The Seven Deadly Sins Of Marketing A Book!

 

 

The Bible says there are seven deadly sins. They are envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath. In the world of book marketing, there are also seven deadly sins. Here they are: 

 

1. Ignorance 

To not be aware of what needs to be done to market your book successfully is not a valid, long-term excuse as to why your book is not marketed well. Learn, experiment, and seek out professional help. Knowledge is power. 

 

2.                  Laziness

You may know what to do but lack initiative, energy, and drive. This is not acceptable. Get off the couch, or sit there, and hire others to do what you need to do. 

 

3.                  Envy

Authors naturally look at other authors and are jealous of their success. No need to be envious. Go out there and promote your book. The few authors that you wish you were like are anomalies. Many authors do not have success. Keep things in proportion.

 

4.                  Ego

You may think you are a great writer, and maybe you are, but no one knows that unless you work as hard to market your book as you did to write it. Curb your ego and pull up your sleeves to do the heavy book marketing lifting. 

 

5.                  Time

We all live busy lives and have all kinds of obligations, needs, and chores, but time must be carved out to market your book. Make it a priority. Think about frequency and duration. Can you promote daily or every other day? How much time can you do on each day? Hold yourself accountable for your calendar and schedule. 

 

6.                  Money

Have a budget to promote your book. Neither mortgage the house nor go cheap. Be reasonable and fair to yourself. Give your book a chance to succeed. You will need between five and ten thousand dollars to initiate a decent marketing campaign. 

 

7.                  Skills

Not only do you need to know what needs to be done, but you must develop the abilities to implement them. Take some time to learn how to do things that will help you be better at marketing your book.

 

A bonus sin might be a lack of confidence. It’s natural to feel fear, insecurity, or incompetence when it comes to doing something new, something that puts you in the public spotlight, but nothing worth doing is ever absent a little fear. Use that nervous energy not to suppress yourself, but to take the initiative to step forward into the unknown and believe in your book and in who you are. You can do this!

 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brian Feinblum now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).  This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it 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 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, he has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.