Marketing - What Works?

 

 

 Greetings from Gail Gaymer Martin in sunny Michigan. www.gailmartin.com

 

Authors try so many ways to promote their books. In these marketing blogs, I've presented a multitude of ideas, gimmicks and techniques that are free and some that cost money. Many I’ve used myself. Getting befuddled as to what to try and what will work is the bane of the newly published and even the established novelist.

So what is it? What works?

Recently a discussion came up in a group of multi-published authors about experiences with various attempts at promoting. They discussed the money spent and the speculative return on the dollar. The results were more than interesting.

 

The first and foremost promotion mentioned is website and blog sites. Most have purchased bookmarks, postcards, brochures, ballpoint pens or lead pencils along with other giveaways, such as: manicure sets, book lights, water bottles, calculators, notepads, tote bags, and you name it. Many have put ads in key magazines to the tune of many hundreds to thousands of dollars. Most have tried book signings and book fairs. Book trailers are now a popular form of marketing as well as Internet book tours.

The most expensive investment is hiring a promotion company to run a publicity campaign for your book. The most effective would run into five-figure prices. Anything less is usually ineffective and their promises probably mean little. Disappointment is what authors often feel when the royalty checks come in. How can a novelist measure success?

The final decision from the author’s discussion came to this, and from my experience with 42 novels under my belt, I agree. A website is one of the most successful forms of promotion. The logical idea from this is if you want to spend money, spend it on an excellent website. One that attracts readers and is kept current and one that offers them a reason to return.

But the ultimate marketing tool is:  Duh Duh!  Writing the best book you can. After so many novels, I continue to study writing. I had a dry spell where I was writing more than taking in and I began to feel the results. Recently I had the opportunity to read a new writing series by Jeff Gerke, author and owner of Marcher Lord Press. I’ve read his first book The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction. Perfect for newer writers, I still found the book to have some wonderful nuggets of craft techniques that gave me some new ideas.

Today I am reading one of the books from his new download product. How To Find Your Story is excellent. It has stimulated new ideas, and already I’m using some techniques in my work in progress. The second book on Character Creation for Plot-Driven Novelists is part of the two book package. As an established novelist, I am thrilled with Gerke’s craft ideas. Check out these books at http://www.marcherlordpress.com/store/

You can find many great books to help you write a better story. James Scott Bell has some powerful books on writing through Writers Digest and Donald Maass’s books are tremendous.

What sells?  Good writing and a good story.

Comments

[cindy]

Thanks for the tips. I am dealing with a lot of these questions and ideas right now so it helps to know, from those who have done it before, what works best and how to approach the whole marketing thing.

It's so nice to hear that writing a good book it still key and we can all still learn a lot.

[Laurie Neumann]

The quality of the book has to be great. That is essential.

I believe when marketing your book, you should look at ways that you are comfortable with and that fit with your personality.

You don't want to love writing and then hate marketing - that will really be a drain.

You can hire a marketer, but you, as the author, will be the most effective at promoting your book.

Choose marketing methods that you enjoy, that reach your audience and that work with your strenghts.