How Much Marketing Do You Do?
April 23, 2010 by Cherie
Filed under Cherie's Books & Blogs, Featured
The other day one of my writer friends asked me about marketing. She had read my post about helping to promote the stops along my virtual book tour, and wondered how much marketing I did when I wasn’t “on tour.” It was a great question, and one that aspiring authors ask me from time to time. I feel fortunate, because my background before I went into writing full-time was marketing. I did it for twenty years, and hated every minute. I don’t enjoy the process of marketing, but I do enjoy the results.
When I published my first book (The Difference Now) six years ago, I was determined to learn about marketing as it related to the publishing industry. I had marketed companies for years, so how hard could it be to market your own work? The answer? Not hard. But a lot of work nonetheless. In my days in corporate marketing, I got in the habit of coming home at night after a long day of probably ten or twelve hours, and then still thinking of ideas to bring into work the next day while I watched TV. (I used to be bad at unwinding.) Still, that habit of doing a little bit of marketing every day stayed with me. When I published that book of poetry, I researched ways to promote it.
You’d think working in corporate marketing would have had me working with large budgets. Nope. I worked for cheapskates. A lot of companies skimp on marketing. They expect you to do it cheaply but get big results. This actually helped me when it came time to do my own marketing, because let’s face it, a published poet doesn’t have any money! (Neither does a freelance writer, really, but I digress….)
With that first book, I spent a few hours every night learning ways to promote my books. I read marketing blogs, chatted with any author I could find, talked to PR professionals… you name it. I took it all in. I filled an entire notebook with ideas. Then, I spend a couple hours every night implementing some of my ideas. Not all of them were fabulous, but I quickly found ones that were. Relevant guest posts on high profile blogs worked well. Advertising, by and large, did not. Bookmarks were a nice touch, but they didn’t necessarily sell books.
I quickly found the formula for great marketing: a little bit every day. How much is “a little bit”? I still take an hour or two every day and market myself. It adds up. I search out blogs to comment or guest post on, places to be interviewed, news stories that help me tie a press release into my book, and places to get a review. You have to do it consistently and you cannot be obnoxious about it. In other words, find a blog that your ideal reader is reading, and get involved in the community. Comment with thoughtful discussion points. Never try to sell your book. In fact, don’t even mention it. If you’re a writer you should be able to make thoughtful comments that will encourage people to look you up. They will. If they look you up on their own they will buy your books. So just leave your name, your comment, and since most blog sites allow you to place a blind website in the comment, you should be set.
Another thing I see writers missing is a pitch. You can’t just say, “I wrote this book! Have me on your show, or program, or website!” Because their response will be: who cares? You have to provide a pitch. Don’t say you wrote a book, tell why the book will benefit the show (or website’s) readers. You’ll have a much better response this way.
The biggest element of success, however, is consistency. I’ve read some experts that suggest sending out at least one review copy every day, or write to three blog owners, or pitching to two media outlets a day. The number doesn’t matter, but the “every day” part does. Consistency will keep you in the search engines and things will begin to happen. Don’t look at it like a chore, but do it because it’s part of your passion of writing. Embrace the marketing as part of your writing requirements.
I can’t stress enough that you can’t give up or think that it isn’t worth it. Do it because you never know what else will come of it. When I first published that poetry book, I did it with a self-publisher and my royalties were squat. I marketed the heck out of it anyway, and in turn I started getting more writing work. Everything you do builds on the next and it all helps you get to your big goal.
What’s your big goal? To be a wildly successful writer, of course! We all might have a different idea of success but I think we all agree on the fact that being a successful writer is the ultimate. So start today, do an hour of marketing, and make it your mission to do that every night of the week. Five hours a week is better than nothing. Five hours will begin to scratch the surface. Eight hours? Ten? Even better. Make marketing a part of your life just like writing is. Embrace it and it will pay you back in spades.
