Thursday, January 23, 2020

How To Manage Your Book Marketing “Staff”


Image result for images of a staff -- free

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



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 ©2020. 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.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.