Wednesday’s promoting tip for authors

Here are some of the marketing and promotion questions that authors should ask themselves, and answer, as early as possible. Your answers to questions like the following will form the basis of a focused and successful book marketing plan.

1. When should I begin marketing and promoting my book? Many authors wait until too late to begin their book marketing. Plans for pre-publication marketing, publication week marketing, and post-publication marketing should be finalized as soon as possible. It is far harder to attract attention, especially publicity, to a published book than an about-to-be published book.
2. How can I promote my book while writing it? Marketing tasks should begin while you’re writing your book. In addition to setting up a blog for your book, you may want to create a “testimonial package” that you can send to experts in your field when soliciting pre-publication quotes about your book. Don’t feel you have to send the entire manuscript: a mission statement, a detailed table of contents, and two sample chapters are enough
3. Which online promoting tasks should I do myself, which should I delegate? It’s important to know which tasks should be delegated and which tasks should be the author’s responsibility. Authors who fail to delegate are forced to go through constant learning curves and often run out of time. Many authors find it most efficient to delegate the creation of blog-based websites that they can update themselves on a regular basis.
4. Which Web 2.0 Social Marketing Tools should I employ? It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the dozens of social media marketing tools available. There’s a temptation to try to accomplish too much at one time, which can lead to a failure to harness the power of any alternatives. Authors should identify and prioritize their social media marketing options, and master one social marketing tool at a time and co-ordinate them with future options.
5. How can I build my e-mail marketing list as quickly as possible? One of the best ways for authors to profit from a successful book launch is to build an e-mail mailing list of readers interested in the book’s topic. The starting point is to keep previous clients and prospects informed about your new book. Even better, consider article marketing and creating a blog-based website and incentive that can be used to share your ideas with your market. This will build anticipation in your book as well as generate valuable reader feedback.
6. How can I drive readers to my website? Successful authors realize that their book represents the starting point of client relationships, not the end-point. It is imperative that authors consider ways to build “hooks” into their book that will drive readers to their website where they can register their e-mail address in return for premium and updated content. This was the theme of my Streetwise Guide to Relationship Marketing on the Internet and the early website I created for it which contained worksheets and examples.
7. How can I maintain my book’s initial momentum? No matter how successful a book launch, its long term success depends on how well an author continues to support the book. An investment as little as 30-minutes a couple of times a week can be enough time for an author to keep in touch with readers and constantly reach out to new prospective readers.

Technology has made it easier and easier for authors to market and promote their books before and after their publication dates. The tools are there; what’s missing, in most cases, is a marketing plan that clearly specifies what the author is going to do before, during, and after the publication of their book.

An added benefit to a written marketing plan, of course, is that publishers are often more interested in how an author is going to promote their book than the book itself. By answering the above questions as soon as possible, with as much supporting detail as possible, authors are simuiltaneously creating the basis of a strong book proposal.

---

Learn more about how marketing and promotion should appear in a book proposal by viewing my online interactive Proposal Planning Map created with MindManager 8.

---