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    Self-Publisher Rich results on Google’s SERP when searching for 'Self Publisher' 'Self Publishing' 'Book Marketing' 'Marketing Strategies'

    Marketing Strategies to Sell Your Book

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , , , ,

    Self-publishing success is ultimately knowing how to self-market your book.

    No matter what book you’re writing, a critical aspect is the marketing message/strategy you use to discuss your book – social media, blogs, newsletters, interviews, etc. The right messaging is a big piece of the puzzle to attracting the right audience.

    If you struggle with marketing strategy and the messaging behind it, you’re not alone.

    ​Marketing is tough! If book marketing were as simple as posting great photos, stories, reels, and content on social media, we’d all be best sellers. Without a message behind it, a clear strategy, knowing who I am talking to and why, and creating content that speaks to that audience and draws them in, even with the right content, it can be hard to attract the right audience.

    ​Marketing Strategies to sell your book: A good messaging strategy will help position your author’s brand for scalability. In advertising, six messaging strategies are most commonly used: emotional, unique selling proposition, generic, positioning, brand image, or pre-emptive. Knowing which messaging strategy you want when self-publishing is a significant first step toward creating a successful ad campaign for your book.

    Emotional Strategy

    An emotional message strategy uses feelings to sell. An ad or content using this tactic should connect its target audience emotionally to the book. Emotion is more than just a seasoning to sprinkle throughout your marketing tactics. It has a genuine, scientifically-proven impact on consumer decision-making. This means that writers/self-publishers can throw all the logic and facts they want at readers, but it will ultimately be an emotion that drives their book-buying decisions

    Unique Selling Proposition Strategy

    A USP strategy highlights something unique about your book or brand that others do not offer. This is the main selling point. What is the main differentiated factor that sets your book apart? What resonates with your readers? 

    The core of a Unique Selling Proposition can be challenging to pin down, as it varies wildly based on a writer’s offerings. To make matters even more confusing, a USP is not a slogan but can be used as such. 

    When writing a USP, experts advise breaking up the process into these three steps:

    • Brainstorming emotional concepts for your business
    • Putting yourself in your customers’ shoes
    • Analyzing your competitors

    Generic Strategy

    Don’t be put off or confused by the word “generic.” When an ad uses a generic strategy, it focuses on selling the genre rather than the specific book. This does not mean you should use uninspired, non-descriptive language in your messaging. 

    Be warned before pursuing this strategy: the marketing landscape has shifted away from generic messaging since the events of 2020. It has resulted in a lot of messaging becoming a congealed mass of generic platitudes (i.e., “we’re all in this together”) that made it nearly impossible for the offending brands to stand out. 

    Positioning Strategy

    Positioning identifies the book or brand as the best compared to the competition. Often these ads will boast features such as #1 in customer service.

    For a more precise understanding, take a look at this 7-Step Brand Positioning Strategy Process, courtesy of Cult Branding:

    To create a positioning strategy, identify your book’s uniqueness and determine what differentiates you from your competition.

    There are seven key steps to clarify your positioning in the marketplace effectively:

    1. Determine how your brand/book is currently positioning itself
    2. Identify your direct competitors in that genre
    3. Understand how each competitor is positioning their brand/book
    4. Compare your positioning to your competitors to identify your uniqueness
    5. Develop a value-based and distinct positioning idea
    6. Build a brand positioning statement
    7. Test the effectiveness of your brand positioning statement

    Brand Imaging Strategy

    If you create a psychological connection with a brand/book, you are likely using this marketing message strategy. This strategy frequently makes a personality for a brand and may not always specifically sell a book. 

    Your brand image is perhaps essential in how potential readers understand your brand. It encompasses everything from the colors and fonts used in your book title to the imagery/art on your book covers. It is best to stay consistent in your imagery so that people think of you when they see it.

    Pre-Emptive Strategy

    Last but not least is the choice to use a pre-emptive strategy. This means you choose to be the first to claim your hero/world/plot. This claim may also be valid for your competition, but you are the first to tell your target audience about it. If you plan to use this approach, be sure that you are thoroughly researching competitors and their marketing strategies and approaches.

