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Book Promo, 101
Introduction to Book Promotional Basics My pen name is Nikki Leigh and in the chapters that follow I'll share information which will help you learn how to promote your book. I've worked in promotional and marketing work for over fifteen years in a wide variety of industries. These include: video rental and sales, a franchise pizza business, furniture sales, a chiropractic office, home improvement office, and my business consulting and web design company. When I signed a contract for my first novel, I had to learn how to promote my books. Most types of promotion are similar although each product or service is a little different. So, I knew a background in marketing would be an advantage. At that point, I needed to learn the ins and outs of book promotion and online promotion. There's no doubt the Internet offers a lot of possibilities and I needed to learn how to use those options. At that point, the search was on for free and inexpensive ways to promote my books. The Book Promo 101 series is a way for me to share the things I've learned in the last fifteen years and the last several years in book promotion. Many authors I know don't really want to take the time away from writing to promote, but what's the point of having your work published--if no one reads it? From the things I've heard, most authors don't have a promotional background. I hope that putting the information I've gathered into a book that's easy to understand will be helpful. Book Promo 101 is the first book in a series that I plan to write. Book Promo 101 is about the basics of book promotion. It will give you information about many kinds of promotion. In the upcoming books, I will focus on a specific type of promotion in more detail. http://www.muzesmusings.blogspot.com Let me tell you a little about myself and my background. I started writing seriously in the summer of 2002. At that point I wrote on weekends and the rare vacations from work. I completed the draft of my first book in 2003. Of course, I edited it for the longest time and started my second book. In the summer of 2004, I signed my first contract and the book was released in March 2006. In the mean time, I polished the second book and it was contracted by another publisher and released in January 2006. At the time this book is released, I have four novels in print and four business books in print. In the summer of 2005, I left my day job and dove into freelancing fulltime (not the best idea) and I began writing non fiction that fall. I ghostwrote four marketing manuals for a variety of businesses and three other books. These projects were reasonably simple with my background in business management and promotion. These ghostwriting projects included marketing manuals for massage therapists, marketing for e-book authors, the benefits of joint ventures for therapists and a promotional book for ice cream shop owners. In addition, I signed a contract for another promotional ghostwriting project for alternative medicine therapists for another client in England. I won't lie to you--promotion and marketing are enjoyable and frustrating endeavors. That's why we all continue to learn and hone our promotional skills, just like we continue to learn and hone our writing skills. This is especially true with Internet promotion since the options are always changing and new opportunities present themselves almost everyday. Promotional work is something that anyone can learn. It can seem kind of mysterious and intimidating, but you can learn to promote your books. My goal with this series of books is to give you a variety of promotional options to market your books. Not every idea will work for you. It's better to read through the ideas and make a list of the things you think are right for you. If your list is really small, I suggest that you push outside your comfort zone. Give yourself the freedom to try new things and push the boundaries. Be honest with yourself about what you can do. If you decide to try every single possibility, you'll spread yourself too thin. Try several things that seem simple. At that point, try something that's a bit harder. If you try a promotional option and you can't do it or you aren't getting results, move on to something else. That's why there is a wide variety of promotional options. There should be many that will work for everyone who reads the book. I facilitate a series of character development classes and I tell the students in those classes to read the lessons with an open mind. I also tell them that they will learn much more with an open mind and the courage to try new things. That same advice works for each person that reads the books in this series. As your promotional abilities develop, you should review your list of promotional options for a second time. Things are always changing and as our abilities improve, more things are possible. That's one of the things that make promotional work interesting for some people and frustrating for other people. Within the pages of this book, I'll share tips and suggestions from some of my friends. These sections are titled "Professional Promoters Share Their Tips". I've rounded up some great promotional tips. At the end of each chapter, there is a series of questions. Some are very easy and you'll find the answers in the chapter. However, some are meant to make you think and find ways to apply the things you learned to your promotional work. The idea is to help you spread your promotional wings and find new ways to promote yourself and your books. My books are published with an e-publisher and I have e-books and POD (print on demand) print books. So, I totally understand the difficulties that POD and e-book authors face everyday. Most of the suggestions in this book will work for e-published, traditional published and self published authors. I'm creating the Book Promo--Writer's Resource e-book. It's over 100 pages with thousands of links to information for writers. There are many types of links and information to help you in your writing, your research and your promotion. These are some of the many topics that are included:
