Simple Marketing Strategy For Authors: Write Well & Be Likable
As a self-publishing author there are two things that, if done well, will almost guarantee your success: Tell a good story and be likable. Yes, it's that simple.
It's not about having a flashy cover, although having good cover art is very important. It's not about making throwing a book release party. Although, a good promotional strategy will give you opportunities to genuinely engage your fans in a likable manner.
The point is a good cover, a necessary as it is, will only sustain your sales so far without a good story inside. A party will only work as a way to promote your book if people already like you.
What this means is that, as an author, you have two product lines to manage, your books and yourself.
Your Books
You've taken the time to write daily and now you have a manuscript ready to print. Not so fast. Before you go to press, you may want to consider one vital marketing cost. That's hiring a good editor. Yes, I believe hiring an editor is a marketing cost.
There is much to consider in telling your story. Is your timeline of events consistent or are they impossibly off? Does your plot flow well or is it a mixed bag, leading to nowhere?
Marketing has become being remarkable. A good editor will help your review your manuscript to ensure that there are no inconsistencies blocking your story from being a good story, well-told.
You The Author
As an author, it's not enough to simply write good stories. People to tend to buy more from those they like. Are you generous to your fans? What about you are giving away so that your fans may like you? I let people read all my books for free via my Scribd profile.
The result for me is that people see me as generous and helpful. Not only do I interact with fans at book signings and on social sites like Twitter, and Facebook, I help satisfy their desire to read good fiction at no cost to them. Because I've been generous with my titles, I have built a base of fans who know and like my writing style. Believe it or not this has led to better sales because readers of my free titles are now primed to enjoy my new releases that are for sale.
A genuinely well-written book that's self-published by a genuinely likeable person: Now that's almost always an unbeatable combination.
