Monday, November 14, 2011

An Author's Marketing Plan

An Author's Marketing Plan, from start to finish, help to get your book published and sold! Peak City Publishing, Raleigh North Carolina

Pre Publishing

Establish your social media presence


Medium
Frequency
BLOG
At least 2-3 times per week
·        Follow and Comment
·        Find topics of interest to your target market
FACEBOOK PAGE
Daily
·        Post a status relevant to your book or what you’re doing to get your target market involved
·        Post events
·        Seek new joiners daily
Twitter
2-3 Times per day
·        Add/Follow Others
Goodreads
·        Build your bookshelf and your network
·        Connect with other authors
·        Review other author’s books ask them to review yours


Develop Your Pitch

This is your "elevator speech" which should flow smoothly and consistently.  Of course, every pitch is situational, so be flexible in how you deliver:\

·        In Four Words… What Fascinating Topic Does Your Book Explore?
·        In 25 words or less…Compelling description of what your book is about
·        Market Applicability…What will readers/watchers/attendees want to hear about?
·        Credibility – Reviews, Blurbs, Endorsements
·        Contact & Availability – Telephone, Email and best times to reach you and best time to attend an event

Build a Customer Mailing List
CORE GROUP
·        Family Members
·        Close Friends
·        Co-workers

SECONDARY GROUPS – Encourage your CORE GROUP to refer or recommend people who will enjoy your book.  Ask them to ‘SHARE’ information via Social Media, write reviews on Amazon, tag your Amazon page with more descriptive tags, agree with tags, “Like” your book

1.      Distant Relatives
2.      Friends of friends
3.      Co-workers friends

SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS
·        Read , follow and comment on other blogs closely related to your topic
·        Add a Subscriber button to your blog
·        Run contests from your blog where winners who post entries win a free prize – i.e.  copy of your book, book mark, etc.
·        Share your book widget
Google Yourself
·        Google your name and name of your book
o   Do you show up on the first page?
o   Does your name closely relate to someone famous?
o   Where does your web site fall?
·        You can remedy this by writing articles, posting information in other places – i.e.  social media sites, blogs, etc.

Post Publishing Activities

Set Goals
1.      Visit a Bookstore – 4 per Week
2.      Schedule Signings & Book Events - -At least 2 per month
3.      Query Newspapers -  Query newspapers within first two months
4.      Book a Radio Interview – 1 Per Month
5.      Get a TV Appearance – 1 per 3 months
6.      Attend At least one large trade event, per year//3 regional events per year

Attend Events & Provide Subject Matter Expertise
·        Identify organizations who will benefit from letting you speak in front of their groups
o   You may have to do this free, but eventually, organizations will pay for your experience to speak
o   Use your book for credibility – not for the subject matter
§  Speaking about environmental issues – “I wrote a mystery novel called _________________, where I explored the reasons for……….”
·        Choose one VERY GOOD Trade Event per year
o   Affordable
o   Convenient
o   Well Attended (but not too big)
·        Ask to be a part of panels – to lend your SME to the event
·        Wear your name badge and have cards
o   If you give a card, get a card and add to your customer mailing list
·        Contact book sellers attending the event, in advance, to sell your book during the event
Optimize your Amazon Page
·        Set up an author page on Amazon Author Central
·        Go to your book page and tag the book (check out some of the best-selling authors and their books in your genre and use similar tags) – ask others to agree with the tags and add more
·        “Like” your book and ask others to LIKE your book too
·        Ask for reviews and testimonials – keep your Amazon page up to date with the latest reviews. 
o   Run a contest on your blog for reviews.

Make News
·        Review the news daily (newspapers, local channels, local blog sites) to see if any news relates to you or your book
·        Write a Press Release and send to your newspaper/tv show/radio station contacts
·        Comment and share the article via Social Media

 

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