Marketing: tools of the trade
Originally published 2010
Writing a book is essentially the same as setting up a small business. You have created a product, now its time to tell people it's available to buy. Hopefully they will love your book and recommend it to their friends and family. So to get that word of mouth going, here are details of free or inexpensive resources available to help you market and sell your book from our New Media Sales Wheel.
Each element of the wheel provides a different benefit, which when combined, create a broad-based marketing strategy to help you reach your potential customers and develop a fan base.
Squarespace
Build a fan base with a blog
We believe that Squarespace is the simplest cleanest blogging tool on the web. you can set the information you post there to cascade through to your other social media sites, like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, without you lifting a finger. By posting interesting and useful information, you will create a following so that more people hear about your book.
For more information >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squarespace
Promote yourself as a professional author so other professionals can find you
On this business-focussed social media site, you can post details of your professional life as an author. This means other professionals or fans can contact you and you can create a network with them. You may also like to include broader details about your career to maximise your exposure.
For more information >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linkedin
Find potential readers and promotional opportunities
Although maligned for its reductive and sometimes banal nature, used smartly Twitter can be a powerful way to connect with potential clients. Many businesses have realised the potential of this medium, with the average user age now being 40+. Twitter allows you to send ‘tweets’ of no more than 140 characters out to those who ‘follow you’. Searching Twitter will help you find people who would be interested in your book.
For more information >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
Maximise exposure and create a global community
Facebook is the largest social networking site. It has over 100 million users, all potential buyers of your book. You will no doubt have friends on Facebook you can connect to. These people will then connect to others and before you know it you’ll have a great network of people you can tell about your book. You can even set up a business profile to promote your book and use it to build a global fan base.
MailChimp
Create loyal customers
Email newsletters are a more traditional option for your communications. They differ from social networking sites in that they are sent to specific people, rather than being public. You can manage them through a host of free services, but we use and recommend MailChimp. It’s simple, stylish and provides fantastic statistics on who’s opened, read and acted on your newsletter. Emailing promotions, discounts and useful information is a great way to create loyal customers.
Maximise your marketing
Remember these three important points to make the most of your online communications:
1. Make your information relevant
2. Make your information interesting
3. Make your communications regular.
