What’s Your Standard For Marketing Your Book?

 

To live a good, full life, it seems to me that one has to live by some type of standard, something that grounds them. You then measure your actions against the standard you have set for yourself. The same could be true for your approach to book marketing.

 

So, what type of standard should you set for yourself?

 

Presumably, the first thing to look at are your goals. Why are you marketing your book and what do you hope to accomplish? Your answer may include one or more of these answers:

 

·         Sell more books

·         Get more readers

·         Establish your brand

·         Have a certain message spread to impact society

·         Lead to increased web traffic

·         Get more social media followers

·         Sell other products/services

·         turn a book into a movie

·         Garner a big publishing deal

·         Score 15 minutes of fame (ego)

 

Once you know your why and set measurable, attainable goals for yourself, you need a plan to get you there. You will have a vision, create a mission, and explore what specifics must be executed to enable the achievement of your goals.

 

So, not every marketing plan is the same -- goals vary and the means to achieve an end also vary. It also depends on what you are willing or are able to do – and at what cost.

 

For instance, if your goal is to sell 1,000 books over the next six months, you may look at methods that can net you that many sales – but they will come at a loss.

 

You can get 1000 sales if you lower your book price, advertise it heavily, pay influencers to push it, hire a marketing firm and bundle the book purchase with a give-away. It may end up costing you $10,000+ to do this and you won’t show a profit, but you will have achieved your goal of 1,000 sales in a specific time period.

 

So, we should modify our goals and temper them – unless the goal-at-any-cost is a priority. Think long and hard about what you want and what you are willing to sacrifice, risk, or pay to get it.

 

Let’s say your goal is to market your book, but you set a budget, and once that runs out, you cease the promotions. That only makes sense if (a) You lack new, viable options to promote your book, or (b) You spent wisely but saw such poor results that you don’t believe more of the same makes sense. Some people, however, give up too quickly, too early. You need to give your book time to break through and you need to try multiple ways to promote it before throwing in the towel.

 

Most writers are focused on their writing output, and less so on marketing. They either don’t know what to do, don’t do it well, or don’t have the patience, time or money to do it right. And yet, you can put out 20 books, each better than any bestseller, but no one will ever read it unless you market, market, market.

 

Set a standard for your book marketing and contract with yourself to demand more from yourself. Make marketing a priority and use it to achieve the goals that your writing deserves to see they are met.

 

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 4.4 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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