What's Your Book Marketing Plan?

There are many pieces to the book marketing puzzle that are available to authors. The question is: What will work best for a specific book and author?  

Most authors execute sone type of a grass roots campaign, to build interest locally and within their network of connections. Too many stop there.  

Others may outsource every aspect of marketing, which is becoming financially untenable and just is not practical.  

Some combine the best of both — the hiring of an expert to complement, support, or expand upon your efforts.  

Some things are universal, regardless of a book’s genre or an author’s status. What is up for grabs is how well each author does in each of these areas— and to what percentage of their marketing mix is generated by each area.  

Authors should ask themselves why they are marketing their books. They must know what their goals are so that they can judge whether an activity can potentially serve what they seek to accomplish.  

Will the things that you plan to do serve the following needs — and are these your needs?  

* Help you brand yourself

* Gain third-party validation

* Get your message out there

* Build a media or speaking resume

* Generate additional readers

* Lead to more customer book reviews

* Yield more sales

* Land you a literary agent or publishing deal

* Sell foreign language or film rights

 

Figure out, to what degree, that you will:  

* Establish or revise a web site

* Launch or expand your own blog, podcast, or newsletter

* Craft a press kit and various pitch letters

* Develop an elevator pitch

* Submit to book awards

* Buy professional book reviews

* Seek out news media coverage/interviews

* Be active on social media

* Speak publicly about your book at conferences, fairs, events, bookstores, etc.

* Pay for advertising

* Network 

* Secure testimonials and endorsements

 

Design your marketing approach based on your:  

* Prioritized goals or needs

* Skills to execute marketing

* PR budget

* Time available to marketing

* Likelihood of success

 

Then identify:

* Who can help you, for free or a fee

* A marketing plan

* The timeline to execute the plan

* What resources will be needed

 

Are you pursuing to market:

* Locally

* Regionally

* Statewide

* Nationally

* Internationally  

Book marketing is not easy but it becomes more productive and rewarding when you have a clear road map to get to a predetermined destination.   

Do you know where you are going or how to get there? 

 

 

Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum 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 11 million page views. With over 5,700+ posts over the past 15 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 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

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) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, 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