I’m
amazed at how confused, uninformed, or misinformed so many authors are when it
comes to book publicity and marketing.
The problems are glaring – and yet so much information is out there to
educate and empower authors. I should
know. With over 3,200 blog posts in nearly eight years on book publicity, my
hope is that our writers will know what to do, feel inspired, and take action
to successfully sell their books. But
too many writers are screwed.
Here’s
the problem. Some authors are:
·
Deluded
in their thinking and let wild ambitions cloud their vision of what really
needs to be done.
·
Ignorant
of how things transpire with book publicity.
·
Fearful
of success or failure – and are frozen on the sidelines.
·
Procrastinators
who sabotage their books with needless delays.
·
Too
busy to put in the time needed to succeed.
·
Too
cheap to invest the funds needed to get a hired gun to do their bidding.
Now,
I know this tough love approach may upset or even offend the struggling writer
but if he or she wants to truly fulfill a dream of being a successful author,
they need to be confronted by the truth.
Consider this a public service.
If I
were looking to market a book properly, I would certainly read blogs and books
about book marketing. Once you start to
hear the same things over and over you will have done your research. Next step?
Make a plan based on what you discovered.
Plan
ahead, not backwards. Give yourself
enough time to do the things that are necessary for your book to have a shot at
success. Map out your publicity,
advertising, speaking, social media, website development, etc.
Now
once armed with information and a plan it’s time to act and execute a targeted,
timely, and smart campaign.
Sure,
along the way you will stumble, experience defeats, make mistakes, guess wrong,
or wildly miss. So what? Expect it.
It’s okay. Build in failure on
your road to success.
Fear,
insecurity, and ego will battle you daily.
You’ll second-guess yourself.
You’ll co-exist with doubt. You
will feel criticism from others. So
what? Expect it. It’s okay.
Build in jitters and the unknown on your highway to success.
As
an author, like an entrepreneur, your rate of success will be low. But it doesn’t have to be so high. Let me explain.
For
every 20 calls, emails, or books mailed, you may only get one or two yesses
from bookstores, the media, or those you seek to impress. That’s fine.
It’s a numbers game. There are
thousands of people you can contact to promote or sell your book. Even a success rate of 5% could yield amazing
benefits. Worry less about the no’s and
maybes and zero in on the yesses. Stay
positive and assert your intelligent plan for book success.
DON”T
MISS THESE!!!
How Book Publishers Grow Their Brand & Sales With Their
Authors’ Help
How Authors Can Market To Libraries Successfully
Unfu*k Your Book marketing
How Authors Get A Yes Out Of Others
Some key principles to rally your book marketing around
How to write powerful, effective book advertising copy
that sells tons of books
So what is needed to be a champion book marketer?
Don’t Forget To Give Back
Don’t some of your book proceeds to a
worthy charity. Feel free to consult these reosurces:
This
nonprofit is dedicated to finding worthy giving opportunities.
This
ranking system evaluates tons of charities.
Here
are the 100 largest U.S. charities.
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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