The Savvy Book Marketer

No Platform, No Problem! How to Build a Community for Your Book.

Building a strong platform and community are essential to a successful book launch. In this guest post, book marketing expert Joel Pitney shares his practical tips for developing a network of people and organizations who can help launch your book to success.

Some of us are natural born networkers. You know the type - they never lunch alone, they seem to specialize in connecting people in ways that benefit both parties, they have no problem promoting themselves or their projects or ideas in ways that aren’t off-putting.

In my experience, most authors aren't natural born networkers (if you're an exception, my apologies). We tend to be more of the wallflower types, happy to write and create and let others do the talking and promoting. But in this day and age, most authors can’t afford to sit on the sidelines and more and more is being demanded of us to actively promote our own work. In fact, when it comes to launching a book, networking—or learning how to best leverage your networks—is perhaps the single most important factor driving your success. As I like to say, "It takes a village to launch a book."

The good news is that even the least networky among us can still employ strategies to help build and rally a tribe to promote our book. Most people I work with are surprised by how many people they already have in their lives who are willing to help them out in promoting their books. And with a little time and dedication, they find that the process of building new relationships is much easier and more rewarding than they ever would have expected.

Of course, networking can be difficult, so I’ve put together a step-by-step battle plan that I use to help people leverage and grow their networks, or what I like to call “relationship ecosystems.”

Overcome Your Fear of Book Marketing

In today's guest post, novelist Louise Cole shares some advice about overcoming your fear of book marketing and talks about her participation in the Kindle Scout program.

Whether authors are traditionally published or self-published, they are usually beset with an overwhelming fear of marketing. Of stepping out from behind the page and revealing themselves. Many of us are well suited to a job where we spend most of the day alone, thinking ourselves sociable if we talk to more than our family and the cat. We live in our heads, our imaginations, our creative cave. It can be both daunting and jarring to present yourself alongside your book, to say: ‘Yes, that’s mine. Whether you liked it or hated it, it was my creation.”

Unfortunately for writers, the days when a publisher had a large professional marketing team to introduce your books to readers is long gone. More than 99% of the writers published today end up doing the bulk of their own marketing. And that marketing is more personal, more revealing of who we are than ever before. Why? Because it takes place in the social media arena where people do not just want to buy your book, or ask shyly for an autograph. They want to be your friend, to discuss things with you, to have a relationship based on equality.

Writers therefore need to be prepared to see themselves as a brand but a brand whose values are egalitarian, sociable and welcoming. I had to face up to this myself not so long ago. I decided to put one of my novels on Kindle Scout. I did this for two reasons. One, I actually think Amazon is offering a pretty good deal to writers, if their campaign is successful. And two, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and be forced to have a marketing strategy. Kindle Scout takes a relentless 30-day campaign, and you need to reach readers in ways you have never tried or thought of before.

Why Successful Authors Give Away Free Books

Did you know that some of the most successful authors are giving away their work?

In fact there are several ways that authors can profit from giving away free ebooks, reports and other valuable content:

KDP Select

The main reason authors sign up for Amazon’s KDP Select program is to be able to give away free copies of their book on Amazon for five days out of every 90 days. These “free days” tend to generate lots of downloads, push books up the bestseller ranking for their niche, and generate reviews.

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to KDP Select, so you’ll need to decide if this program makes sense for you. Recently I wrote a detailed article in my book marketing newsletter about the pros and cons of KDP Select. (If you aren't already getting my newsletter, sign up here.) 

PermaFree Ebooks on Online Bookstores

Some authors give away free ebooks on Kindle and other bookstores all the time! Recently I had the chance to interview Shelley Hitz about this highly effective strategy for growing your mailing list. Get the details in this podcast. 

Mailing List Bonuses

Once you get people to your website, it’s important to persuade them to sign up for your email list so you can continue to communicate with them. The most effective way to increase a mailing list is to offer an “opt-in bonus” to everyone who signs up.

Nonfiction authors typically give away a free ebook or report, or some kind of a useful template or tool. On my website, I offer a free report, How to Create a Book Marketing Plan That Sells Books.

Build a Solid Foundation for Book Promotion

It’s important to have a strong foundation in place for promoting your book.

The first step is to start “building your author platform” –  in other words you need to develop a reputation, connections, and online followers.

Building a platform takes time, so it’s best to start as early as possible (ideally when you decide to write a book). Here are some essential steps to platform building:

• Decide how to brand yourself and your business. (I use Dana Lynn Smith and Savvy Book Marketer.)

• Write a strong author bio and get a good author photo made.

• Create accounts and profiles on all relevant social networks.
  

• Buy the right domain name(s) for your website.

