{"id":907,"date":"2016-06-16T17:05:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T07:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eviemcrae.com\/?p=907"},"modified":"2020-12-09T08:40:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T21:40:21","slug":"you-want-me-to-what-my-book-market-it-but-im-a-writer-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/butterfly.writefromsource.com\/?p=907","title":{"rendered":"You want me to what my book? Market it? But I’m a writer…Help!"},"content":{"rendered":"

So your book is finally being published and you\u2019re beside yourself with excitement. You\u2019ve done it! You\u2019ve achieved that lifelong dream! But guess what? That\u2019s not the end of the hard work. Well \u2013 not unless you have secured a major publishing deal with one of the BIG FOUR<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now you actually have to promote your book. I know it seems cruel to have to get your hands dirty in the murky world of marketing, but if you want anyone to read the fruits of your labour you\u2019re going to have to spread the word.<\/p>\n

Most people won\u2019t have the budget necessary to engage a marketing or branding guru, so I\u2019ll give you a few titbits of free advice about effective marketing tactics that may just help you boost your audience and help you create a buzz around your book.<\/p>\n

FREE stuff you can do<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My first piece of advice is what I tell all my clients, regardless of their product, business or service. If you don\u2019t exist online \u2013 you don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

We live in a world where Google<\/a> has become the background security check. If someone hears the name of a person, or a book or a company, generally the first thing they do is Google it to find out any available information. If they don\u2019t find what they are looking for, they won\u2019t search any further. You\u2019ve already put your first barrier up to a possible sale and potential loyal customer.<\/p>\n

Nowadays a simple WordPress<\/a> site can provide an extremely professional shop front for your business. WordPress is a free and open-source blogging tool and a content management system (CMS) and for the most part, it\u2019s excellent.  As far as I\u2019m concerned this is a must-have nowadays. When building an audience, your readers will want to know about you and the books you write and the website or WordPress platform is the ideal place for them to go. If you are not technically minded a WordPress site can seem rather daunting, but there are many simple themes and a plethora of teenagers out there only too willing to show off their skills. I won\u2019t scare anyone by delving too deeply into this at the moment, but suffice to say I will cover this in greater detail in a subsequent post.<\/p>\n

Social Media<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As well as a website or WordPress platform you will need to ensure you are active on social media. Again, I only mention this because it\u2019s FREE. My good friend and new author confessed she was a complete technophobe but she managed to navigate her way through the minor challenges and she was up and running with Twitter and Facebook in a matter of hours.  In the space of 24 hours, she had over 100 Likes. Who knows where she\u2019ll be in a few weeks when her book is out.<\/p>\n

Brilliant. She exists as an author online now. But there\u2019s more I can sneakily share with you \u2013 little learnings from the world of global product launching and brand building. If you are merrily posting on Facebook or Twitter, take a few moments to think about the quality of your posts. In the case of a book launch, it\u2019s great to have little teasers from your book to give a flavour of what\u2019s in store \u2013 but not too much. Apart from keeping some of your powder dry (and there may be some restrictions from your publisher), you have to remember how people read online. People scan, generally in an F shape and only small amounts. Indeed when I began to work more online on websites and social media I had to reverse all I had been taught about writing \u2018the message\u2019.<\/p>\n

In addition to monitoring the length of post, I would advise using Facebook and Twitter or whatever social interaction you use, to create what is affectionally known as, the  \u2018Call to Action\u2019. The Call to Action is very important in terms of selling or creating awareness. Think about what it is you actually want your reader to do? Just nod and move on? At that point, you may have lost them. Perhaps you want them to buy your book? If this is the case, then add a link making it easy for the reader to find and buy your book. Normally a link to Amazon on your page will suffice. A good rule is to think about removing all possible barriers between you and the sale of your book. The more steps someone has to go to reach it, the more likely you are to lose them.<\/p>\n

Depending on the genre of your book it may<\/em> be useful to have a presence on Pinterest. Think about where your intended audience \u2018meet\u2019 online and go and pitch your stall there. For example, a community like Goodreads<\/a> is a great place to get your book reviewed and exposed to potentially thousands of people. Be sure to research your target audience and then research where they discuss books such as yours.<\/p>\n

Press Kits<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll write more about Press Kits in a later post but generally speaking here\u2019s what you need to know. Press Kits are invaluable when your contacting people in the media for publicity or for sending out information in a hurry.  Your press kit may be requested by retailers, book bloggers, event planners, editors or anyone else who may be interested in you or your book. Include information as follows:<\/p>\n

Author Bio and Contact Information<\/span><\/p>\n

You should already have an author bio to hand. If not, start working on it now \u2013 published or not. You\u2019ll need it for your blog or website, for guest posts or stories submitted to magazines. Your author bio should be about 200 words, and it should have things that make you sound interesting and professional. You should include your name, your place of birth or where you currently live, what you do (or used to do) for a living, what you\u2019ve written, perhaps your education (if it\u2019s relevant), quirky hobbies, or interesting travel experiences. Basically, anything that will make you stand out. If you\u2019ve written non-fiction, include something about what gives you the knowledge\/credibility or experience to write the book.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to include your contact information, and your agent or other representatives if necessary.<\/p>\n

A photograph<\/span><\/p>\n

But not a cropped grainy shot with you in the background at your granny\u2019s 80th birthday party. You should have hi-res (300 dpi) and lo-res (72 dpi) versions, 600 pixels wide at a minimum. Make sure that you provide horizontal options and<\/em> vertical options since different magazines and media have different layout preferences. Again, I won\u2019t scare anyone by getting too technical here, but a well-lit digital photograph will do the job.<\/p>\n

Press Release<\/span><\/p>\n

A press release should focus on the unveiling of your new work. It should be brief and succinct; one page should do. Include information that is newsworthy about your book or about you as an author. If you have upcoming events, it might be a good idea to omit them from your press kit press release to keep the article timely a month or two down the road. There are a few tricks to writing a newsworthy press release over and above the release of your baby into the world. Drop me a line and I\u2019ll share a few secrets.<\/p>\n

Sample Author Q&A<\/span><\/p>\n

Make a list of interview questions (and responses) about you and your book. This can include questions about your background, your inspiration for writing this book, your own favourite writers, future projects, etc. This section is particularly helpful for the interviewer and bloggers who want to help you promote your work, as it\u2019s useful and ready content for them.<\/p>\n

Specific Information on Your Book<\/span><\/p>\n

So many books are published every week, every month, every year so you need to talk about what makes yours different. You can describe your book in terms of its unique features. Yes, it\u2019s special to you, but what makes it the \u2018must-read\u2019 book for everyone else? Why did you write this book? Did you feel there was a gap in the market for this type of story? Does the book shed new light on a common issue? Is it a topic that a lot of people can easily relate to? As the author, do you have a unique background different from most other authors? You need to convince the person reading your press kit that your story is interesting enough for their audience.<\/p>\n