Chapter 1 Develop a Marketing Mind Each author has a responsibility to promote their books. Some large publishing companies offer some promotional assistance. Bestselling and well known authors get plenty of promotion, but those of us who are lesser known, need to do the majority of our promotion--ourselves. I could hide that fact from you, but it won't help in the long run. So, it's better to accept that it's a fact in each author's life. A word to any publishers who read this book--we appreciate any promotional assistance our publishers can offer, but we understand the majority of this work is our responsibility. Before you begin to promote your book, it's good to develop a marketing mind. Anyone can learn to promote and I'll help you develop the mind set and identify the traits that are needed to be an effective promoter. Let's start with the way to develop a marketing mindset. Adjust Your Mindset * * * There are many interesting ways to promote your book, both online and off. We'll discuss a lot of different ideas in this book. There are many free or inexpensive techniques you can use and these are my favorite things. Not all ideas are free and some will cost you money, but many aren't expensive. I'll be honest with you that these promotional ideas require your time and effort. You have the alternative of hiring someone to do these things for you and we'll talk about that in chapter 3. Most of the ideas we'll discuss aren't complicated. I've included the links to many web sites to make your search easier. Most of these ideas can be implemented by anyone. My hope is that you'll refer back to this book and continue to learn from it for years to come. Many authors I talk with think marketing and promotion are beyond their abilities. I managed a business for a man about ten years ago and he never wanted to discuss advertising for the business. His usual response was that advertising "was that dirty 'A' word". Are you the type of person who believes that promotion is a dirty word or that it's beyond your ability? Advertising and promotion are not bad words. In fact they are essential for a successful business and for authors who want to get their books into the hands of readers. Promotion can take many shapes and the type of promotion you choose depends on whether you promote online or off-line. These are some of the considerations that will be important in your promotional decisions and activities. The marketing avenues depend on the type of books you're promoting. What sort of promotional work would you be able to do? Is online promotion better since you don't have to interact face to face?
Promotional Professionals Share Their Tips Mary Cox-Bilz and Arline Chase Do whatever you have to do to overcome fear of rejection. You can use affirmations to help yourself get over your fears. Humans are funny creatures. If we hear something often enough, we begin to believe it. Go ahead, talk to yourself. 'I have written an excellent book!' Say it to yourself a hundred times a day, if you need to. Instead of wondering if you will ever be as good a writer as (insert name of favorite author here) say instead. 'I have done my personal best. My work is unique and worthwhile. ' Use these affirmations to help boost your self-confidence. Writing is not a competition, it's a shared effort. Some writers even go so far as to record their affirmations on cassettes and listen to them while they write and sometimes even while they sleep. You didn't invest all those hours and all that work in your book for nothing. In communication, writing is half the act. Reading is the other half. The only way for readers to do their part is for them to notice your book. To be successful, your little book must attract attention. Therefore, your job is to wave your book in the air everywhere you go. Do everything you can to attract those readers who will fulfill the other half of the commitment. Self-promotion, a key to creating sales, is a strange and uncomfortable concept that many writers want to avoid. Don't ask, Why bother? Ask instead, Why not? Whether we hesitate from shyness, or fear of looking foolish, in the writing business it doesn't pay to hesitate when book sales hang in the balance. Take every opportunity to let people know about your book. Don't hang back, or stop to wonder if you might make a fool of yourself. By the age of eighteen, all of us have made fools of ourselves enough times to know that it's not fatal. In fact, a little tomfoolery can go a long way in getting people to remember you and your work. We promise you, Nobody ever died of embarrassment.
Arline Chase and Mary Cox (Bilz) Pace How to Promote, Advertise & Market Your Published Book http://www.cambridgebookds.us
Three Facets of Marketing There are three facets to marketing. It helps when you understand the differences. This is an initial step in developing your promotional mindset. The facets include: 1--Advertising 2--Promotion 3--Publicity You may be asking--what do those things mean? The following overview gives you an idea of what's included in these marketing possibilities.
