One author, one marketing plan

 by 

Luke Murphy

My marketing started with the writing of my book. I always had a plan, an idea of the plot, but now I had to think about the characters and setting, and I had to think about my target audience in this stage.

I wanted characters who readers could relate to. Characters that were real, not fictional to the point of unbelievable. My protagonist, Calvin Watters, is as real as they come, with faults and weaknesses like us all. Because of my sports background, I wanted Calvin to also have an athletic background. I was a pro hockey player, but I decided that hockey would be fine for a Canadian fan base, but I wanted to cater worldwide, so I chose football. I believe that more people follow football than hockey.

For the setting, I needed a major market in the United States that people would want to read about, so I chose Sin City, Las Vegas. Everyone is interested in this fast-paced, party-all-night lifestyle and city that is party-central.

In today’s society, most people don’t realize that writing a book is more than just putting a good story down on paper. I learned this quickly. Agents and publishers want someone with a “platform”, someone who already has a fan base and is guaranteed to sell books. It’s risky for a publisher to take a chance on a new writer, because there is no telling how many books they will sell, no matter how good that book may be.

In 1999 I graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Marketing, so I felt I had a running start at promoting my work.

It took me two years (working around full time jobs) to complete the first draft of my novel.

I’m going to skip through the writing phase and seeking and agent/publisher, because this post is about actually marketing my début novel.

Once my publishing contract was signed, then the real work began, building my “platform”. I knew that when I signed on with a smaller publisher that the bulk of the promotion load would fall on my shoulders, and I accepted that.

I did four things quickly: created my own website, started a blog, and opened a Facebook page and Twitter account.

Now, I have been fortunate to have had many jobs in my life, jobs that have created interest in not only myself, but what I do.

Here are some things I did next:

-      I scribed a letter to all of my email contacts (2500) and all of my FB friends (2500).

-      I scribed a letter for all of the media outlets (radio, TV, print) in the cities where I played hockey, or have contacts. One of the benefits of playing professional hockey was that I went through a lot of interviews with personalities in all forms of media.

-       I picked out the site for my launch party and spoke with the owner about it.

-       I played hockey for teams and leagues all over North America, creating a fan base in a variety of cities, and also worked in hockey camps, so I already had some followers that I contacted.

-      I was a reporter on the radio for a couple of years after retiring from hockey, and my radio reporting was a presence on the web as well as in radio.

-      My sports column (2006-2009), Overtime, which was a main feature in The Pontiac Equity, not only had a following but helped in writing concise and exciting prose.

-     I composed a list of local stores for potential book signings.

-     I compiled a list of local stores to sell my book.

Next I picked out my target audience and searched the web for them:

    -   Thriller readers looking for an atypical thriller hero—an African-American who is no saint.

    -   Sports fans will be fascinated by Watters’ struggle to recover his decency and win, a kind of Blind Side story with little sentimentality and few illusions.

    -   A Las Vegas setting—the world of The Hangover movies and many youth films like Bridesmaids—will appeal to 20s-30s readers.

   -   Watters’ romance with a former prostitute will appeal to younger female readers.The marital tension between Detective Dayton and his wife will interest adults. Both men and women will enjoy the twist on the femme fatale figure of the murderer’s lover, who has her own schemes.

  -      Lovers of history, as the term, “Dead Man’s Hand”, is a legend dating back to the Wild West of the 1800's.

I started creating relationships on the internet through Facebook and Twitter. I met not only authors, but fans of the genres I write.

When my book was released in October, 2012, I felt I had a solid foundation to stand on, but I still had a long way to go.

I contacted media for interviews, held book signings, joined shows and blog toured. I contacted anyone who wrote a blog and asked about being a guest. I joined Pinterest, Linkedin, and Google +, as well as sites created to support Indie authors. I did anything I could to get my name out there, get my book in front of readers.

My publisher set up special promotions where my book was FREE on Amazon for certain periods of time. All of this was done to increase my following, and expand the awareness of my book on a worldwide scale. This will hopefully lead to future sales with not only my debut novel, but subsequent books if I’ve fortunate enough to write more.

I’ve been happy with the result thus far, but I don’t have anything to compare it to. I feel that the more books I write, the more success I will have. The more I get out there, the more excitement and interest is garnered.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

The Importance of Developing Your Author Platform

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by

Sandra Bunino 

Before my first book, Marooned In Miami, came out this past January, I began researching what it meant to have an author platform.

I’d heard the term. I followed many terrific authors. But what did “platform” mean exactly? Was it some kind of pie-in-the-sky marketing concept or something I should take seriously as an indie author? I have an MBA yet this whole concept was entirely new to me.

Here’s what I discovered:

• Authors (no matter if you’re self-published or traditional) need to have an established presence prior to publishing their first book.

Okay, great. But wait, what? Prior to? Wouldn’t I be promoting my book? Isn’t that the whole point? Yes. And no. I learned that the most successful authors actually started their platform long before they released their book!

How do you go about developing this presence? That’s where I did more research, reading books, going online, learning what other successful authors I admired had done.

• For the most part, there’s a basic formula: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads to an extent, and blogging. All new to me, but surely not that difficult. I had an advanced degree and I deal in the cutthroat world of corporate finance every day. Surely, I could do this, right? Well…. 

Not so fast. If you’ve dabbled in the world of social media, you’ll understand when I say that it’s a bit of a different culture. I didn’t quite get it at first. Many don’t. Twitter seemed kinda…weird (haha). I even called my younger brother and asked him what these hashtags meant (he was absolutely no help!). Many people think Twitter is about what teenagers ate for lunch or a way to keep tabs on your favorite celebrity. But I found out that as an author, it’s far more than that if used as a marketing tool. What a powerful resource and best of all - it’s free!

