It’s
a loose term. The guy you see daily at
the bus stop, the friendly baker down the block, the security guard at a
child’s school, the secretary of your temple, or your dog walker. These are people you interact with but never
elevated into friends. You are friendly
to them, though. Chat them up with a
purpose, seeking out ways they can help with marketing your book.
Work Colleagues
Anyone
in your company can help you, assuming you feel secure in discussing your book
with them. This could include those your
company does business with, such as vendors.
Community
Community
is your neighborhood, including those who you see at the gym, church, school,
Starbucks, and ball fields. This
overlaps with friends and acquaintances, but this has a geographic foundation.
Social Media
This
no doubt, is your biggest pool of connection -- likely hundreds, if not
thousands. Problem here? You don’t know many of them well. In fact, you probably don’t recognize the
names of most of your connections nor could you tell me much about any of
them. And yet, this group is most
valuable to you.
For
each group, devise a plan to approach each one, one on one, with a purposeful
request. You need to clearly state what
you are asking for, provide a sense of urgency, and to give them a reason to
act. Guilt, love, a reward -- whatever will
work with that person, given your history with them and the circumstance you
both find yourselves in, should be tried.
What
you ask of each person will vary, not just based on the type of relationship
you have with them, but on what any one person can actually do for you. No one can give you any more than they have
the ability to give, no matter how well intentioned they may be.
Avoid
making a general request and avoid asking multiple people simultaneously, where each person knows you
asked the other. Obviously, you should make a personalized plea with a
customized request. What motivates one
to act may not work on another. Besides,
different people are capable of delivering different things.
So
what should you ask for? Well, what can
they give you? What do you need?
You certainly welcome anyone who can:
·
Buy
the book for themselves.
·
Help
sell multiple copies of the book to a group.
·
Provide
a worthwhile testimonial or book review on Amazon.
·
Help
get media coverage for you and your book.
·
Share
something about your book with their networks, via social media or other means.
·
Arrange
for a speaking engagement.
·
Introduce
you to people who can help you in some capacity, from a vendor like a website
designer to somebody who would be interested in blogging about you, to someone
who is famous, powerful, influential, and wealthy.
·
Be
an investor or sponsor for your events or marketing campaign.
Like
Santa, make a list and check it twice.
But whether they are naughty or nice, solicit their help and give
yourself the gift of having a successful book.
DON”T
MISS THESE!!!
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marketing?
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still leads the conversation
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publicity
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The Book Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
No. 1 Book Publicity 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 ©2019. 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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