What Is The Worst Book Marketing Advice You Were Given -- Ever?

 

Avoid Bad Book Publicity Advice From Morons

Want to make sure your writing career tanks before it starts and ensure your book fails? Follow bad book marketing myths. Avoid these 11 nuggets of misguided insights: 

1. Wait until the book comes out to start your promotions. Wrong! Ideally, you want to promote before the book is out, at the launch date, and beyond.  You need to get your collateral materials done by the time you send out advance review copies to seek book reviews, testimonials, and media coverage. That means by the time you send books out (beginning four months before the release date), you need to have created a website, press kit materials, a speaker’s one-sheet, a book sale flier, your business card, and updated your social media profiles to reflect the book. Don’t sabotage yourself by getting into the game late.  

2. Find a publisher. Then you can just write and not worry about marketing.  Good luck with that strategy. You won’t go far by expecting others to do what you need to do. You will always need to promote your brand and your newest book, regardless of who publishes it. Books don’t just sell on their own. Most publishers do little for — and invest minimally in --their authors. You will always need to spend as much, if not more time marketing your book than writing it.  

3. You don't need to join a writers group. You know how to write.  Writers groups are there to help you market yourself, not teach you how to write. Join online writers groups and real-world professional writer associations, based on your genre or location. Fellow members support you with inspiration and motivation. They share information and ideas with each other. They pull resources together. Members may agree to cross-promote one another with Amazon reviews, social media posts, or blog/podcast interviews.  

4. Social media is a big wasteland that you don't need to be on. There is definitely a side of social media that is a time-suck, scam-filled, idiotic, bullying wasteland. But that does not mean that has to be your experience with it. Use it to your advantage. Come up with a consistent and frequent posting schedule, improve your post content quality, always steer your posts to click back to your site, and make daily concerted efforts to connect with new potential connections and followers.  

5. You don't need a website if you have a blog or are on social media. That is like saying you don’t need a house if you have a car and a work office. Don’t be lured into dumb ideas. You absolutely need a web site for your entire writing life.  It is your showcase, your retail real estate, and your chance to tell and show people all that you have done, are all about, and have for sale.  

6. Only best-selling authors get media exposure, so don't bother trying. And how did people become best-selling authors? They got media coverage. Of course non-best-selling authors get media exposure. It happens every day. Authors should not expect a lot of A-list media outlets to feature them, but they should try anyway. You gotta be in it to win it. If you don’t show up, you lost without trying. Besides, there is lots of media worth getting, from community newspapers, podcasts, and local cable television shows , to radio, magazines, journals, newsletters, newswires, and dot coms.   

7. Sell some books before you pay for a publicity campaign. Pay for a publicity campaign and you will sell some books. If you wait you breakthrough in order to fund the type of marketing campaign that is needed, it will be too late. A book is new for only a few months and then an expiration date settles in, even for evergreen books.  

8. Don’t spend much time or money on marketing your book — it doesn’t yield profitable results.  If you don’t invest in yourself or your writings, you severely limit your growth potential. You have no choice but to pour money and time into your writing. That is how you turn a hobby into a vocation. Marketing can have a worthwhile pay-off, but sometimes it takes months or even years to fully realize it. You work hard now to build your readership and establish your name. If your book is decent, you will eventually get to a critical mass number of readers that allows for word-of-mouth to take off.  

9. All that you need is a good Google, Amazon, or Facebook ad campaign.  Yes, definitely invest wisely in online ads — but they are not enough. You still need to look into social media, book awards, speaking engagements, book fairs and conferences, traditional media, and other areas. Ads alone won’t brand you.  

10. The media has a lot of air time to fill. They should want to interview you about your book.  Uh, the news media are not desperately waiting around for any old author to give ink or air time to. Even in little towns, one must earn the opportunity to be interviewed or featured.  

11. Do a road tour to sell your book.  If it was 1990, yes, I would lead the charge and say go for it! Multi-city tours for authors are not cost-effective nor do they make the best use of an author’s time unless you had a lot of big events lined up and many scheduled media interviews. That means doing one or two interviews per city and some bookstore signings won’t cut it. You can do everything remotely: TV, radio, print, online. Phones, zoom, and email make travel unnecessary when it comes to the media. Now, some people hit the road inexpensively, such as in an RV, keep meal costs down, and hit the road in hopes of gaining attention for their book or a cause. This might work, but it is a gamble that can get tiresome quickly.  

Ok, so don’t listen to bad advice when it comes to marketing your book. Here is what you should do:  

The Very Best Book Marketing Advice – Ever! 

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-best-book-marketing-advice-ever.html

 

Need Book PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  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. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.