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

Sell No Book Before Its Time

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Aug 28, 2018

An engineer can look at the foundation of a building under construction and tell you its eventual height. The deeper the base, the higher the structure will be. Similarly, an independent publisher must create a strong foundation to support a title's future growth. This preparation is performed in five phases.

1) The Planning Phase
Focus on creating a strategic marketing plan for your title at least six months prior to its publication date. Begin by precisely defining your target readers. Then outline your strategies, describe the tactics you will perform, and establish completion dates for each, in four functional areas:

* Production. How many pages and what size should the book be? What type of binding? Will you use illustrations or halftones? Ideas for cover design.

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Marketing & Publicity

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Are You Ready for a Book Marketing Company?

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Aug 7, 2018

If you’re ready to take your brand and your platform to the next level, then a book marketing company may be just what you need. And primarily, what I do is help authors with their exposure.

Because exposure is ultimately what will drive sales. Consumers often need to see something as many as seven times before deciding to purchase. And although I cannot offer authors specific sales guarantees (no one can!), what I can do is offer a great well-rounded campaign that helps you gain exposure. And with that comes the tools and support you’ll need to sell more books. But success doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and even when you hire a book marketing company, you need to be involved in the process working toward your goals alongside the professionals.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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TV or not TV?

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jul 31, 2018

Authors rely on the repetition of a message on free media such as appearances on television and radio to increase the sales of their books. The planning of this exposure is important because the media like to interview authors on relevant and timely topics. Here are some tips that can make your broadcast appearances more productive.

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Marketing & Publicity

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Hints for Conducting Radio Shows by Telephone

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jul 24, 2018

Performances on radio talk or news shows are the workhorses of book-promotion activities. With radio as part of your communication plan, you can reach hundreds, thousands or millions of people at little or no cost. You can even sell some books, if you do it right.

Most radio shows are conducted over the telephone, from any place in which there is a good connection, no background noise and where you can talk uninterrupted for the length of the show. Here are several guidelines to make telephone interviews more effective:

As you agree upon the time and date with the producer, confirm your time zone. The producer may say he or she will call you at 3:00, but is that 3:00 p.m. in your time zone?

Do not use cell telephones and do not ask the station to call you on a line with call waiting. Similarly, this is not the time to impress your friends by having them listen to you on an extension or speaker phone.

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Marketing & Publicity

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Don’t Fall Victim to these Book Marketing Traps!

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Jul 17, 2018

There’s a ton of information out there for indie authors. However, there is also a lot of misinformation, too, as well as outright lies about book marketing. And indie authors are left in the cold to sort through the truths, semi-truths, and non-truths for themselves. Which means that you may have spent more time figuring out the best path through trial and error.

Because I believe that empowering authors to follow the best practices elevates the whole industry, today, I’m taking some time to set the record straight. Indie authors, read on to learn some of the biggest book marketing traps and pitfalls and how to navigate around them for the best success.

Trap #1: If you’re not good with computers and social media, it’s better to skip “that stuff.”

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Marketing & Publicity

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Book Publicity Isn't About Sales

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Jul 10, 2018

Did you know that book publicity isn’t actually about book sales? Here’s why!

Although indie authors tend to live and die by how many books they sell, book sales shouldn’t be your only focus. Yes, book sales ultimately matter. But they’re the result of a lot of different things, and they shouldn’t be the end all, be all measurement of your success as an author.

So what is book marketing and publicity actually about? Developing and fostering relationships. It happens by taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. It happens by knocking on lots of doors and then finding new doors to knock on in order to gain exposure and sell more books.

Ultimately with a solid book promotion plan, one thing builds on another and on another to create momentum. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Radio and TV help sell books, right? So how many will I sell?

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Marketing & Publicity

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Three Steps to Getting Better Ideas

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jul 3, 2018

Did you ever try to solve a jig-saw puzzle? It’s simple, right? The picture on the cover of the box shows you how the completed puzzle should look, so all you must do is organize and connect all the pieces. Now think of your publishing journey as the puzzle. You have your vision of the end result, but you have to create the pieces to complete it.

One way to come up with the “pieces” is through brainstorming, a group discussion in search of an answer to a specific question or problem. The facilitator begins a brainstorming session by gathering people, posing the question to be addressed and explaining the rules (quantity vs. quality of ideas initially, defer judgement, freewheeling, and hitchhiking). At the end of the idea-generating phase, teammates eliminate those suggestions that are currently untenable, and choose the best ones to put into action.

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Ask, Don’t Tell (And More Books You’ll Sell)

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jun 26, 2018

Doctors ask questions to get information before making a diagnosis. Litigators ask questions of witnesses to build their cases. Journalists ask questions to generate information for their articles. Similarly, when selling to a corporate buyer, authors and publishers should ask questions to acquire information, exchange ideas, build their case, establish rapport and trust, and uncover unforeseen pitfalls to mitigate risk. Do you want to sell more books? Then stop talking about your book, and ask more questions.

Dale Carnegie advised us to be a good listener in his classic book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. He told us to, “Ask questions the other person will enjoy answering.” Yet most people fail to use this advice when selling their books to corporate buyers.

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Marketing & Publicity

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How to Turn Publicity into Profits – Part Two: Writing Body Text That Keeps People Reading

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue May 22, 2018

(This is the second of a two-part series)

You can generate more publicity, sell more books and become more profitable if you follow several simple techniques for writing promotional material sent to business buyers. These are people in corporations, associations, schools and other non-retail organizations.

Part One in this two-part series described writing attention-grabbing headlines. Part Two tells how to write body copy that keeps the reader through your communication. Once you hook the readers with your headline, you must deliver on their expectations or they will stop reading immediately. Use the body of your press release to continue the momentum started with the headline and get the readers to take the action you recommend.

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Writing

Marketing & Publicity

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How to Turn Publicity into Profits – Part One: Writing Attention-Grabbing Headlines

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue May 15, 2018

(This is the first part of a two-part series)

You can generate more publicity, sell more books and become more profitable if you follow several simple techniques for writing press releases. This is particularly true when communicating with buyers in niche segments such as corporations, associations, schools and the military. Part One in this two-part series describes writing the headlines, and Part Two tells how to write body copy that leads the reader through your release.

Publicity is the least expensive and perhaps most productive of the promotional strategies publishers use to generate exposure for their books. And a press release is the tool most commonly used to stimulate publicity. However, too many publishers' press releases go unheeded because the publicity copywriters make one major mistake – they write their press releases about their books.

Inside Publishing

Writing

Marketing & Publicity

Read more about How to Turn Publicity into Profits – Part One: Writing Attention-Grabbing Headlines

Marketing & Publicity

Sell No Book Before Its Time

Are You Ready for a Book Marketing Company?

TV or not TV?

Hints for Conducting Radio Shows by Telephone

Don’t Fall Victim to these Book Marketing Traps!

Book Publicity Isn't About Sales

Three Steps to Getting Better Ideas

Ask, Don’t Tell (And More Books You’ll Sell)

How to Turn Publicity into Profits – Part Two: Writing Body Text That Keeps People Reading

How to Turn Publicity into Profits – Part One: Writing Attention-Grabbing Headlines

Pages

Getting Started

Create a Culture of Quality in Your Publishing Company

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

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

Do You Have the Write Stuff?

Today's Great American Novel (Part 2 of 2)