It
is said it takes a village to raise a child.
Well to successfully market a book it takes a staff.
When
I bought a house with my wife 16 years ago, we noticed we employed a small army
– a housekeeper, a gardener, a nanny and a dog walker – not to mention using a
handyman, electrician, plumber, painter, floor guy, and a guy to remove some
trees. Well, to write, publish and
market a book, it takes the hands of many helpers.
To
get your book published, you may have needed a writing coach, a book editor,
and a literary agent. Or, if you went the
self-publish route, you needed an editor, cover designer, a printer, and a
distributor.
To
launch your book and brand properly, you may need to call on a:
·
Website
designer
·
Social
media specialist
·
Book
marketer
·
Advertising
consultant
·
Book
publicist
·
Branding
expert
·
Speaking
agent
Wow,
that’s a lot of people! How does one
manage it all effectively?
First,
determine what you need. Will you need
to do something or hire out for it?
What’s your budget and what are your expectations?
Second,
create a timeline so that you prioritized what gets done by a certain date.
Sometimes, things get done simultaneously, while other things flow smoothly,
from one to another.
Third,
determine how to find the best people who don’t break the bank and are
available when you need them. Finding qualified people who you can trust and
like to work with is not always easy.
Forth,
sometimes it’s good if your experts talk to each other, since what each one
does overlaps with what the other does.
A brand consultant impacts a website, social media, and other areas. There should be alignment on voice, strategy,
and image.
Now,
you may scoff at all of this and think that you don’t need all of these people. You may conclude you can’t afford all of them
either. That’s okay. You can do many things on your own. Some
things can be outsourced. Other items will simply have to wait or go ignored.
Don’t beat yourself up over it.
Some
people, even with all of these experts at their beck and call still fall flat
when it comes to becoming successful or their book just wasn’t as good as the
staff working on it.
Let
your goals and needs dictate your next steps on who to hire. When you get the
right person to work for you, hold on to him or her and nurture the
relationship. You may want this person to help you on another book or project
down the road.
Who
knew that launching and marketing a book is a little like planning a
wedding? It makes you want to just
elope!
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
Free 2020 Book Marketing Toolkit for Authors
Try These 10 Ways To
Promote Your Book
10 Rules For Authors
Promoting Their Books Well
Look For These Book
Marketing Lessons All Around You
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.