The Rules Have Changed

I think about books and marketing all the time. I mean all the time. I don't even listen to the radio in the car because I don't want the background noise to disrupt my thoughts. I also think about how I can teach my clients that the Old Rules of Marketing don't apply anymore. I get a lot of resistance but I have to keep pushing because I know once they get the hang of it and let go of the fear magic happens.

The old rules were pretty cut and dry. Advertising and branding. Reaching as many as possible with the tools you had to work with. If you are a major brand then you can advertise on radio, tv, cable etc... but if you are an author with a limited budget you need to be more creative. So you contact bookstores and schedule book signings. Then you put an ad in the paper letting people know that you will be at the bookstore. I know when I say bookstore many are wondering what I'm talking about. It saddens me to say that bookstores are dying at a rapid rate. I am a huge bookstore lover so it really is upsetting. I have a special place in my heart for the Independent Bookstore. Where you can walk in and people ask you what you like to read and give you ideas of great books that you might never know about if it were not for the bookseller in that store. Okay I got a bit off track but maybe not. The reason you may not have ever heard about that book is because of the limited budget for marketing. Don't get me wrong, you still need a budget for marketing your book but you get more bang for your your buck now. I know it's overwhelming and scary and all of those things.

Find a publicist that understands you and will work with you. Let them do the leg work so you can keep writing. I have found when authors try to do the marketing themselves they become discouraged and stop marketing. When your publicist gives you those to do lists that only you can do. Do it. Make the time. This is a business. You will get out of it what you put into it.

We are very lucky! The Web has changed the rules and we have to change our marketing. Many people are very uncomfortable with the internet. GET COMFORTABLE! You know the old saying, " If you can't beat em', join em".

You have the chance to reach the world. What's stopping you?

Denise

Okay Let's Rock This Book Business!

The book business has changed. I miss the idea of bookstores but I love the concept that we are no longer geographically challenged. Now we can reach the world from our computer. Just because you don't have to leave the home office doesn't mean you don't have to work. There are things you have to do and keep doing in order to bring attention to your work. You have to blog. You have to comment on other blogs. Yes, it takes time but the results are great! Blog Tours are great! We set those up all the time and they do work. Does it happen overnight? No but anything worth having is worth working for. It is a rare occasion that success happens overnight. I work with authors all the time. I consult on a regular basis. Those that follow the road map we set up are seeing success.

I know it's weird, and different but man this new book business is FUN! Take the plunge!

Denise

WOW! It's Been A While Since I Blogged About Book Marketing!

Hi All,

Boy I can't believe I haven't blogged since November. Things have been pretty busy. I have been working with some great clients old and new. We have been having a great time exploring all of the different ways we can market the author and the book. I have been concentrating a lot on the online marketing. I know everyone wants instant gratification but sometimes it's worth the wait. One of my Reiki clients was feeling a bit like she was hitting a brick wall, then it happened. She received an order for her book from New York, then another one from Florida and now they are coming in on a regular basis from all over the USA. It's still a work in progress but online marketing DOES work if you have the patience. It really is very exciting! So I guess the moral of this story is... Don't give up! Keep moving forward. It's not easy. If you don't feel like you can do it yourself, get help. It will be worth it.

Happy Writing!
Denise

Book Marketing and Social Networks

You know when I think about all of the social networks that are available my mind just spins. So many places to let people know about your books. Blogs, newsletters, Twitter, Facebook, the list just goes on. It's really amazing and you know what else it is... Time consuming! By the time you update, check in, and post your day is half gone and you haven't even checked your email. My advise. Get HELP! That's the only way you will be able to stay on top of everything that needs to be done in a day. Even a little bit of help is better than nothing. It's important to remember, you are the author, people want you to write. Leave the busy work to someone else so you can do what you need to do. Staying on the first few pages of search engines is great but if you spend all of your time staying there you won't have anything new to share.

Happy Writing,
Denise

What Form Of Marketing Works Best For You???

We travel this maze of book marketing trying to find what works best for each of us. Different approaches work for different authors and genres. A marketing plan that works great for one author crashes and burns for another. As a self published author, what has worked best for you? How much time to do you spend marketing yourself or do you have help with your marketing efforts?

I look forward to trading marketing information with you!

Happy Writing!
Denise

Remember book marketing and publishing doesn't have to be stressful or costly.