Advertising Advertising includes any paid ads. It can include newspapers, radio, TV and online paid ads. The bad news--this is usually expensive and especially since you need to repeat your ads to get results. The good news--there are plenty of alternatives. Even if you have a big budget, it never hurts to find inexpensive ways to advertise your business. Most authors aren't able to shell out big money for print ads, so we will discuss plenty of options. Promotion Promotion is a broad category and there are many possibilities and price ranges, from free to expensive. You can use promotion to distribute information about the books you have to offer. It includes your personal sales, sales by stores, placing your books for sale with others, distribution avenues and much more. The most effective way to promote is with a combination of possibilities. Over time each author discovers which options are better for them. You also learn which promotional possibilities don't work for you or your books. You need to understand--not every option works for every author or for every book. The goal of promotion is to increase sales, get exposure for new and existing books, to gain a realistic chance against other books and to develop a "brand" for your books. (We'll talk about "branding" in more detail in chapter 8. ) Publicity Publicity includes advertising of any kind. It has the potential to reach large audiences and give you a lot of exposure. Publicity can increase the shape and scope of your marketing campaign. It's important to find opportunities for the right promotion to benefit your books. Targeted publicity which attracts your target market will be the most beneficial. When you think of marketing, remember the skills you used to write your book and to land that contract. Those accomplishments required persuasion, conviction and motivation on your part. Marketing requires the same attributes. We'll discuss these attributes and how they will help you promote and grow your book sales in upcoming chapters.
Promotional Professionals Share Their Tips Stacey Kannenberg I have a shoestring budget so marketing has been the key to my publishing success. I share my story with everyone: in line at the grocery store, at sporting events, at the dentist office and in the airport security line! I write educational books and it seems that everyone knows someone who is a teacher! People I don't even know get so excited about my mission that they share my story with other people who are key decision makers! I developed an e-mail pitch that I send out virally to schools, media and to parent sites that might be interested in reviewing my books or sharing my story. I take out "Google Alerts" on words such as "kindergarten" and e-mail my pitch to those media outlets that are posting Kindergarten stories. Some e-mail me and use my book as a follow up story to an article they just wrote! I subscribe to every great free site that has value: The Publicity Hounds for great ideas, The Navigator for media contacts, The Gift List for product placement leads, Dan Poynter's Marketplace for sharing my story for book placement with other authors who are writing books, Angela Hoy's Writer's Weekly for media and writing leads, Hope Clark's fund for writers for grant and media opportunities and Levine's Breaking News where I can post a free 30 word ad to go to 222,000 people! Stacey Kannenberg--Award-winning Author of Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let's Get Ready For First Grade! www.cedarvalleypublishing.com
Qualities of a Great Marketing Person
Some key qualities of a great promotional person are: Determination Persistence An open mind Curiosity
Determined or Persistent--Which Are You First, let's talk about determination and persistence. These are two qualities that some people feel are positive, but other people consider them to be negative. The difference can depend on how these qualities are exhibited. Determination and persistence are positive traits, but you can drive people crazy if you're persistent or determined in an irritating way. Be honest with yourself--are you persistent or obnoxious? There is a difference between those two traits. A persistent person sees a project through to the end or until you reach the goal. How do you handle people who aren't interested in your product or service? Do you continue to bother them and pester them when it's clear they aren't interested? The way you handle a difficult or uninterested person reveals a lot about your promotional and sales abilities. A person may develop an interest in you or your book over time. However, if you continue to contact them after they say they aren't interested, they don't get a chance to develop that interest. There are very few people that respond in a positive way when they are pestered and badgered. They may buy your book in order to get you to leave them alone. But, will they make an effort to purchase your next book or recommend it to others? Will they return the book and change their contact information? It's been known to happen. People who use high pressure sales techniques are more apt to have a short term success instead of profitable long term success. A store owner that I worked for had the philosophy that he should take the customer for everything he could while they were in the store. I tried to explain that would never give him lasting success, but he didn't agree. About a year after I stopped working for him, he had to sell the business. People respond better to a good value and they want you to show them what your book has to offer to them.
