Hey, friends! Jennifer Devlin here, praying you had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving. As we move into the holiday season, full speed ahead, let me remind you of last week’s question: what are your goals? What marketing goals do you have for your new book release, and the New Year? The issue of goal setting is a simple one, but it certainly deserves our full attention.
Let’s think about some of our basic marketing goals:
- We want to change lives. What is it that compelled you to write this brilliant work of inspiration? Evaluate why you want to change the way the world views the issues you write about, and pray about how you can lead readers to the transformational power of Jesus Christ.
- We hope we sell books. Yes, at the top of your list, you hope you actually sell a couple of copies of this “baby” you’ve spent months to years birthing. This is a very real goal, and the reason we read blogs like this.
- We know we need to get the word out. Tell others. Share your message. Make sure the internet isn’t the only place you talk about your book. When maneuvering through the daily pace of life, be open to sharing your life work with people in your sphere of influence. No need for pushiness. Just be prepared to answer questions about what you’ve been up to, what your line of work is, and what you spend hours in front of the computer working on.
- We want our books on the bookstore shelf. Visit your local bookstores; Christian and secular. Get to know the managers and the clerks and let them know you’re a local author. Support your local bookstore, and when the time comes for them to support you with a book signing event, chances are they’ll be much more open to the idea than if you were a complete stranger.
- We need to be able to explain our book quickly and concisely to prospective readers. Remember that quick pitch you gave your editor? That query letter synopsis of your amazing idea? Return to that sound-byte. Figure out how your final synopsis can be tweaked to reflect the finished product more accurately. Resolve to tell people how your book will benefit them in their spiritual walk. This will go much further than walking around begging people to “buy my book”.
- We need to network. Ask friends in far off cities to help you spread the word. Send them printed marketing materials if they are willing to distribute them. Tap into the power of grass roots marketing. Look at the CAN blog archives for some great articles on social networking – there’s plenty of opportunities online to share your message and books with social networks in a grass roots marketing effort.
- We want to succeed. Think big. Don’t be afraid to dream a little. Some friends of mine hit the road on a book tour and had a blast doing book signings all over the country. Big thinking helped them move beyond the limits of local bookstores, and they in turn reached a much larger group of influencers who helped publicize their books. Besides the work of selling, they had tons of fun in the process.
- We want to keep writing. Think about your book as the first step to your next book’s success. The better this book is received by retailers and readers, the better chance you’ll get a contract for the next idea.
While it would be easy to overlook some of these basic steps to marketing, all of us need to return to these foundational steps from time to time. We need a refresher course on how important marketing is, and why we need to keep working at it. Publicity is hard work, even if we love to do it. So, as we leave today’s blog, let’s think about longevity.
iCAN Think it Thru: How important is it to persevere with publicity, even when the fruit of your labor is hard to measure?
Comments