guest post
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."
