Some Tips For Marketing your Books

Ah marketing! How I hate it! I think most writers do.

Marketing oneself as a writer. It does make one feel like a bit of a prostitute at times, no doubt about it. Not only do we have to have good imaginations these days, the ability to come up with plots and actually take months to write them down, take the abuse of publishers and their numerous rejections, but we have to do so much more! We have to market ourselves, and our work.

And that "ain't easy!" It can be time consuming, expensive, and frustrating. Oh, there are a lot of people out there with ideas about how you should market yourself, and most of them want to charge you money to do it. Beware. That is one fast way to go broke! How do I know this? Well, not by going broke, but because I'm also a real estate broker. Real estate brokers have to market themselves all the time. We have to keep in the public's eye, or they "forget" we are there, and call somebody else. The public's memory is an incredibly short one.

So, there is a whole host of companies that have sprung up around marketing real estate brokers. They offer such services as pens, magnets, calendars, postcards, video tour packages for us to buy as brokers -- you name it -- they try to sell it to us. Even restaurants have gotten in on the act. Every pick up one of those paper place mats? You know the kind, with advertisements on them? Chances are you will see at least one or two advertisements for real estate agents. Then there are billboards, newspaper advertisements...well, you get the idea! Sometimes, it seems as if the whole world is out to sell us real estate agents ways to "be seen," to "get known." And the odd thing is, we're the ones who are supposed to be trying to sell people -- on real estate! We could easily spend all our commissions on advertising ourselves, if we aren't careful.

The same holds true for writers. We're trying to sell our books, but everyone is trying to sell us ways to do it. Oh, for the good old days, when publishers actually did most of that, and at no expense to us, so to speak. But those days are gone, kiddos! We are on our own! We authors bare most of the brunt now, must dig in and do the dirty work of marketing ourselves and our books. Many publishers even ask us to request reviews for our books, something they always did before.

So just how do we do this? Well, there aren't "five easy steps" for this one, or at least none I've found that ever work. However, there are some things you can do to ease the task of selling yourself.

These include, first, taking stock of who you feel you are, what kind of writer you are, and how you feel most comfortable promoting yourself. If you are taciturn, moody, morose, and let's be honest here, ugly, then maybe going on daytime talk shows isn't the way for you to go. I'm joking here, actually, but only partly. Some people are better suited for using themselves as the vehicle to market themselves. These people can do well at lectures, book signings, talks at libraries, interviews on TV -- that sort of thing. It's that outgoing, vivacious personality (and well groomed) that goes over best for this.

For others though, perhaps the best way to go is to "create a presence" in the literary world. Get a website -- every author should have one of those these days in any case. They are an absolute necessity. Publishers demand you have them. Then, join other sites, like Book Marketing Network. Do book reviews for places like NovelSpot and others. Mind you, some places have high standards for selecting their reviewers, and NovelSpot is one of them. But there are many book review sites, so you can pick one that you feel comfortable with, and one which supplies the genre you may prefer to read.

Now don't stop here. Remember that "presence" we're trying to "create?" You have to do more! Attend a convention(s) for your genre once in a while. Join some "loops" (forum sites) that have fellow authors who write what you write. Join organizations such as the Science Fiction Writers of America, and such. There are all sorts of these, for romance, mystery, adventure -- you name it -- there is an organization for it. So join them. Sign your emails always with who you are and what you have out, as in "Joe Blow, Author, "Magpies Are Us." (This is just a made up example, rather obviously.) Seriously, you must promote yourself around the clock.

What's the purpose of all this? Well, like with your website, you want to generate hits on the Internet -- lots of them. Now, mind you, hits on your website alone may be high, but that doesn't mean people going there are then going to the site where they can buy your books. Some may, and that all helps. But I'm talking about generating a lot of hits when people search under "author," "books," "writers," and especially if they search under your name, or your book titles. The more hits you have, the greater your presence on the Internet. I have a Zen joke I made up. "If someone can't Google and find you -- do you exist?"

Well think about that. As far as the Internet world, if your name doesn't pop up, regularly, and often, then your "presence," your existence on the Internet is very small or "nonexistent." And I had one editor tell me that the first thing he did was "Google" me. At least, he was honest about it. But if he had Googled me, and not found me, well then... Get it? You need that Internet "presence."

Another approach is having little contests on your homepage, attractions, as it were to entice people to your particular website. A problem I have with that is that then you have to promote your promotions! And that gets even more time consuming! So, those aren't big items on my personal list of how to promote oneself. I'd rather spend time promoting me, than some contest about me, that may or may not get people to buy my books. Again, lots of hits on your home web page are great, but they don't necessarily translate into people buying your books.

I do believe in a high profile. Use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Book Marketing Network, etc. Do press releases. Just get your name out there, if not your face, although that helps. People like to put a face to a name. And, if you like, do those postcards, bookmarks, and such as giveaways, but reserve those for when you are meeting people face-to-face, as in conventions, etc. It will help them to remember you when you physically hand them something. And, it's much cheaper that way. After all, money is important, and we each only have so much of it to spare at any given time -- even the wealthy.

One thing I learned. Giveaways, such as pens and bookmarks, aren't all that powerful a way to go. They help, but just about anything does to some degree, however small. But as a real estate broker, I've signed people up using another broker's pen he had given my customers. I'm sitting at their kitchen table, ask for a pen, and they hand me his. So the pen didn't make them choose him, anymore than that calendar, recipe card, or anything else he gave them did. They chose me.

One real estate source said that a broker was lucky if they generated one-to-two sales off of every 300 mailings. And those mailings aren't cheap. Is it worth it? Hard to say, because they did generate that one (or two) sale(s). But might the broker not have done much better marketing himself some other way, more effectively, for less cost perhaps, and resulting in far greater exposure? After all, I can get to the nearest town any number of ways, but I prefer to drive the 20 miles, rather than walk it, if you know what I mean. It's faster, more efficient, and I get there sooner. "Walking" is fine for exercise and leisure, but not when it comes to making sales! You want to get "there," and get "there" quickly! You must have book sales to be a successful author.

So, what's the uptake on all this? "Create a real presence" in the writing world. That's my advice. Make it so that when people Google, Yahoo, Bing, or anything else you, that they find you, can readily learn about you, and know who you are. That goes for readers, other writers, and most importantly, those editors and publishers. It is proof to them that you are marketing yourself. So, write articles, do book reviews, do blogs, do interviews -- do whatever it takes to get your name out there!

Success creates success! So look, act, and feel successful. Get your name and your work out there! Do it in a positive way. Choose the methods from above that you prefer, or develop some of your own that work better for you, but get your name out there. I keep repeating this for emphasis, because it is so important: Get your name out there! Do it!

I find the Internet truly is the best way to go. When someone voices any doubt about me, or my work, wants to know more, I often say, "well, don't take my word for it; just Google me." And remember something else, now many publishers ask you for a marketing proposal along with your book. So you had better have one of those ready to go, too! Yes, my fellow authors, we have become prostitutes of a sort. But then, it's in a good cause -- to sell ourselves as writers! Just keep that in mind. Our ultimate goal is to be successful writers. And you can be! Just promote yourself!