• Build an author website. It can be improved and expanded over time, but it’s best to at least get the home page up early.

Buying your domain names and creating social network accounts as early as possible increases the odds of you getting the names that you want, and it allows you to coordinate the branding across networking platforms.

Once you have these pieces in place, begin developing your platform by networking, commenting on blogs and forums, and writing articles for blogs and publications. Over time your reputation and following will grow.

Once your book is published, be sure to write compelling sales copy (the book description), optimize your Amazon sales page, and continue to improve and add content to your website.

With this strong foundation in place, your book launch and ongoing promotions will be much more effective.

If your book has already been out for a while, review these steps and see if there are any areas where you might make improvements. And remember to do something every day to promote yourself or your book!

Photo courtesy of RBerteig on Flickr, via Creative Commons License.

Conquer Author Overwhelm

by Dana Lynn Smith

Let's face it – writing, publishing and promoting books is a lot of work. Sometimes authors can feel overwhelmed with all of the things they need to do. Here are some tips for coping with the myriad of tasks authors face:

Know Thyself

How many hours per day or week can you realistically spend on your publishing business? Block out the time on your calendar like any other appointment.

Are you a morning or evening person? Do you work best in short bursts or long sessions? Find the best time for you to work productively.

Are you easily distracted or prone to procrastination? Develop strategies to combat that.

Find a Balance

One of the best ways to make more money from your publishing venture is to publish more books. But it can be a challenge to find time to write new books while you are promoting your existing books. You'll need to consider your own situation and work style to find a way to balance writing, publishing, and promotion.

For example, I tried writing for one hour a day, but I've found it's much more productive for me to work on a book in large blocks of time so I can dig in and really focus. So I tend to put marketing on hold for a few weeks when I'm working on a new book. But another system may work better for you.

Sell More Books This Year!

Each new year brings the promise of new beginnings and new opportunities. As you make the usual resolutions (lose weight, get into shape, save more money) be sure to add one more: develop an effective book marketing plan and take action to implement it.

Now is the time to write your book marketing plan, or update your existing plan. Once you have a strategy, then schedule promotional tasks for specific days, weeks and months of the year. For help with your plan, get my free report, Create a Book Marketing Plan That Sells Books. 

If you’re a long-time follower of the Savvy Book Marketer, you’ve probably noticed I haven’t been around much the past year, due to family issues. I’m excited to be back and looking forward to sharing lots of new book marketing tools and advice to help you sell more books. 

• I’ve just completed a “makeover” for my website, with a brand-new header and new elements in the sidebar. After six years, it was time for a change!

• This month I’ll resume regular blogging and email newsletters. Subscribe here to get updates via email or RSS feed each time a new article is posted on this blog.

• If you aren’t sure whether you are on my newsletter list, try signing up here and you’ll get an error message if you’re already subscribed.

• From time to time, I also send out marketing tips related specifically to promoting fiction, nonfiction and children’s books. Register here to get advice tailored to the kind of books you write.

• During the year I’ll be updating some of my existing book marketing guidebooks and author training programs and adding several new ones. Stay tuned for more details.

• My new book marketing podcast will be launching in a few weeks - subscribe now so you won’t miss any episodes!

It’s going to be a great year and I hope you’ll join me as we continue to explore the best ways to sell more books.

And don’t forget to get your book marketing strategies down in writing now and do something every day to promote your book – even if it’s just a quick email or social post. Each action you take moves you closer to your goals.

I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year – and lots of book sales!

 

Why Marketing Your Book is Like Trying to Lose Weight

In today's guest post, Chris Weber shares some clever tips for getting your book marketing on track (and losing a few pounds!)

Why Marketing Your Book is Like Trying to Lose Weight

The weight-loss business is a booming industry that makes billions of dollars a year, and yet the people trying to lose weight often feel isolated, frustrated, and confused. Sound like any other industry you know?

 Authors trying to market their books share a lot of characteristics with people who are trying to lose weight - and successful strategies for weight-loss are surprisingly transferable to successful book marketing.

 In the following post, we’ll show you how using these strategies can help you lose your book marketing anxiety – and keep it off!

The Problem: You set unrealistic goals for yourself

It’s natural to want to set a big, audacious goal for yourself so that when you achieve it, you feel like you’ve really done something amazing! The problem is that big goals are really hard, and take a long time – and can sometimes even make failure more likely.

Why Self-Publishing Authors Must Think Like a Publisher

So many authors write for their love of writing or their desire to share their story or message, but if we want to sell books, it's important to treat publishing like a business. In today's guest post Stacey Aaronson discusses the mindset of thinking like a publisher. 