    Success depends on finding the right angle, but it’s equally critical to distribute this message effectively.

    How to Get Your Book into Libraries

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , ,

    Getting Your Self-Published Books into Libraries in 9 Easy Steps

    Do you want to get your books into libraries but don’t know where to start?

    You want your book in libraries because 58% of Americans have a library card, and over half of them say that they have been in their local library in the last month. That is a significant number of potential readers that might need or want my book.

    Just know that getting into libraries takes a great deal of time and effort. It will not just “happen” for you.

    The good news is once you get started, you will find that it is COMPLETLY WORTH IT!

    How to get libraries to stock self-published books?

    I have spoken in-depth with librarians, with collection development experts at the top wholesalers, and have come up with the main steps needed to be taken seriously by librarians.

    1. Learn what librarians need when considering a new book.

    Librarians have demanding jobs, and they have a lot of duties to juggle. It will exponentially help your chances of success if you learn exactly what they need. 

    First, librarians need a book that fills a “hole” on their shelves. If you have an excellent horror novel, but the library’s shelves are stuffed with horror novels, you want to move on to another library that needs more horror novels.

    Secondly, librarians need books that are available for purchase from wholesalers they already work with. Is your book on B&T, Brodart, or Ingram? Is your eBook available at Overdrive, Proquest, or Axis360?

    Thirdly, librarians need books available, returnable, and at a good discount. If you don’t offer all of these things then, they will not be able to provide your books under the terms THEY need to stay within budget.

    Speaking of budget, librarians have budgets—tight ones. Help them out by offering your paperback books at a reasonable, market-friendly price.

    Fourthly, librarians need to draw more patrons to their doors. What will you be doing to attract readers, so that the patrons ask for your book at their local library? How will you be supporting libraries while asking them to support you? 

    2. Approach the wholesalers first.

    Apply to all the avenues – B&T, Proquest, Unique, Quality, Brodart, and Ingram Library and have your book appropriately listed in their offerings. Perhaps, consider buying a listing in the library catalogs. (The fastest and easiest way to get approved!)

    3. Make your book fully returnable and with a trade discount.

    That means offering your book at a 50% possibly even 55% discount to wholesalers. Ninety days to pay and 100% returnable will allow the wholesaler to consider working with you. If you offer them these terms, you will have a chance.

    4. Get reviews from respected sources.

    Publishers Weekly, Midwest Book Review, Library Journal, any major newspaper, Booklist, and Library Thing are great places to start. 

    Suppose you are not appropriately listed at the wholesalers and do not have any reviews they can refer to. In that case, you are in danger of being considered unworthy of their time and consideration. Librarians will use trusted third-party sources to help them decide which books are worth their time and which are not.

    5. Drive traffic into libraries by creating a plan to increase demand.

    If you want a library to give up some of their precious shelf space and money, then be able to sell them on your marketing plan. 

    Ask yourself: Are you willing to write an article for their library website or newsletter? Will you be interviewed in the local paper or on the local radio show? Host an online event via Skype? Can you offer a give-a-way for library patrons? What are you willing to do to help them with their goals of bringing in and serving the community?

    6. Develope a well-formed sales pitch.

    Once you are listed on a few wholesalers, have a few reviews, have a marketing plan, and understand the librarian’s goals, then it is time to go after orders. Most librarians will prefer an email when being presented with a book for consideration. If you would like to see a sample of an email that works well, then click here.

    Your initial approach through email should be to keep the librarian’s goals and needs at the forefront. Attach a PDF of your marketing plan, so you can show them exaxctly how you will drive traffic to their location.

    Please give them a one-page PDF information sheet. That will save them immense time and convey that you understand their business. Point out the fact, that your book has a PCIP block on the copyright page. (THAT’LL make them very happy!)

    7. Once all the sales presentation kits and email elements are complete, then it’s time to pick up the phone.

    It only takes a few moments to ask the question:

    “Who is responsible for making title selections and stocking decisions for (Children’s/Fiction/Reference/Mystery/Pet/Business) books? “

    Phone calls are the best way to get right to the correct person and get the most current contact information. Library databases are great, but staff changes, and responsibilities will change every year. 

