Simple Steps to Book Marketing

So, you've taken the plunge and written your book. Now what? It is time for editing, cover graphic and layout; then off to the printer or digital converter. If you have already done so, good for you. If not, then those next steps are critical to the success of your book. Be sure your title, cover and layout are strong enough to effectively grab the eye of your reading public. But, if you already have your book or eBook ready for distribution what do you do next? MARKET! Oh but of course. I hear you thinking perhaps even out loud, "Easy for you to say, but how do I do it?"

First, the distribution channel you chose will make all the difference in the amount of work ahead of you. If you are truly going it solo then you will have to upload your book or eBook to each and every available retail outlet; and there are a ton of them out there. Amazon and Barnes & Noble are NOT the only book resellers - and, these types of resale outlets are difficult to get into and expect a huge discount, usually 55-70%.

Alternatively, you could hire a small publishing assistance firm to help you. These types of firms can upload your publication one time and make it instantly available to the whole lot of distribution sources through the Ingram book catalog. What or who is Ingram? Well, they are just the biggest book catalog and where resellers turn to for the latest and best books for their outlets; yes, this includes Amazon and B&N. True, depending on the firm, they will keep 10-20% of your after discount and printing fee commission. But, for all the work they will save you and their ability to get your book listing in Ingram's catalog, this is peanuts.

So, now how do you begin marketing? The answer is not a simple one. In fact there are hundreds of ways available to the enthusiastic author. To choose those which you are willing to do is the task at hand. If you are independently wealthy, you might consider hiring a marketing firm. But for the vast majority of us, marketing our books falls deftly on our shoulders. Herein I will share a mere 10 ways to market your book or eBook.

1. Article Marketing

This avenue entails more writing, which, hey, if you are an author you are pretty good at and should be a piece of cake, so to speak. Write articles that speak about the subject of your book and are informative. Excerpts from your work should be considered for inclusion. Even if you want to write about a different topic than your book or eBook touches you can still use article marketing to your advantage. How? Easy, include the link to your work in the author resource section provided by the article house.

The key here is to not write and submit one article to one article house, but many articles over a period of time to many article houses. Some of the ones that I have used in the past are EzineArticles, Article Garden, GoArticles, Self Growth, ISnare, and Associated Bontent. Some of these are paid while others are free submission sites. Also, Free Article Submission Organization has a list of 1,000 submission sites if you are up to the task.

2. Newsletter Marketing

On the same direction, offering a newsletter or ezine can help you sell your book. This again takes a firm commitment as you will need to provide your ezine or newsletter on a regular basis, without fail! Content is key. If the content is not informative you will lose your hard sought readership; and readers are what you are after, after all.

Some newsletter/ezine providers are free while others are vastly costly. Three that I am familiar with and have used in the past are Constant Contact, Your Mailing List Provider and of course AWeber. The greatest benefit to newsletter marketing is building your list of contacts who read and enjoy your content. These are the readers who will most likely buy your books and eBooks once you make them aware of their availability.

3. Teleselinar/Webinar

Public speaking made easy. That is how I see these events. While giving you the opportunity to practice your speaking talents you will find these less costly and easier to effect. No hotel bill, no travel expenses, and a willing audience. However, scheduling of these events must fit not only your audience, but your schedule too. Too late and you may lose your opposite coast listeners; too early and you risk losing your target audience; working folks and parents.

If you don't know where to start looking for the right host or club simply ask around. Your friends might just know of a host that is the perfect fit for your subject. Be aware of and familiar with the technology that will be used. Will it be a video conference or just audio, such as the telephone provides? Will you be able to use a whiteboard or other interactive tools or just speak? Knowing your venue before your presentation will help you put together the right information in a manner that will engage your audience.

Be sure you know the audience that your host or hostess is in touch with. Don't just give the same information to everyone. Meld your topic to fit the audience. For example, as I mention in my book Presentational Skills for the Next Generation, if you are speaking to children you would use examples that they are familiar with while when speaking to a scientific convention you would use more technical terms and such. A singles group wouldn't be apt to care about your stories of familial significance as much as a single parent's group. The key here is to make the material relevant to your audience. Use examples that fit your listeners.

4. Public Speaking

Vastly similar to Teleseminar/Webinars is public speaking. However, this involves doing so in person. Whether you offer to be a guest speaker for pay or for free this is up to you. However, many groups and organizations need speakers. Each time you speak in front of a group you get better and more at ease. Besides growing into an interesting speaker these events give you the opportunity to sell your book to an eager public. The more you books you sell directly from the 'back of the room' or your 'trunk' the more money stays in your pocket.