Take Constructive Criticism and Make it a Positive Thing!

We work in an industry where we need and want people to give us feedback on our book. On occasion we receive feedback that we don’t like to hear. The book could have used a good editor or this is a lot of fluff and lacks substance.
Ouch! Those comments hurt. They hurt because your book is like your baby. No one wants to hear they have an ugly baby and odds are you don’t have an ugly baby.
Instead of getting mad, let’s take a step back, and a deep breath and look at the big picture. Maybe we are in need of a good editor. Editing is never a place to cut corners when you are publishing a book. You need a professional editor. They see things in a different way. It’s not enough to have someone really good at grammar. Maybe we do need a bit more substance, things to think about for your next project.
The bottom line is we asked for this feedback so now we have to learn from it, the good, the bad, the ugly. You will have plenty that love you and your work but for those that wanted a bit more and told us so. We need to say thank you because their comments only make us better authors.

Paying Your Dues

I have been on several sides of this business. I began my journey working in an independent bookstore as a manager where one of my many duties was scheduling book signing events with New York Times bestselling authors and making sure everything went off without a hitch. From there I worked for a publishing company and then on to my own business.
During my time at the bookstore I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful authors but one that sticks in my memory is Steve Hamilton, NYT bestselling author many times over. He has an extensive list of titles under his belt. Now here is someone that could have been full of himself, but instead he was down to earth and a really great person. The size of the audience was not the deciding factor on how he addresses his audience. He made each and every person that came to get a book signed feel special and appreciated. Now here is a guy that wrote great books, traveled around on his own to book signings and kept his day job, even though he didn’t need to. This is an author that has paid his dues yet continues to promote his books in the same manner as when he was not well known.
In my line of work I meet with and speak to many first time authors that don’t know what to expect from this business. When I sit down with a potential client to discuss a marketing plan that works for them there are a few things I hear over and over.
I want to be on Oprah. I only want to do book signings near my home and only if they will pay me and or guarantee sales. How do I get stores to buy my book by the case?
Everyone has a wish list and we should always strive to be our best and take our work to the next level.
You may never get on Oprah but you don’t need Oprah to be successful. Bookstores won’t pay you and they can’t guarantee an audience nor do they buy books by the case under normal circumstances. This is a one at a time kind of business but that’s okay what fun would it be if we could predict every step of our success.
So in closing please, never think you are too big to get out there and talk to people about your work. Promote your 10th book with the same excitement you had with your 1st. It’s not the size of the audience it’s the quality of the company. If someone is there to see you then you have touched them with your work and that is very special. In closing never stop “paying your dues” and you will always have success.

Denise
Progressive Book Marketing
http://www.progressivebookmarketing.net

Be An Informed Consumer

Let me start by saying, “If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is.”

Now let me explain my statement. I can’t tell you how many authors I have talked to and work with that published their book with one of the online publishers that offer services for a minimal fee. What a great deal! NO! Many of these publishers rely on the first time author to keep them in business. In most cases the author ends up with a book that is not accepted in the marketplace.

Bookstores typically don’t work with Print On Demand Companies (POD). More often than not the book is also missing valuable information that should be included.

Once you get past that there is the issue with the book price. That is the amount the author must pay to have each book printed. I have seen case after case where the author loses money by selling books. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

This is one of the areas that the online publisher makes their money. They have the author charge an unreasonable amount for the book, and then charge half of the retail for each book printed. We won’t even talk about the shipping.

So now the author’s publicist has scheduled a book signing at an independent bookstore where the author can bring their books. Let’s say for arguments sake the book retails for $20 which is overpriced for the marketplace. The author paid $10 for the book plus shipping. Let’s assume shipping is $3 per book. So the author has $13 invested in each book which means for every book that sells the author makes $7, right? NO!

The bookstore expects their cut which typically is 40% of the retail. So now we take $8 and give that to the bookstore which leaves us with $12. Remember the author has $13 into each book which means for every book sold the author must pay $1. I’m no math expert but I don’t think this is how it should work. We won’t even talk about the time, gas, marketing tools etc…

How do you get around this? Be an informed consumer and remember, “If It Sounds To Good To Be True, It Probably Is!"

Denise

Progressive Book Marketing, LLC

progressiveoa@gmail.com

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