    Always use the contacts name in email or any other follow up contact. How would you like it, if you got an email that started with: “Dear Author?”

    8. Follow up within a few weeks.

    If you get a response, engage immediately; send them a sample PDF to review. If you get the dreaded no, thank them for their time. If you don’t hear anything at all, then drop them a line and ask for more information.

    9. Move on.

    After you present your book and marketing plan to the first wave of librarians, find the next batch and the batch afterward. If you get a no from a library, use that time and go after a different one. With over 20,000 libraries in the US – don’t get discouraged! 

    Once you get your book into a larger city’s library, and your book has some success. Then you will be in an excellent position to have more libraries in that city buy your book and consider the eBook and audio versions as well! Viral sales won’t just “happen,” but they DO happen after you have hit your stride!

    Hopefully, this list of suggestions has been of help. Good luck, and remember, do a little bit each day. The key to moving forward is simply to keep moving. This is not a sprint; it is a marathon. Authors can all make great strides when taking it one step at a time and remaining patient.

    Some Bad Reviews Are Avoidable

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , , , , , ,
    Some Bad Reviews are Avoidable on Amazon

    Every author gets bad reviews, but some bad reviews are avoidable.

    There are always going to be those people who don’t like your work – your voice didn’t click, your story didn’t grab them. You can’t control that. 

    However, what you can control are the readers who don’t like your book because they were disappointed. They expected one thing but got another. They saw your ad on

    Amazon describing a twisty thriller, and they couldn’t wait to dig into a dark, exciting story — only to find that your book was a sci-fi thriller, a caper set in a distant, high-tech future. This wasn’t at all what they expected when they hit that “BUY NOW” button, and they’re not too happy about it. 

    In short: you marketed your book to them, and when they sat down to read, it wasn’t what they expected. 

    By ensuring you know precisely WHO your reader is and making a concerted effort to market to that particular audience, you can ensure that bad reviews are few and far between. 

    Most first-time authors and indie authors don’t have big publishing houses with marketing research teams behind them. Regardless, authors still need to do the job of finding and speaking directly to readers to ensure that they don’t end up with a slew of lackluster – or, worse, mean! – reviews on their books.

    So, how do you begin the process of positioning your book for success by talking to your actual intended audience? How do you make sure negative reviews don’t impact your book sales? 

    It’s all about targeting your marketing to ensure the RIGHT people are reading your book. 

    Emily A Myers recently debuted her book “The Truth About Unspeakable Things.” In the process of publishing her book, she realized she was trying to market to the wrong people. Once her book was correctly positioned, the crowd went wild.

    In publishing her book, she realized she was trying to market to the wrong people and had her book listed in the wrong primary genre on Amazon. Choosing the genre can be tricky, and there’s a lot to know about the norms and expectations of the readers. Once her book was correctly positioned, the crowd went wild.

    Initially, Emily thought her book was in Woman’s Fiction genre. Woman’s Fiction novels follow a female protagonist through a specifically female experience. But what made her book specific/different actually pushed her into an unintended category on Amazon.

    If your book isn’t necessarily doing as well as you think, it could be in the wrong genre. Switching to the Thriller genre did remarkably better for her without changing a single word of her book.

    In the PublishHer Podcast, Emily describes her book as a Thriller with a dash of romance and true crime elements but is a woman’s journey at its core.

    Picking the correct genre will position your book for success.

    1. Amazon’s genre categories determine your audience. 
    2. Know the expectations of your specific genre.
    3. Don’t let the story elements dictate the wrong genre.
    4. Your book is not for everyone – be okay with that.
    5. Research that genre and its norms and expectations. 

    No matter what you think about your book, go where the reader finds your book to be and show up in those places appropriately. 

    Keep working on finding your ideal readers – they are waiting for your book!

    Presto Page Audiobooks

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , , ,

    Presto Page Audiobooks – Convert Your Manuscript Into an Audiobook

    The future of publishing is audiobooks. Interested in reaching larger audiences? Then convert your manuscript into an audiobook! The fastest-growing format in the book publishing industry. Recently evaluated at over 2 billion dollars and growing, with the major contributor to the rise in popularity coming from the convenience of our smartphones.

    WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF TURNING YOUR BOOK INTO AN AUDIOBOOK?

    1. MAKE MORE MONEY 

    Turning one word into multiple income streams captures readers who like paper books, ebooks, and audiobooks.

    2. LISTENING ON THE GO

    Some people don’t care to be a captive on the couch by their book. Moreover, some prefer to listen to our books on the treadmill, in the car, at work, or while multitasking at home.

    3. ATTRACTIVE TO PEOPLE WHO CONSUME A LOT OF BOOKS

    Some people leisurely read a book over the course of a year or two, and others devour an entire novel in 48 hours. Audiobooks are great for both types. 

    4. GREAT FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE TO OR HAVE TROUBLE READING

    Some people don’t like to read, but those same people often gravitate towards audiobooks. At the same time, others may not be able to read because of a disability, such as dyslexia or blindness. For this group of the population, an audiobook provides an attractive solution.

    5. NEVER SELL OUT

    Ebooks and audiobooks both share this same distinction of never selling out. If your book were to become popular suddenly, you would never have to worry about availability. Rest assured, you will know that audiobooks (mainly digital) are always in stock.

    6. FEWER AUDIOBOOKS THAN PRINTED BOOKS AND EBOOKS

    Lastly, there are fewer audiobooks on the market than printed books or ebooks. As an audiobook, it’s easier to get discovered because of less competition.

    FINAL THOUGHTS ON AUDIO

    In conclusion, creating another income stream from your novel is always a good idea, especially if you’re tapping into the audiobook industry. 

    Now let’s get started converting your manuscript into an audiobook! Fill out the form below and get started on your journey into audio.

    Rich results on Google’s SERP when searching for 'Self Publisher' 'Self Publishing' 'Print-on-Demand Book Printing’ 'Presto Page' 'Book Cover before and After'

    What Makes a Good Book Cover?

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , ,

    What Makes a Good Book Cover?

    We’ve all judged a book by its cover. You go into that bookstore, and there’s something about it that grabs your attention. The colors, font, and art all work together to tell you that this book is one you need to pick up. 

    While traditionally published authors don’t get to do this on their own, anyone planning on self-publishing or working with a hybrid/publishing partnership, like Presto Page, will get to have the fun of finding the cover that’s just right for their book. 

    When a million books are getting published every year, finding something that stands out is necessary. 

    It’s an art more than a science, but here are some essential tips to get you started. 

    A Good Book Design Will:

    • Grabs You. There needs to be something eye-catching about your book cover. Whether it’s the color, texture, font, etc., even something minimalist in a sea of busy covers can significantly impact sales.
    • Be Readable. This means you can read the title and tell what the image is when it’s on a shelf 50 feet away or as a thumbnail picture on Amazon. Remember that many readers will see your book cover digitally, so pay special attention to how it looks on screens. 
    • Genre Specific. Yes, your book should stand out but not too much. If what you’ve written is a romance book, then it should look like a romance book. If what you’ve written is a mystery book, then it should look like a mystery book.
    • Importance of a Tease. With the design, a good book cover communicates something about the action inside. This doesn’t mean you should illustrate a scene from the book or spell anything out. It’s about giving your readers a hint. 
    • Main Focus. Book covers exist to sell your book. They are not illustrations of your text, nor are they showing the story inside. They give hints of the action, but they are their own story, in a way: the story of why this book is suitable for the reader. 

    Now, suppose all this sounds intimidating or a little too artsy for you. In that case, that’s okay because my biggest advice to any author when it comes to cover design is to use a professional cover designer. Or you can simply check a box in our checkout and work with an exceptional book cover designer at Presto Page. We will help you get your book looking exactly how you want, to compete in your market. 

    How to order Book Cover Design on prestopage.com

    Once you have a book cover designer you like, you’ll be able to begin your marketing – yes, this early! – and you can begin the production side of your book. To get started on your Hardcover or Softcover books, click here.

    Q: If I have a self-published novel on Amazon and it hasn’t been successful, should I submit it to an agent instead?