I took a webinar, found a mentor and even hired a consultant to give me some pointers (she’s also a bestselling author so she knows what she’s talking about!). I was soon tweeting like a pro and gained over 2,000 followers in just five months. I’ve met an amazing network of authors and connected with many readers in a very short period of time – all thanks to Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

• Here’s where I think some authors make their mistake: as adults we don’t want to admit what we won’t know or understand -- so many times we give up, walk away. I’ve learned that in publishing, that’s just not an option. If you ever hope to be signed by a traditional publisher (even an indie publisher), they expect you to have an established fan base. And not just with a blog. People need to know how to find your blog! And this is where Twitter and Facebook, even LinkedIn come in. 

• SEO: this is a big topic I won’t even try to cover here but it goes to what I mentioned in the last paragraph. If you want to be found, anywhere, you need to know your branding. This is where marketing yourself comes in. I figured out quickly that I needed to have a theme: to my blog posts, my tweets, Facebook messages – everything needed to go along with my genre, erotic romance. 

Effective Book Marketing

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by

Joana James

I hate marketing. Yes, I know this is an article about marketing tips, but seriously, I hate marketing. I’m an I.T. professional and I writer; I like computers and books. I love to write fiction, not promo material. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that I’m no good at it. To me (and maybe to you too), that’s a bit ironic because writers are creative so we should be brilliant at this stuff. Well, I’m not.


Unfortunately, if nobody knows about your books, they won’t sell, so marketing is a necessary evil. I live on a small island in the Caribbean where there isn’t much opportunity for conventional marketing so the internet has become my best friend. During the short time I’ve been a published author, I’ve had to learn a few things.


1. Give your readers a place to find you. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate website. I use a free blog from Blogger.


2. Or maybe this is No. 1b. In either case, don’t make your blog or site all about yourself and your books (unless you’re a NY bestseller that people seek out). Give your readers a reason to visit you there. People won’t keep coming back to your blog to see how far along you are on your next book, or what your next stop is on a blog tour. People what information, so get creative and give them that. I was going about blogging all wrong for the longest time, until I had a “eureka” moment. I write Christian fiction and I also read books from that genre at about the speed of sound so I’m always hunting for new authors (with books at affordable prices – the EC$ to US$ exchange rate is about 3 to 1!). Then it hit me; create a list on your blog where readers can find Christian fiction without busting their budget. Lo and behold, the traffic to my site quadrupled from the first day I set up the list.


3. Social Networking is your friend…or your worst enemy. Social networking is a powerful tool. Use it to tell your friends about your books, but please don’t harass their Facebook pages, they’ll learn to ignore you or block your posts (yes, they can do that!) Twitter is also an awesome tool for marketing, but use with caution. A balanced twitter feed is very valuable. Use popular hash tags for your genre. However, don’t make your feed all about yourself and your book. Offer advice, tell a joke or two. Tweet a funny pic when you come across one. People will look forward to your tweets and maybe even buy your stuff because they feel connected to you somehow.


The bottom line is this, do something interesting and people will check you out. Advertise endlessly and people with shut you out!

Joana James is the author of Nightmare at Emerald High "a book ideal for teens who may be thinking about becoming involved with strange organisations or even entertaining the thought of exploring new "ideas" or religions. Not all that glitters is gold and this book is a real eye opener. Whilst there are many legitimate youth organisations with the sole goal of bettering young people, some of them have a sinister agenda. This is a good read for both parents and their teens."

Are you waiting too long to market your book?

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by 

Cindi Maciolek

Your fingers tingle as they touch the very first copy of your newly published book. Your heart races, your head spins. Excitement rushes through your body. 

“I’ve written a magnificent tome. It will go viral and sell itself!”

Really?

I’m amazed when I speak with authors awaiting the arrival of a new book. Some are lucky enough to not only have an agent, but a traditional publisher. Very often, the excitement wanes when they realize the book will be here shortly and their thoughts turn to marketing.

“I’m not quite sure what will happen once the books are out.”

Yikes!

Marketing is more than wishful thinking, tweeting or blogging. Fact is, it begins before you even write the first word. The characters, the location, the era, the breadth or depth of content, even the cover design play a role in attracting your target reader.

Here are a few thoughts to put you ahead of the game.

•  Market far in advance of the release. Many authors, including myself, don’t like to share too much about their work until the first draft is complete. However, there must be something you can promote at least six months to two years ahead. If you don’t care to divulge too much, think of interesting teasers to keep your audience attentive.

• Market to a broader audience. It’s possible to reach beyond your intended market simply by making a minor change to your book. Or, expand your thinking and recognize the book as-is will appeal to an additional market. When I wrote Divatiel: Reflections of a bird’s companion, most people assumed I was writing it for other bird lovers. In fact, I want everyone who loves animals to enjoy the read, a much broader market, and I adjusted the content accordingly.

• Expand your circle of early readers to market your book. The novel I’m currently writing is clearly aimed at a female audience. Yet, I have a male reader who has provided valuable feedback. Not only has he helped to make it a better book, he will no doubt tell everyone he knows just how much he enjoyed it.

• Utilize the book cover to your advantage. I had the cover of my book designed over a year before I held printed copies in my hand. It attracted a lot of attention. A cockatiel wearing a tiara certainly piques interest.

• Forage for media contacts. It can sometimes take months to reach an editor, a celebrity or a producer. If you wait until your book arrives, you’re practically old news. Put together your media list far in advance, and work it, work it, work it!

 We writers are a passionate lot, but early marketing can lead to even greater success.