Muze's Musings We aren't suggesting that you give up too easily when you approach a potential reader or a store owner about selling your books. Over time you'll learn to distinguish when the person is testing you and when they aren't interested. You can limit the number of rejections by learning about stores and potential readers before you approach them. Are they "a fit" for your book? If not, it's possible they will refuse to buy your books.
It's possible to get good results without being irritating. Be enthusiastic and persistent, but learn to take 'no' for an answer if necessary. Make the rejection positive by asking for any specific reasons why the person isn't interested. You can use these comments to improve your approach or your next book. It can also help you get a better view of the sort of person who is a part of your target audience. An effective promotional person can learn something from every 'yes' and from every 'no'.
Keep Your Mind Open About Promotional Opportunities Keeping an open mind will help you search for ways to improve your approach, your books, your web site and more. Keep your eyes and mind open for ways to improve. Everyone can find ways to improve. Your readers and web site visitors and blog visitors can offer useful input. When you get a chance, ask them what they like and what they don't like about your work. Have you ever thought about adding a "suggestion box" on your web site? This could be an interesting way to get feedback from readers. Or, you could have a contest and give people an entry for each useful suggestion they offer. But, if you ask for feedback--be prepared for some negative comments. Remember that you can usually learn from the negative things people say. This doesn't mean that every suggestion will be a valuable nugget of information. We never know where the best ideas will originate. Give people the opportunity to share their thoughts and suggestions. Take some time to consider each suggestion before deciding if you can use the idea. Many suggestions have helped me come up with new thoughts and ideas. If you get suggestions that are truly useless, then toss them out. Few suggestions are fantastic ideas, but you'll never discover the golden nuggets with a closed mind. Curiosity Can Be A Wonderful Promotional Quality Are you a curious person? Do you like to learn more about the things and people around you? Find a way to use that inborn curiosity to offer better books for your readers. Whether you're offering one book or twenty books, you can always find ways to promote them better. Curiosity gives you a chance to stretch your creativity abilities. This is a great opportunity to "think outside the box". Open your mind and let your imagination run free. Focus those ideas to your product or service and your web site. This doesn't mean everything you do or try will be perfect. You still need to make adjustments, but it gets better with each change and adjustment. Definitions of "Thinking Outside the Box" Thinking outside the box is a clichι or catchphrase which refers to looking at a problem from a new perspective without preconceptions, sometimes called a process of lateral thought. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outside_the_box Thinking inside the box means accepting the status quo Thinking outside the box requires different attitudes that include: Willingness to view new perspectives on day-to-day work. Openness to do different things and to do things differently. Focusing on the value of finding new ideas and acting on them. Striving to create value in new ways. Listening to others. Supporting and respecting others when they have new ideas. Out-of-the box thinking requires being open to new ways of seeing the world and a willingness to explore. Out-of-the box thinkers know that new ideas need nurturing and support. They also know that having an idea is good but acting on it is more important. Results are what count.
http://www.canadaone.com/ezine/april02/out_of_the_box_thinking.html
Promotional activities include a lot of trial and error. Each time you try something new, make notes about how it worked out and what problems were associated with them. This gives you information to use the next time you try that promotional activity or something similar. Each of the qualities mentioned in this chapter will help you get the most out of your promotional experiences. You may not believe me, but promotional work can be a lot of fun and a totally new creative outlet. The years before I got serious about my writing, my promotional work was my favorite creative outlet.
Exercises to help you learn more:
1. Is it necessary to hire a professional to promote your book? 2. Can authors learn to promote themselves and their books? 3. What are the three facets of marketing? 4. Name the four qualities of a great marketing person. 5. Why should you think 'outside the box' when dealing with promotions? 6. Give an example of a way to think 'inside the box'. 7. Give an example of thinking 'outside the box'. 8. Should you to listen to ideas and suggestions from others? Why? 9. Write a 100-200 word description of your book. 10. Put together a list of target audiences for your book. Explain why you chose these types of people.
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