    Matthew Haigh on 0, ,

    A: You can try. But a second fail is not the answer to this situation. Novels that made it into the top 100 on Amazon don’t get attention from agents these days. So why would they look at a proven failure?

    You’re asking the WRONG question.

    Why wasn’t your novel successful on Amazon?

    • Cover not in the genre?
    • Cover badly designed?
    • Blurb putting people off?
    • Sample with too many ‘bounce you out’ problems?
    • Book is in the wrong categories?
    • You didn’t use the right keywords?
    • No launch strategy?
    • No marketing?

    Or any of the other myriads of things probably wrong with your novel, and you haven’t found them yet.

    What you need to do now is figure out what is stopping the book from selling, and to do that, you need experienced authors to take a look at it and give you their blunt opinions without you getting upset about them.

    Most books can be redeemed. But egos prevent that.

    A lot of it depends on how good it is. Not just the story — the writing, the grammar, the cover, the interior formatting, all that. Readers will forgive a lot if the story is stellar, but most self-published novels are not. But let’s assume the story is competently told. You’re sticking to one genre or writing in an established cross-genre niche. You know your audience. The grammar and writing are decent.

    The sad fact is, most novels on Amazon, which fail, were released way too soon and have multiple issues preventing them from selling. The time to identify and fix the problems is before you launch. If you want experienced book marketing agents to review your book and marketing strategy, fill out the form at the bottom of this page, called Self-Publishing Needs Beyond the Book Printing.

    But the wonderful thing about being Indie is we can change anything anytime we want. All you need to do is find what needs changing.

    Copyright Basics for Indie Authors

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , , ,

    Copyright Basics

    Copyright is the sole legal right to reproduce, distribute, perform, and display creative material and that material’s derivative products. For any creative material to be protected in the United States, it must be:

    • Original.
    • At least minimally creative.
    • Must be in a tangible medium of expression (written word, painting, photograph, or any other tangible medium).

    Ordinarily, this right is given to the author of a creative piece when their work is placed in its fixed medium. So,

    • Artists hold their rights in their paintings and sculptures.
    • Writers hold their rights in their novels, books, short stories, and articles.
    • Photographers hold their rights in the images they take.
    • Architects hold their rights in the blueprints of the buildings they design.
    • And many other categories of creative works.

    The most notable thing about copyright is that it is an exclusive right; quite literally is the right to copy the protected work and the right to exclude others from doing so. The legal notion keeps other people from coming in and taking a writer’s work and selling or otherwise using that work to their own benefit. In other words, it gives the copyright holder the legal right to exclude others from doing all of those things.

    Here’s the juicy part for authors and other creators. In the U.S., you don’t have to do anything—copyright attaches automatically. But (and this is an important but) if a copyright holder wants to go to federal court to enforce that copyright against someone infringing, the holder first needs to register a copyright with the federal government thru the U.S. Copyright Office. (Available online for as little as $45 in the U.S.)

    How long does this right last? 

    Copyright is not perpetual, but most material created after 1978 has a period lasting for the author/creator’s lifetime plus 70 years. And, yes, if you write a book or take a photo or create anything artistic, those rights will survive you. It is a property right, much like any other.

    It’s good to know how an author can protect their rights and how authors can keep from inadvertently infringing the copyright of others when they write. 

    I provide this posting as general information. As always, writers and publishers should never hesitate to consult a qualified legal professional if they have any questions about their legal rights and obligations.

    To learn more about the original article or to hire a professional, click here.

    For a step-by-step guide to a copyright page, click here.

    Planning Your Book

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , , ,

    The writing process is a personal journey for each author. Some writers are meticulous planners, plotting every detail of their story before they begin. In contrast, others will write by the seat of their pants, without any idea of where the story will end up. Most authors lie somewhere in between. However, no matter the category you land in, there are benefits to planning at least some parts of your book before you begin writing.

    Of the several techniques to help you when planning your book, two techniques are brainstorming and outlining. Even if you happen to be more spontaneous than a rigid planner, you should give one of these techniques a try to see if it improves your work.

    Brainstorming – Books don’t just happen; they won’t just fall out of your head and write themselves. Wouldn’t that be great if they did? Brainstorming allows a free flow of ideas without any constraints from evaluation, organization, or judgments. It can be used any time throughout the writing process, when you lack ideas or if you have too many. You can brainstorm about your story, in general, or simply something more specific such as a particular character, setting, or chapter. There are several useful techniques for the brainstorming writer, such as freewriting, making lists, mind mapping, and asking questions. 

    Freewriting is where you set a time limit or a page limit and write whatever comes to your mind about the topic with no limits. Just keep writing a free flow of ideas.

    With the list method, think on a topic, start listing ideas, set a number as your goal, and continue writing until you’ve reached that number. Don’t worry about the quality or order of your listing items; get them out onto the page, so you have them to play around with and expand upon them later.

    Mind mapping is excellent for organizing your ideas. Begin with a circle in the center of a large blank page. Write your initial thought or central concept, and then branch off from there. Draw more circles branching from the first one, filling them in with related ideas or subplots. Expand on each idea, create more and more branches and associations. In the end, your page will be filled with ideas that will help you develop your story.

    Another technique has you form questions rather than answers. For example, write down your topic, plot, or character, and then write six categories: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Write questions that need to be answered. For example, “What is the one thing the main character can’t live without?” “Where will the story unfold?” Give yourself a set time and write down as many questions as possible. In the end, explore deeper into some of the more interesting ones.

    Outlining is a divisive topic for most authors. There are some authors who can’t work without outlines, while others can’t stand them. But most authors benefit from outlining or drafting a blueprint of their books. It is essential for authors who continually start projects but can’t figure out how to reach a completion point. There are several ways to outline, but the basics methods are classical, summary, and storyboarding.

    Classical outlines are what most people visualize when they think about outlining – i.e., Roman numerals, letters, numbers for headings, and subheadings. This is highly organized and relies heavily on sequential thinking. It is the most popular for nonfiction authors. This kind of prewriting organization brings clarity and structure to the story.

    Summary outlines start by sequentially listing events or creating a working title for each of your chapters and listing them logically in order. Then write a summary of each chapter, clearly defining your goals. 

    1. Nonfiction – list your resources as they would appear, including books, interviews, and web links. 
    2. Novels – include the characters, settings, and chapter timelines.
    3. Memoirs – summarize essential life events. This type of outline is linear in nature. 

    Some authors combine classical and summary outlining for a more complete and detailed plot blueprint.

    The last method I will discuss is index card outlining/storyboarding. This popular technique allows for a constant reorganization of ideas. Before you start, you’ll want to have at least some of the story’s elements figured out, like a basic beginning, middle, and end. Plus, any other ideas you’ve come up with while planning your book. 

    Start by creating short scene summaries on index cards or post-it notes. Then put them in order and rearrange them. Post-it notes are great to easily arranged on a wall while offering a visual way to follow the developing plot. If you’re software savvy, a program like Microsoft’s PowerPoint or Mac’s Keynote allows you to create cards electronically for as much rearranging as needed. A storyboard will enable you to see your storyline from beginning to end physically and in front of you, allowing for easy editing.

    Nonfiction – list your resources as they would appear, including books, interviews, and web links. 

    Novels – include the characters, settings, and chapter timelines. Memoirs – summarize essential life events. This type of outline is linear in nature.  

    For a smooth writing process and well-developed book, your best bet is to adopt most or some of the techniques discussed while planning your book.

    For pricing on your finished book, click here.

    Increasing Your Book’s Fanbase

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , ,

    Increasing your book’s fanbase while growing your email list.

    Giveaways are a great way to increase your subscriber base, your fans on social media, get more likes, and so on. If you haven’t finished writing your book yet and don’t have a book to give for free, you can give away just about anything you want. I’ve even seen gift cards, Kindles, candles, all sorts of things.

    But for it to be worth it to you, make sure the giveaway is relevant to your book or of interest to your target audience. You don’t want many people entering your giveaway that is not part of your target audience. For example, if you write nonfiction books on healing, giving away a $25 gift card to Starbucks is probably not relevant. However, if you write books about parenting or your target audience is moms, that could be a great giveaway. 

