Do You Assess Your Book Marketing Periodically?

 

Ever since I got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis some 25 years ago, I have had to get a colonoscopy every year thereafter. Hang in there to take in a book marketing lesson.

The test itself is fine but the preparation blows. You drink disgusting stuff that makes you go to the bathroom in a hurry — and often — but also makes you feel like you want to throw up. But the best part of this annual ritual is the 15- or 20-minute deep snooze that occurs once the anesthesia kicks in.

It amazes me how one second I am totally alert, and then the next, out cold. When I awake, I feel I am reborn, as if returning from somewhere but really nowhere. It is a sleep like no other, like a power nap in Heaven.

I recall that moment of being knocked out but then my personal DVR shows a blank stream for the time I was out. I felt like I dreamed, but did not recall any specifics.

That brief sleep makes me feel transformed. I just gave into the moment, helpless to fight it, and I awoke tired, but fully alert. Once they throw me some crackers and apple juice, which are welcomed after 39 hours of fasting, I am ready to hear what my doctor found. It is an anxious moment, but it passes quickly as he tells me good news. Every year of the last 25 has put me in an unenviable position of judgment, where modern technology and my doctor tell me if I can continue to live a normal life — or not.

The reason I get tested every year vs adults 50 and over, with no colon disease history who do this once a decade, is to be ahead of my disease. I am at a higher risk for colon cancer and I could be sick before feeling symptoms.

We can apply the same approach to your book marketing. Test and analyze the state of health for your book marketing. Do a quick audit to measure what you are doing and to see if you need to make changes.

To assess success, you need a metric to look at. The bottom line, of course, is to have an answer to: How many books were sold. But along the way, there are other metrics of quantity and quality to look at, such as:

* How many public appearances have I done or scheduled?

* What is my social media follower total up to?

* Is my blog or podcast, if I have either or both, seeing more signups and readers/listeners?

* How many professional book reviews do I have? Amazon customer reviews? Goodreads reviews?

* How much traffic is my website getting? How many downloads of my site’s free download have I generated?

* How many news media appearances — interviews, feature stories, and byline articles —did I generate?

* How many book awards or writing contests did I apply to? Get recognition from?

* Am I getting more sales-through clicks on my advertisements?

Of course, what you want to see is that your numbers are growing, the quality is improving, and that you feel your momentum is trending upward. The sales will come when you follow the process and execute a thorough and comprehensive media plan.

Like my colonoscopy results, you may not be cured of the writing disease known as author obscurity and anonymity, but you could hear positive results and know that you are on a healing path to success.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four 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

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.25 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.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum 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 as the director of publicity 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.

 

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).

 

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. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

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.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum