Marketing Don’ts
It seems everybody wants to tell writers what to do to market and promote their books. I think it might be even more important to know what NOT to do. So I thought I’d share my idea of the worst things you could do.
First, you should avoid the two action extremes. At one end of the spectrum, you can’t just sit and wait to see what happens. Don’t lose the crucial first few release days waiting to see what kind of sales you’ll get without marketing.On the other hand, you shouldn’t feel like you have to do everything either. There are so many social media sites, and some people do blog every day. But you can’t do all that AND read every writing blog AND attend every book event within driving distance. Is Goodreads a good thing? Yes. So is Library Thing. Pick one. Same with the other similar sites. Choose a couple you can really establish a solid presence on. You’ll find that pays off a lot better than trying to be on all of them a little bit or once in a while.You shouldn’t think your book is all the writing you need to do. You should be producing lots of content for those on-line places where you want to be seen. Blog regularly, and if Facebook or Twitter are part of your plan post frequently. Consider YouTube as social media too and consider posting videos. Keep those posts appearing on Pinterest. Creating lots of content can become time consuming, but I’ve read several articles on the internet sharing easy ways to come up with engaging, and helpful, content. Google some up.Speaking of big mistakes, don’t ever think your book is so timely, so hot, and so topical that you don’t need to market it. The rules apply to everyone! Hillary Clinton, Rush Limbaugh and Oprah Winfrey all make sure their books get lots of good marketing. Empire is the hottest thing on TV right now, but Taraji Henson is not too big to engage with people on Twitter. Her character on the show, Cookie, is a hustler, and to promote the show Henson is too!OK, what do YOU think are the worst mistakes writers make in marketing? Share them with the class, and I’ll try to present them here next week.
First, you should avoid the two action extremes. At one end of the spectrum, you can’t just sit and wait to see what happens. Don’t lose the crucial first few release days waiting to see what kind of sales you’ll get without marketing.On the other hand, you shouldn’t feel like you have to do everything either. There are so many social media sites, and some people do blog every day. But you can’t do all that AND read every writing blog AND attend every book event within driving distance. Is Goodreads a good thing? Yes. So is Library Thing. Pick one. Same with the other similar sites. Choose a couple you can really establish a solid presence on. You’ll find that pays off a lot better than trying to be on all of them a little bit or once in a while.You shouldn’t think your book is all the writing you need to do. You should be producing lots of content for those on-line places where you want to be seen. Blog regularly, and if Facebook or Twitter are part of your plan post frequently. Consider YouTube as social media too and consider posting videos. Keep those posts appearing on Pinterest. Creating lots of content can become time consuming, but I’ve read several articles on the internet sharing easy ways to come up with engaging, and helpful, content. Google some up.Speaking of big mistakes, don’t ever think your book is so timely, so hot, and so topical that you don’t need to market it. The rules apply to everyone! Hillary Clinton, Rush Limbaugh and Oprah Winfrey all make sure their books get lots of good marketing. Empire is the hottest thing on TV right now, but Taraji Henson is not too big to engage with people on Twitter. Her character on the show, Cookie, is a hustler, and to promote the show Henson is too!OK, what do YOU think are the worst mistakes writers make in marketing? Share them with the class, and I’ll try to present them here next week.
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