    Perhaps poll your audience to find out what they would like to receive as a giveaway. Maybe it’s a print copy of your latest book. Perhaps it’s a SWAG bag. Keep in mind: You don’t have to spend money to do this. And it doesn’t have to be fancy. There are plenty of apps that will help you set up a free giveaway – Rafflecopter, Gleam, King Sumo – some of them are free, some are not. 

    You could create a bundle of ebooks by getting together with a handful of other authors in your genre, have them each provide an e-copy, place them all in one Dropbox folder, and when people enter the giveaway, they’ll receive the link to the dropbox folder. You could also do this as a low-cost way to make some money too. A bundle of 10 books, for example, for $1.99 or $2.99. This way, you can share the revenue while increasing all of your book’s fanbase.

    Action items for setting up your first giveaway!

    Let’s start by giving away your book for free on your website. 

    You’ll need:

    1. A landing page
    2. An email CRM that will collect the emails and send out the e-copy of your book or send an email that directs them to a link (dropbox, website, etc.) where they can download the book.
    3. A “Thank you” page that directs them after they’ve entered their email address. That will let them know the free book is on the way, OR they’ll be notified when you pick a winner and invites them to follow you on social media (include the links) while they are waiting.

    If nothing else, you now have an excellent way to collect email addresses from your website and increasing your book’s fanbase. Be sure people understand they are opting into a list, and make sure you send out an introduction email not long after they sign up so that they know who you are and why you’re emailing them.

    Marketing Yourself as an Author

    Matthew Haigh on 0, , , ,

    Marketing yourself as an author from the point of view of a book marketer.

    Nobody in book marketing cares what your book is about. Nobody cares how well written it is. And lastly, nobody cares what you did in the past decade. As a book marketer, what is cared about, is whether you have a personality or public persona to sell the book.

    It is all about perceptions and personalities, style over substance when it comes to publicity and marketing yourself as an author.

    This doesn’t mean you have to become a circus act, nor does it mean you need to be crude or insulting or be an attention magnet. Truthfully, though, it doesn’t hurt. What is being said is every author needs to find their voice and public persona.

    Moreover, being reserved, shy, quiet, or ordinary won’t do in the marketplace full of personality-driven media and book sales. It would help if you sold yourself in a way that gets attention. 

    "Author Self Reflection" "marketable author traits" "author traits" "marketable traits"

    Take a realistic look at yourself and evaluate how you come off to others. From what perspective does someone see you? Do they know your looks, voice, or mannerisms? Is it the way you get the point across or tell your story? Do they view you as an expert in your field or something else? Do they focus on physical traits? Some things can be addressed, adjusted, or improved upon – and some things are exactly how they are. In reality, no one should ever have to apologize for who they are. But be aware, you will be judged, thrown in a box, and labeled in two seconds. 

    Focus on the following:

    1. Evaluate how you are seen.

    2. Determine how you’d like to be seen. 

    3. Look and sound the way people want to absorb you.  

    No, this doesn’t mean you should be someone you are not. Does it mean you should get a style makeover, change hairstyles, and make some physical adjustments? Of course, it does.

    Nothing is stopping you from smiling, being empathetic, and sounding knowledgeable on your subject matter, correct?  

    Think about your persona as you present your book, area of expertise, or viewpoints. Perhaps, you are dominated by certain traits, such as good humor, storyteller, information-sharer, etc. Maybe you come off as a particular type – the caring mom, the old sage guy, the activist, the determined immigrant, the successful entrepreneur, the victim, and so on. There are many types are out there – which one do you prefer to project? Jokester? Advisor? Resource sharer? Storyteller? Pick a persona and BE that person. Of course, you are who you are at the heart of it, but we all need to show a resume that seems palatable to those we seek to impress. As an author and your book, marketing yourself is comparable to posting a dating profile – control your selfie and pick your best angle!

    Lastly, figure out not just who you are at your core, but how you want it to be seen – and then go full force into that direction. When you are ready for Book Marketing, reach out to us and we will assign someone to you that best fits your needs. When it’s time for your book printing needs, click here for instant pricing.

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