Book
Marketing - An Art and Science to Success
How
you market your book depends on the subject matter, your ability to
speak well on the message, your ability to attract attention for the
book, current trends in the world market, and a variety of other
factors. Regardless of how you specifically market your book,
do not underestimate the time, energy, and tenacity it takes to do it
well.
Among the marketing channels an author should consider are public
relations (PR) kits and press releases to print and broadcast media,
Internet marketing, speaking, exhibiting, catalogs, and special and
premium sales marketing (markets other than bookstores). Your
current client or prospect lists may be your best immediate source of
sales. A book should be one piece of an overall personal or
business marketing plan.
It is important for these three decisions to be made as early in your
process as possible. Do some research and some
soul-searching, and you will be poised to make the most of your hard
work in developing your book.
Book
Marketing Strategy
Your marketing strategy should include what marketing activities you
plan to undertake, along with your budget and timetable for those
activities. What are you going to do to be sure your audience knows
your book is available and the place where it’s being sold?
Most first-time authors are shocked to find out that publishers do very
little marketing on behalf of authors. The traditional
publisher will get your book into its catalog, on its Web site, and
into mainstream distribution and bookstores, but little else.
Publishers allocate a miniscule marketing budget of $500 to $1,000 for
a new title with a new author, which pays for a few hundred flyers,
press releases to the appropriate news organizations and magazines, and
a few dozen review copies to go out on request. Only a few of all books
at the major publishers have marketing budgets of $20,000 or more, the
kind of budget needed to do a credible national marketing campaign.
Effective marketing will start with preparing your resources such as:
• Targeting important endorsers
for testimonials
• Creating a high-impact cover
• Preparing a full and
professional media kit
• Adding to or making a Web site
for you as an author
• Designing appropriate print
collateral materials
You must also decide what will the most effective type of marketing for
your book based on what you like to do:
• Writing articles
• Public speaking
• Email campaigns
• Exhibiting at trade shows or
other events
• Public relations resulting in
interviews in broadcast and print media
• Web promotion and affiliate
sales, perhaps using blogging or podcasting
• A launch part, book tour, or
book signings
Finally, consider how you will get all of these things done.
Do you have the time and resources to do it all yourself? Or
will you hire a virtual assistant, PR professional, speaking or media
coach, writer, or speaking agent to help you?
Each of these items has a cost, either in dollars or in time taken away
from other business money-making activities. The impact of
book marketing time, energy, and money can be negative on your business
unless you plan for it up front. Just be sure you market your business
and your book together.
Make
Connections
The author most likely to succeed makes the best use of her own
connections. Think about whom you know and whom that person
knows. Even if you hire a publicist to carry out your PR
plan, that person can do his or her best work with enthusiastically
proactive author clients. If you expect the publicist to do
it all while you are busy doing other things, then you will probably be
disappointed with him or her.
You have to be not only proactive but also organized and
persistent. Keep a record of every media contact and exposure
you’ve ever had, so you can contact them again when you have
something newsworthy.
Resources: There are some good resources for the new author
to take advantage of cooperative marketing and exhibiting with other
authors and get the most for your marketing dollars. Check
out:
PMA, www.PMA.com,an
international organization of more than 4,000 small publishers who come
together with cooperative marketing programs with joint mailings and
exhibiting.
R.R. Bowker, www.bowker.com,annual
membership $700 to $999 for a
variety of marketing services
BookSense, www.booksense.com,
part of the American Library Association, with marketing opportunities
for small publishers
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