Why Self-Publishing Authors Must Think Like a Publisher

After working with over twenty independent authors over the past two years as their editor, book designer, and publishing partner, one glaring issue has come to light:

The majority of self-publishing authors don’t realize that they can’t merely think like a writer; they must think like a publisher—if, that is, they want to sell books.

The thing is, it’s not easy for writers to shift into this mode of thinking—and I would venture to guess that most writers don’t even know they should be thinking this way before they even begin a manuscript. As a writer myself, I confess I didn’t consider the publisher’s mentality until I became a book production professional in the indie publishing realm, so I know firsthand how foreign it can seem.

But here’s the unsavory truth: the various self-publishing portals that have opened the door for would-be authors to get a book into readers’ hands are great, but many writers are running to upload all degrees of manuscripts—from the languishing and rejected, to the unedited and poorly designed—without honoring the legacy of traditional publishing. In short, thousands of substandard books are entering the literary marketplace because a multitude of writers are sadly stuck not only in ego mode, but in the belief that producing a book is somehow not a craft and an art. If we don’t want to destroy the reputation of books altogether—and if we want to reap a financial benefit as an author—this mindset has to change.

How to Use Subtitles for Targeted Book Marketing

by Dana Lynn Smith

Adding subtitles to books is an effective way to appeal to potential customers and increase the odds of a book being found online. Subtitles are useful for both fiction and nonfiction and they can even be added to books that are already published.

Nonfiction Subtitles

Nonfiction books often have a short, catchy main title, followed by a longer, more descriptive subtitle. The subtitle is a good place to clarify the benefits of the book, identify the target audience, and include keywords that people might search for online. Here are some sample subtitles:

• 15 Ways Young Adults Can Build Good Credit
• The Easy Way for New Mothers to Lose Weight
• A 10 Step Plan for First Time Entrepreneurs

Novel Subtitles

Subtitles can also be effective in promoting novels. They are especially useful in clarifying the genre or storyline, identifying the target audience, and in denoting series books. Here are some fiction subtitle examples:

Book Party: Five Steps to Success

I'm pleased to welcome back Ellen Cassedy with today's guest post on how to plan for a successful book promotion party. Book parties are often used as part of the launch of a new book, but keep in mind that you can also plan a party to celebrate a book that's been out for a while. 

Book Party:  Five Steps to Success

I recently hosted a book party for my poet friend, Yermiyahu Ahron Taub, whose new book is Prayers of a Heretic (Plain View Press). A big success! Follow these five steps and you can’t go wrong.

1. Make a plan 

Ask a friend to host. The emotional support is priceless, and you won’t have to worry about cleaning up your own place. Instead you can focus on getting ready to present your book.

Choose a convenient time. Ours was Sunday afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. 

Don’t be afraid too few people will come. Right from the start, Ahron and I agreed that we’d go ahead with the party even if numbers were small. A book party is great practice for talking about and reading from your book, and the contact with supportive listeners – no matter how many or how few – supplies you with energy and confidence for doing more.

Don’t worry that too many people will come. If some guests have to stand, that’s fine – and exciting! My place isn’t huge, and we didn’t have a chair for everyone, but we made it work.

3 Top Strategies to Guarantee Book Sales

In today's guest post, author and online marketing expert Kathleen Gage shares her top book promotion strategies. This post is part of the launch for her terrific new book, Power Up for Profits.

3 Top Strategies to Guarantee Book Sales

“Writing the book is the easy part. Then begins the work,” went a recent conversation I had with a new author.

Peggy (not her real name) was incredibly excited about her recently released book. Like many first time authors, she was convinced the book would take on a life of its own and somehow, someway be found by an agent. The agent would then find a big name publisher. The big name publisher would get Peggy on a bunch of major shows.

I have watched this scene unfold countless times with naive authors. The fact is, as an author it is up to you to take control of marketing and promoting your book.

If you’re serious about selling books you have to put more effort into marketing your book than writing it.

Recently I surveyed a group of several hundred authors. "What's your greatest challenge with marketing and selling your book(s)?" was the only question asked.

The results were as follows:

• 38% knowledge
• 33% time
• 17% money
• 7% fear
• 5% other

Sadly, even when many authors are told they must market their book they fail to get into massive action to raise awareness about their works.

4 Steps to Take Charge of Your Book Launch

In today's guest post, Shannon from Duolit shares some words of wisdom for planning a successful book launch. Keep in mind that book launch tactics are not just for new books - they can also be used to jump-start sales of books that have been out for a while.

4 Steps to Take Charge of Your Book Launch

I made a huge mistake with my first book.

I got caught up in the excitement of finally finishing my manuscript that I rushed straight through to the publishing part, ready to share my book with the world and watch the sales roll in.  

