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Marketing & Publicity

Good marketing is an art. Knowing your audience is critical. Get the word out about your book in a compelling and interesting way.

Steps in Marketing & Publicity

  • How to craft your message
  • Social media
  • Search engine optimization
  • Go local
 

The Equation for Book Marketing Success

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Nov 16, 2021

When authors are told they must actively market their books, many say, “I don’t like to promote. I only want to write.” However, when a book is published the author becomes a salesperson running a business. It is an abrupt, and in many cases unwanted transition that is usually not handled well. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I created a formula to help people make the transition from author to marketer. It is not a scientific, qualitative equation, but a quantitative method that is adaptable to any author’s personality and genre. 
 
Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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14 Ways to Find Potential Buyers

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Nov 9, 2021

 
Publishers limit their book sales when they see bookstores — bricks and/or clicks — as the only place through which to sell their books. If you want to sell 10,000 books through any retailer, you must get 10,000 people to go there and buy one. But if you want to sell 10,000 books in non-retail markets, you find one person to buy 10,000 of them — non-returnable. Which do you think is a more profitable way to sell your books?
 
The world of special sales (non-bookstore sales) is actually larger than the opportunity for selling through bookstores. Many publishers do not attempt to sell there because they do not know who is the best person to contact. 
 
Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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Make that Email Worth Their Time and Energy

Penny C. Sansevieri's picture
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 26, 2021

Email book marketing is a great way to get out the word about your brand, your books, your events, and the other unique things happening in your life that are critical to helping indie authors make personal connections with fans and potential readers.

But most of us can’t open our inbox without seeing dozens of emails for products, services, or promotions. How do you break through the noise?

Below are my tips for ensuring your emails and emailed newsletters get opened.

Stay Relevant

Think about the last few promotional emails you opened. What made them stand out? Was it simply brand loyalty? A limited time discount? A new product announcement?

If you find yourself just throwing random ideas together because you have a book marketing email to get out, you’re not doing it right, and to be candid, you’re being lazy and wasting a good opportunity to grow your audience and sell more books.

Have a goal.

Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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Get Discovered and Make the Sale!

Penny C. Sansevieri's picture
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 12, 2021

 
It’s officially autumn and you know what that means. Yes, pumpkin spice and everything nice. But also, time to check in about those book marketing resolutions you made way back in January — the holidays will soon be upon us, and now’s a great time to get your bookselling house in order.
 
Maybe you started off the year with the best of book marketing intentions. Maybe some of your efforts did well, while others fell a bit flat. Regardless of where you are in the book marketing process, you should be able to use today’s post to explore and evaluate how well your book discovery is working out.
 
Doing some self-assessment in this area will help you realign your marketing efforts and start moving the needle to really sell more books.
 
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Marketing & Publicity
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Seven Secrets for Successfully Selling Books

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Oct 5, 2021

 
The trek to special-sales success can be long, arduous and frustrating — but at the same time personally rewarding and profitable. Through it all, a strong and determined attitude can serve as the GPS on your path to success. There are several basic axioms in book marketing in general (and special sales in particular) that may have a negative impact on your attitude. Know in advance that these are going to occur, and the negative impact on your attitude may be reduced.
 
  • Rejection is a way of life. Be forewarned that you will be rejected far more times than you will be accepted, and this may wear away at your attitude. But do not take rejection personally. That is easy to say, yet it can be done if you accept rejection as a challenge to learn, improve your strategy and tactics and thereby increase the likelihood that you will close the sale next time.
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Local Author? Meet Local Media!

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by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Sep 21, 2021

Book marketing to national media has becomes increasingly competitive, so why not spend some time focusing your book promotion efforts on media outlets in your own backyard?  Today’s post is all about how to pitch a story to local media — the story, of course, being YOU, a local author with a new release.

Is this breaking news? No. But there are smart ways to make yourself more appealing and secure more coverage. And as an indie author, your focus should always include local media because these are the outlets that will help you build your brand, reach new readers with whom you have something in common, and nurture relationships with buyers who will support you for the long haul.

Establishing yourself as a local indie author worth following is key, especially if you’re fortunate enough to live in a vibrant, civic-minded part of the country.

Know Your Reader

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Marketing & Publicity
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How to Sell Books through Gift Shops in Parks

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Sep 7, 2021

The National Park Service turned 105 on August 25, 2021. It seems appropriate to talk about how publishers can sell books through gift shops in parks and historic sites.

There are two major ways to sell to buyers at gift shops. One is to work through independent sales representatives found at http://www.greatrep.com. This site provides several entry points. Contact salespeople directly under “Lines Wanted,” or list your book in the “Reps Wanted” section. There is also a list of upcoming wholesale trade gift shows at which you can exhibit and/or network. 

Second are third-party operators that buy for gift shops in parks and historical centers. They work in partnership with the retail outlets to ensure that their guests have a meaningful experience and can extend their experience by discovering relevant products in their stores.

Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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YES from the Queried Address: Playing Nice with Book Bloggers!

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by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Aug 10, 2021

The end of James Joyce’s mammoth novel Ulysses famously ends with the protagonist’s wife shouting, “and yes I said yes I will Yes!” How many of us hope and pray that when we offer our book to bloggers, they will take a note from Molly Bloom and shout YES!

Bloggers are key influencers in today’s buyer market and should play a pretty consistent role in your book promotion efforts. That said, approaching them takes a lot of work, real finesse, and a thick skin because all authors hear their shares of no, even the most successful ones.

But you won’t hear yes without the same efforts that also produce the no’s. So a successful collaboration with a blogger who already has the eyes of hundreds or thousands of individuals in your target buyer market is not an opportunity you want to throw away. 

Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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An All-Star Strategy To Brighten Book Sales Now and in the Future

Penny C. Sansevieri's picture
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Jul 27, 2021

There’s nothing better than a great campfire on a cool summer night. Maybe fireflies are also winking as tiny red embers lift into a gentle breeze. The tinder snaps and pops as an older kid pokes the flames, and maybe an adult helps a younger child guide a marshmallow into the fire for roasting, soon to be married to a graham cracker and chocolate square in a delicious s’more.

All of this happens because someone knew how to build the fire. One way of doing that is the teepee method, where kindling is placed in the middle of a fire pit and logs are arranged – leaning on one another for support – in a cone shape above them. 

Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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How to Avoid Mistakes New Marketers Make

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jul 20, 2021

 
Have you ever done something about publishing or marketing your book and later regretted having done it? Or wished you could change part of what you did? If so, you learned that the most expensive thing in the book business can be a mistake. It could be printing too many – or not enough books. Perhaps pricing your book too high or low. And it could be relying solely on social networking to promote your book or bookstores as the only way to sell them. 
 
Inside Publishing
Marketing & Publicity
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Getting Started

Create a Culture of Quality in Your Publishing Company

Thu, November 13

FAQs about ISBNs

Fri, October 24

How to Write a Business Plan as Narrative (Part 2 of 2)

Wed, September 10

A Novel Planning Technique for Book Publishers (Part 1 of 2)

Fri, September 05

Do You Have the Write Stuff?

Wed, September 03

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