Book clubs order thousands of units. So, you should definitely attempt to use these to market your book. Offer to speak at your next local book club meeting. If you can't afford to travel, offer to speak at your local clubs. Rotary, Chambers and such are just a few other ideas. Remember, they need you as much as you need them.

5. Blogging

Blogs are terrific tools for authors. They allow you to instantly interact with your audience. Be aware that you will need to offer interesting and relevant content on a regular schedule. If time is an issue for you, you can either hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) or use other blogs as in a Blog Tour. I probably don't need to list blog hosts, but WordPress is my blog of choice.

6. Book Trailers

With people's attention spans getting shorter and shorter book trailers are fast becoming an author's tool of choice. While costs can vary between one and several thousand dollars these can be just the spark that will sell your book. Consider carefully before you buy. Check out the quality of previous offerings; don't just go with the cheapest price. One that I have found to offer both good quality and affordable pricing is Master Koda, master marketer Kim Emerson's latest venture.

7. Press Releases

No marketing plan would be complete without the tried and true press release. Notice the 's' in the title. That's right. Not just one, but many are needed. Time them out; don't just put them all up at one time. Also, remember what a press release is and what it is not. It is a newsworthy information piece, not a sales letter.

There are a few companies who will help you write and submit your press release. Be sure to use both online and offline submission sites. Using fax blasting as well as online submission sites will multiply your efforts. Also, focus on your local area as they are more interested in promoting you than would be a newspaper all across the country.

This is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. To ensure the success of your book or eBook it is up to you, the author, to promote your work. These are just a few to get you started. For more ideas search the web or hire a marketing firm that can further assist you to reach the Best Seller status you and your book deserve.

Ginger Marks is the founder of DocUmeant, a family of Publishing and Design companies. For more information, visit DocUmeant Designs and DocUmeant Publishing Mrs. Marks has recently released the third annual edition of her book Weird & Wacky Holiday Marketing Guide available through Lulu.com and Amazon. She also offers insight into marketing solutions through her ezine, Words of Wisdom, available through her websites.

Simple Steps for Beginning A Content Marketing Strategy

This post will provide some simple steps to help you outline what needs to be done when developing a digital marketing strategy. Sure, there is a heck of a lot more to go with this, but this should help you create the foundation.

Social/Digital Media Assessment
The first step will be to become more familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of your existing digital communication process. This will help define how to move forward with each existing process and which we develop from scratch.

Content Audit
Immediately after the assessment the content audit begins. A thorough review of existing content will be conducted. Agreed upon content should be considered as digital assets that can be used within the overall strategy.

Competitor Analysis
A competitor review will also be conducted. Data will be gathered to study and compare performance across competitive media channels. For example,  study competitor websites, social media channels and audience reach. This data will be used to shape entry into competitor-occupied, digital media channels.

Trend Research
Research into the consumption habits of digital media amongst stakeholders. Key findings will help identify who, where and when to communicate with the various types of stakeholders. This will also help define a publishing schedule.

Persona Development
Identify key stakeholder personalities and assign them a persona. The criteria used to form the persona will consist of media consumption habits, demographic, needs and location. The persona will be used to determine the digital voice and communication strategy.

Audience Development
The primary focus of this stage will be finding the audience that you want to speak with. This stage will also be used to identify the where and when of audience engagement. A gentle entry into the digital media channel will be necessary to develop this stage.

Publishing
Begin to leverage the digital content assets that were identified in the content audit stage. Use this content to create blog posts, white papers, case studies, tweets, email campaigns and anything else that is needed to communicate your voice. Develop an editorial calendar and stick to it. Treat your business like a publishing company.

Monitoring
Analytics software and digital media monitoring tools make it possible to track when people engage with SHP. The data gained in this stage can be measured against industry benchmarks and used to help us define a success metric.

Tips for Finding Your Small Business Social Media Voice

On a weekly basis we meet with dozens of small business owners; from the local deli to the automotive superstore, everyone is trying to leverage social media to boost their business. We've noticed the folks having the most success all have something in common, they have a definitive voice. Voice in social media is all about extending your brand via words, by tweet, status update or video posting, your voice is how people hear you when they consume your content.