A few purchases from family and friends took me through my first week, but then things took a nosedive. In the absence of anything close to a marketing strategy, my big book launch was less like the roar of a space shuttle lift-off and more like the fizzle of a bottle rocket dud.

I learned my lesson the hard way.

Like all the kids say these days, it’s all about YOLO: You Only Launch Once.

(That is what the acronym stands for, right?)

So how can you take control of your book launch and make it count? How can you set the proper tone and put your sales on a good growth trajectory from the outset?

You just need to follow these four steps and the sky’s the limit for your book launch (pun intended).

7 Ways Friends Can Support Your Book (and How To Ask For Their Help)

In today's guest post, book publicity expert Sandra Beckwith shares some great ideas for enlisting friends (and colleagues) to help spread the word about your book, without being a pest.

7 Ways Friends Can Support Your Book (and How To Ask For Their Help)

I recently read an article that detailed seven ways people could support their author friends. It was well-done and offered the type of specific information I'm always looking for, but honestly, it felt a little . . . well . . . self-centered. I mean, really, am I supposed to expect my friends to ask me how they can promote my book?  Or, worse, am I self-absorbed enough to think that my friends are using Google to find ways they can support my book marketing? I could never send any of them a link to that article with a note saying, "Please read this and see what you can do.

I'm also one of those people who would never say, "Please buy my book." But that was one of the suggestions in this article - "buy the book." Most of my friends aren't interested in my book topics, so why would they buy any of them? Your book might be different, of course, but my books are on business topics and many of my friends are social workers, teachers, and so on.

In  reality,  while our friends think it's "cool" that we're authors, it probably doesn't even occur to most of them that they are  in  a  position  to  help us get the word out. It's our responsibility to ask for that help. The challenge is in finding a way to make the request in a way that works for you - not me, not my friends, and not another author.

Here are some things you will want to consider asking friends to do along with suggestions for making your request something they can act on quickly and easily. You might not be comfortable with all of these suggestions, but there might also be a way for you to get the end result with a different approach.

1. Share information about your book with the "right" people in their e-mail address books.

Remember that you didn't write your book  for everyone. You wrote it for a specialized audience, whether  it's  fiction  or  nonfiction. (Not everybody likes mysteries,  right?)  It's  okay to ask your friends to share information about your book with their networks, but when doing so, make it clear that you realize .that they might want to be selective about who they share the information with. Send an e-mail  that  describes  the book, explains who will find it interesting, details how they will benefit from reading it, and includes a link to an online purchase site. Suggest that they forward that information to appropriate people.

The Book Marketing Snowball

In today's guest post, book marketing expert Terry Cordingley shares his wisdom on the process of book marketing. In developing your marketing plan, remember that everything you do builds your platform and momentum and moves you to the next level.

The Book Marketing Snowball

I was recently speaking on the phone with a new author whose first book was just getting ready to go to print, explaining how book signings work, why authors do them, the importance of niche marketing, how distribution works, etc., when I got this question:

"Well, that's all well and good, but how do we get my book into Walmart?  They would sell a million copies of my book!"

I then explained that marketing a book is like rolling a snowball down a hill.  When it first starts rolling, it is a small snowball. As it continues to roll down the hill, it gradually gets larger and larger. By the time it reaches the bottom of the hill, it is significantly bigger than it was when it started. 

When a new, unknown author first becomes published, their book is the small snowball. It may go unnoticed at first, but with persistent promotion it will continue to grow. It may not grow as fast as the author wants it to, but in order to keep the sales and exposure going, the author and publisher must continue to keep pushing it down the hill. If the author stops promoting their work, what happens?  The snowball isn't going to get any larger, and neither will the book sales.

 

Use Relationship Marketing to Sell Books

by Dana Lynn Smith

Relationships with other people and organizations that cater to your target market can be incredibly valuable in promoting your book. Here are some steps to developing and leveraging relationships:

1. Identify the places that your prospects turn for information about your topic.

Search the internet to compile a list of the top websites, blogs, ezines, magazines, newsletters, online forums, books, ebooks, clubs and association that cater to your target market or cover your topic. For example, if your book is about fly fishing, search on terms such as “fly fishing blogs” and “fly fishing magazines.” Placing the search term in quotes may yield better results.

You can determine the popularity of a website, relative to other sites on your list, by looking at its Alexa rank. Click the Alexa Toolbar link on the Alexa site to download the toolbar. Blog directories such as Technorati and Google Blog Search are great for locating blogs on a specific topic.

To find forums and discussion groups, search Yahoo Groups and Google Groups. Search Amazon and Google for books and ebooks on related topics that appeal to your target markets, but don't compete directly with your book. Then locate the author's website.