Most authors have fairly clear publishing goals. You know that you want to publish the book you’ve been working on for months (or years). You envision your book ranking high at Amazon.com and selling briskly at your website. But do you have a plan to make this happen?
I once had a newby, as yet unpublished, author tell me that promotion would not be necessary in his case because his book would sell itself. And this might be. Once people see this book, they might beg to buy it. Even in this unlikely scenario, however, someone will have to do something in order to bring the book to the potential customers’ attention. No one will buy a book they don’t know exists. Make sense?
Okay, now that we have that settled, what steps will you take in order to meet your book marketing goals? Are you still a tad overwhelmed by the concept of book promotion? Perhaps I can help. Consider this Three-Tiered Marketing Plan for Authors.
The Right Book for the Right Audience
First, let’s focus on the product. That’s right, your book. Have you written the right book for the right audience? Did you do the homework necessary to identify a valid need or desire for this particular book by a large enough target audience? Are you certain that your nonfiction book is different enough from other books on this topic—that it has benefits not available in other books? For fiction, have you chosen a genre that is selling? Have you read many other books in this genre so that you’re clear on the elements of a successful young adult fantasy, historical romance, thriller, etc.?
Do you have a realistic handle on the size of your target audience? Who is most likely to purchase your book and why? How many people are in this category? Where do they purchase books of this type? At Amazon.com for their Kindle? At specialty stores related to the theme of the book? At conferences and other presentations related to the business or other topic represented in your book?
These are the things you need to know before you publish a book, let alone start thinking about marketing it. In fact, book marketing and promotion are so closely entwined with the writing and publishing process that you should avoid making decisions about one without considering the other, especially during the writing stages of your project.
Once you are certain that you have developed a viable product with a large (or even a solid niche) audience, it is time to start setting goals. If you self-published or went with a pay-to-publish company, you may hope to earn your editorial and publishing expenses back within the year or even make a profit. You might have your mind set on selling a sufficient number of books to impress a traditional publisher enough to issue you a contract. Perhaps you just want to generate a steady part-time income you can count on while writing the second book in your series. Only you know the sales numbers you need to reach in order to meet your goals. You might be happy just putting your book into the hands of 500 satisfied customers or you may feel a need to sell thousands of copies.
Perhaps this 3-tiered plan will help you meet your personal and professional goals.
I’ll outline it in tomorrow’s blog post.