Here are 5 Tips for Finding Your Social Media Voice

    Use Humor - using humor will let people know that you're approachable. By being approachable people will feel comfortable interacting with your brand and they'll ask questions when they need something. Humor also implies that you're not a selling machine and that you don't take yourself too seriously. People also want to do business with people that are fun; fun people make us feel good and feeling good can lead to a purchase decision. So be sure to work a little humor into your voice.

    Self-Deprecation - this is always a sure thing because people love it when we make fun of ourselves. Think about all of the self-deprecating actors/actresses and comedians that you've been entertained by. Now think about why that was effective in terms of making you laugh. For one, you can probably relate to some of the self-deprecation. For two, it demonstrates a sense of humility. Self-deprecation also implies a level of self-awareness and that more than likely means you'll be aware of me as well, your potential customer.

    Dumb Things Down - whenever possible, dumb-it-down. Your audience does not want to be bored with all of the details of your product line. They just want to know what it does and how it works. Keep it high level and save the details for a later conversation. This eliminates a perception of pretentiousness can come through when being too detailed on a given topic. Knowledge is power, but too much can lead to the lights turning-off.

    Refresh & Recall - point out older blog posts or content that support your current initiative. This will demonstrate consistency of your brand vision and commitment to sustaining it. Refresh your audiences memory about what you're trying to achieve and point to anything you have available to support your effort. Recalling past client experiences or sharing testimonials can also be powerful in demonstrating not only credibility but transparency.

    Call to Action - your social media voice should contain a call to action. This does not mean that it needs to be over the top and salesy. Just make sure that you're asking people to do something when you interact with them. Whether it's contacting Customer Service or sharing a story with you about their experience or even downloading a coupon; work a solid call to action note into your social media communication strategy.

These might seem like fundamental elements to follow but you'd be surprised how people forget them. Instead of developing a voice using these communication strategies a lot of small businesses will just keep pushing out the same boring message. Too many times business is lost because of underwhelming communication and boring content. Keep it fun, relevant and focused on your core capabilities and you'll find your voice in no time.

Tips for Finding Your Small Business Social Media Voice

On a weekly basis we meet with dozens of small business owners; from the local deli to the automotive superstore, everyone is trying to leverage social media to boost their business. We've noticed the folks having the most success all have something in common, they have a definitive voice. Voice in social media is all about extending your brand via words, by tweet, status update or video posting, your voice is how people hear you when they consume your content.

Here are 5 Tips for Finding Your Social Media Voice

    Use Humor - using humor will let people know that you're approachable. By being approachable people will feel comfortable interacting with your brand and they'll ask questions when they need something. Humor also implies that you're not a selling machine and that you don't take yourself too seriously. People also want to do business with people that are fun; fun people make us feel good and feeling good can lead to a purchase decision. So be sure to work a little humor into your voice.

    Self-Deprecation - this is always a sure thing because people love it when we make fun of ourselves. Think about all of the self-deprecating actors/actresses and comedians that you've been entertained by. Now think about why that was effective in terms of making you laugh. For one, you can probably relate to some of the self-deprecation. For two, it demonstrates a sense of humility. Self-deprecation also implies a level of self-awareness and that more than likely means you'll be aware of me as well, your potential customer.

    Dumb Things Down - whenever possible, dumb-it-down. Your audience does not want to be bored with all of the details of your product line. They just want to know what it does and how it works. Keep it high level and s`ve the details for a later conversation. This eliminates a perception of pretentiousness can come through when being too detailed on a given topic. Knowledge is power, but too much can lead to the lights turning-off.

    Refresh & Recall - point out older blog posts or content that support your current initiative. This will demonstrate consistency of your brand vision and commitment to sustaining it. Refresh your audiences memory about what you're trying to achieve and point to anything you have available to support your effort. Recalling past client experiences or sharing testimonials can also be powerful in demonstrating not only credibility but transparency.

    Call to Action - your social media voice should contain a call to action. This does not mean that it needs to be over the top and salesy. Just make sure that you're asking people to do something when you interact with them. Whether it's contacting Customer Service or sharing a story with you about their experience or even downloading a coupon; work a solid call to action note into your social media communication strategy.

These might seem like fundamental elements to follow but you'd be surprised how people forget them. Instead of developing a voice using these communication strategies a lot of small businesses will just keep pushing out the same boring message. Too many times business is lost because of underwhelming communication and boring content. Keep it fun, relevant and focused on your core capabilities and you'll find your voice in no time.