Authors: Reflect On Your Marketing
Love it or hate it, the end game remains the same. Marketing is essential. Without smart marketing, you’re not going to sell books. Without reaching your readers, you’re not going to become a familiar name and a reader’s favourite author.
There are a magnitude of resources out there for you to test through trial and error, and these sometimes ingenious solutions can be super effective and definitely are not resources to scoff at.
But for now, before diving into strategies, you need to break down what you already do. This means be super specific. Only by reflecting on your current strategies can you begin to move forward and invest in the “what’s next” to help you progress and help you get your books into readers’ hands.
So, let’s be ridiculously specific. List down EVERYTHING (yes, I’m using shouty caps here) to jot down every aspect of marketing you currently do. Use the guiding questions and tasks to help you.
Outline the current marketing strategies you follow for a new release and for current releases (your backlists).
If an external blitz and tour are organized, who do you use? For how long is
a blitz/tour etc? How do you monitor the reach, the success?
If you have a newsletter, what's your reach? How often do you send it
out? What type of content do you include?
On average, how long do you spend promoting your books? (Think in terms
of a day, a week, a month.)
What are your go-to social media platforms? What type of content do you
include? How often do you post?
Do you use paid promotional services for sales and new releases like
BookBub, BargainBooksy etc? When do you secure their services? Do you work with a clear budget?
By answering and reflecting on the above questions, it’s often pretty clear where immediately you need to refocus your efforts and energy, and sometimes reconsider exactly where you are spending your budget, time, and energy.
If you are stumbling with any of your responses and immediately recognize potentially problem areas, then brilliant. Yes, that sounds odd, celebrating shortfalls. BUT, identifying areas which have holes and are potentially unravelling, it means we can do something about it.
Becky Johnson, CEO of Hot Tree Publishing Ltd, is an award-winning editor and publisher. She’s worked closely with USA Today and New York Times bestselling authors, assisting them in preparing their incredible books for publication.