The Write And Wrong Way To Promote Your Book

The Write And Wrong Way To Promote Your Book

Did you know that if you're marketing your book to sell books, you may be marketing for all the wrong reasons? Why? Well frankly, marketing a book to make sales will rarely ring the cash register; in fact, most of the time it amounts to what I call the "anti-sale," the sale that always seems to elude you.

If you're looking at your last 12 months of marketing and wondering what went wrong, ask yourself one question: "What was the driving force behind my book marketing choices?"

In a recent coaching session an author told me: "I spent $30,000 on advertising and I don't know why I haven't sold a single book." Why did the author advertise? Because she thought it would sell books. Now you might think that $30k is extreme, and perhaps it is, but she isn't the only one. Most of the topics of conversation during coaching calls, consultations or classes I teach are: "I've spent all this money and done all this work, what am I doing wrong?" What you're doing wrong is selling the book and not the message or the benefits. In other words, you're marketing your books for all the wrong reasons.

It's not that dissimilar from scheduling a slew of book signings because you think you "have to" or because you're hoping to sell scads of books. If you hate doing them, and they're not working, why bother?

Let's take a look at the example of our $30k author more closely. She had a book about child rearing, she was a noted speaker, a child psychologist and was quoted extensively in the media. The odd thing was, when you walked into her office her book was no where to be found. "I don't want to be boastful about my book." She said, "I think selling my book to my patients is unethical." Well, perhaps she's right, but still, she was missing the point. The point was that she had her buyers in front of her all the time and yet she overlooked them in search of the almighty book sale.

In fact, I found out later that she wasn't even selling her book at her speaking sessions. Why? Because she thought the ad space she bought would be enough to carry the momentum of the book. When we finally broke down her marketing campaign and her options, she realized that she could sell thousands of copies of her book and it wouldn't cost her a dime. She had at her disposal hungry buyers she wasn't even tapping into.

So are you missing your buyers? What piece of your campaign have you overlooked in an attempt to "sell" your book? To distill this even further, let's go through an exercise together to help unearth some marketing opportunities you might be overlooking. When you do this exercise I want you to remove the notion of book sales from your vernacular, what I mean is I want you to start looking at your efforts through a different lens:

On a separate sheet of paper, list all the marketing that you've done for your book. This may take a while, but seeing it all on paper will be helpful. List everything, even the minutiae.

Now that you have your list, let's take a hard look at it. First off, I want you to cross off the marketing you've done that has just been a total waste of your time.

Next, go through and star everything that worked really well. Remember, by "really well," I don't mean book sales, although that could have been a result of your efforts; I mean star the items you really enjoyed doing that seemed to get you great feedback.

What you have left will be a list of mediocre things, marketing ideas you tried that did reasonably well (at least enough so you didn't feel you needed to cross them off with the first batch). Take a hard look at the starred items, what do you see? Quite possibly you see a list of things that a) you loved doing, and b) that sold you some books despite the fact that you didn't think it would.

Now let's expand on that starred list. For example, if you have "book events" on this list, how can you expand this?

Next, I want you to make a list of the items you're missing. If you are brainstorming an expansion of your star list these missing pieces might be self-evident or they may require some additional brainstorming.

The idea behind this exercise is to become very clear on what's working and what isn't and to focus on the stuff you love doing. Generally the stuff you love is dialed directly into your audience. And if you love it, you'll probably do more of it, and hopefully this will lead you to book sales.

In author coaching I've found that we often set aside the stuff we love because we think book marketing should be hard. Let me tell you, it doesn't have to be. And if you're doing stuff that's hard, you're probably marketing for all the wrong reasons, anyway.

In a recent interview, media darling Rachael Ray cited that for years she did only local media. She would do cooking show after cooking show, often losing money on each one (when you factored in her time, gas, supplies, etc.). So why did she keep doing it? Because she loved it and because it's what she wanted to do. Now, of course, she's on everything from your local cross-town bus to any and all kitchen supplies. I'm not saying that her way of marketing is a recipe for success. Certainly, it worked for her, but the bigger message is that when you do what you love, you'll keep at it, and that’s the key. Whatever you do, you must love it, and you must do a lot of it.

This coming year can be a revelation for your campaign if you take the time to figure out what worked, what didn't, and what you'd love to do more of. Do it because you love it, and the sales will follow. You can bank on it!

BONUS : The Writer And The Web

If your dream is to get published, the chance is before you.The web has opened the portals of opportunity to all aspiring writers and freelance writers .

It’s a whole new world with unlimited access to ideas and subjects for writers. Endless resources and information are available at the click of your mouse to help you get started and keep you going.

It’s up to you to exercise due diligence to make your dream of writing a reality. It does not happen overnight. It all starts with that first, small step towards pursuing your dream. The internet offers all kinds of avenues for anyone who has ambitions to write. Where do you begin?

Read what the multitude of e-zines and newsletters have to offer. This gives you an idea of what interests people as they spend more and more time surfing the web. What are the latest trends ? Pay attention to issues that tend to pop out here and there, again and again.

Subscribe to pertinent groups or forums that can be helpful in your quest. Stay abreast with the latest news, be interested in anything and everything.

Open up your mind. Then, you can decide which venue is right for you. Ask yourself, are you interested in mainstream type of writing ? Or would you choose specific areas of interest?

Assess your inclinations, your passions and your hobbies.What beliefs do you hold close to your heart? Make a list. In your career, what is your area of expertise? Do you write reports ? Do you keep a journal? A diary? You’re

already a writer!

Get excited about writing down your ideas. The golden opportunity is before you, as never before. Actually, jumping in the bandwagon of writing for the internet can be overwhelming for the faint of heart, confusing for the skeptic, yet exciting for the go-getter. Which one are you?

The internet is open to all segments of society and to people from all walks of life. Access is not limited to the technologically inclined. It is no longer as intimidating as it was when the information superhighway first opened in the 20th century. People are less apt to admit their computer illiteracy, rather, more members of our society are learning how to navigate the cyberspace.

Learn about the basic rules of writing for the web. Cyber readers tend to be fast thinkers, speed readers, with only seconds to spare. If you want to grab their attention, remember, you only have precious few seconds to do it.

Take heart. You already know this. You love to see your by-line. The web will help you get your name out there. The more you write, the better you’ll get at it. Technically, if your work gets published on-line, you are considered published.

Only thing, writing for the web for the countless e-zines and newsletters and web-sites is not for those who intend to make a living from their writing. Not at the start.

If you are willing to write and submit your articles for free, don’t miss out. For the aspiring writer, it is a good way to start. The more you write, the more exposure you will get, readers will get to know your name. Writing for the internet helps to drive traffic to your website.

What are you waiting for?