Some Tips on Marketing

Now, back into the swing of things and back to your questions...

Dana asked, "You’ve worn nearly every hat in the publishing kingdom and sat on both/all sides of the publishing desk (author, agent, in-house and—dare I say it—“outhouse” editor). How has your vast and varied experience helped you form a 'marketing paradigm' of your own? Can you sum up that paradigm for us?" 

Sure. My marketing paradigm looks like this: "YOU, as the author, are in charge of your marketing. You. Not the publisher, not the editor, not the sales team. You.”

This isn't a business where most of us can simply write a book, send it in, and expect others to take care of us (if in fact that world ever existed). It means an author is going to have to create a plan – an actual marketing plan, that dovetails with whatever your publisher is doing. I keep seeing authors talk about marketing, but my experience is that only one in ten actually does much. So be that one in ten – figure out what you can do in order to get the word out about yourself and your book.

To start, become knowledgeable about marketing -- how to promote yourself and your work. Read up on marketing. DO NOT settle for saying, "I'm going to say yes to interviews." Having a plan means knowing people, making contacts, staying in touch, looking for opportunities, and figuring out how to maximize yourself.

So when your publisher announces that they're going to take out ads in TCW and toss copies from the balcony of the convention center at CBA, smile and express your appreciation. Then go do your marketing, because anything your publisher does is a bonus.

Jana sent this: "We continually hear that Christian publishers want to be on the cutting edge and that we should 'think outside the box.' How true is that, and what exactly do they mean by that? How far outside the box and onto the cutting edge can we get without falling off and fatally offending the Christian publishing 'police'?" 

No matter what you do, you're going to offend some Christians. (And I don't say that tongue-in-cheek. I'm serious. Somebody is going to point out the problems with your theology, your word choice, and the color of your sweater. Get used to it.) But here's the issue: In my experience, many of the folks working in marketing don't actually know what "the box" is. So they say things like "think outside the box" because they're asking for marketing help and ideas.

In this digital age, things you can do to move toward becoming that outside-the-box-thinker, include getting on the web. Creating your own viral video. Finding some niche markets and pursuing them. The bottom line here, is DO SOMETHING. Remember that YOU are responsible for your marketing. The publisher wants you to succeed, but you have more invested in this project than anyone else.

Maurice asked, "Is there such a thing as 'one-size-fits-all' marketing info that you can give to both new and seasoned writers? At what point does marketing advice need to be tailored to suit the individual writer/author’s needs?" 

Sure there is, and I've seen it used a million times. It goes like this: "Hello, Author. We're going to send out a press kit that has your photo, a one-sheet, and sample questions to ask you about your book. We're then going to fax everyone in North America who still owns a fax machine and suggest they have you on their program. Oh, and we're putting your cover in our catalog! Won't that be unique?!" Then they will sit and wait for the phone to ring. Exciting, isn't it? (I get chills just sitting here.) If that's what your publisher is doing, smile and say, "Thanks! That sounds great!" Then allow them to locate some high school grad who will put the packets together. Meanwhile, look for something else you can do.

TJ wrote to ask, "What do you consider the best resources for authors when it comes to developing that much-needed and talked-about marketing plan? What, if any, marketing resources would you consider a waste of time/money?"

Check out Randy Ingermanson's work. He's one of the few people thinking creatively about Christian fiction. (And no, I don't represent him or get a kickback on this...but he really OUGHT to buy my lunch when I see him next, don't you think?). Go to Andy Andrew's web site and order a copy of the tape series "Become a Bestselling Author" -- one of the really overlooked resources in CBA. [NOTE: Sorry! That is now available at www.bestsellingauthor.com.]  Amazon produces some helpful marketing books -- if you don't own them, you're missing out on some basic information. Join a writer's group like ACFW or the WritersView and ask questions about marketing from experienced people, to see what works and what doesn't. Go to your local community college or even a regular college with a marketing degree program and ask for help. I know some authors who have hired grad students to help them create marketing tools (the student got paid, got credit for it, and it saved the author money over hiring a professional). As for a total waste of time and money...well, you can continue reading interviews with me. Or you could buy my Y2K Survival Guide, which is a complete waste of money (even though it clearly SAVED WESTERN CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT).

Any other sage advice you’d like to impart to us? Yeah -- I've told this story before, but several years ago, I did a book with a CBA house. As it was going into production, the marketing director called me to tell me what they were going to do. "Good news," she chirped. "We have a three-stage marketing plan for your book. The first thing we're going to do is to give your book a great title and cover!" This pleased me to no end, since I've noticed that books without titles and covers simply don't sell in today's market. "Second, we're going to put your book into our catalog!" I was overjoyed. My book would be right there, in 6-point type, just waiting to be seen by the CBA booksellers, who were going to ignore the catalog and buy from the sales rep like always. Nobody else would see it, since the average consumer doesn't ever actually see a publisher's catalog "And third, we're going to give it to our crack sales team!" Yippee. I tried not to wet my pants with excitement. In other words, they were going to do nothing. When I pressed the woman on that, she eventually got mad and admitted, yeah, they weren't going to do anything, since they didn't have a budget to promote every book. Fine with me -- I just wanted to know. That book has sold more than 20,000 copies, and continues to sell in at least three other languages. And none of it had anything to do with Ms Bonehead.

An author can make marketing work. Really.

Comments

[Jodi Whisenhunt]

How did it get to this point? I understand that marketing is now the author's duty, but did publishers at one time actually market people's books? Were publishers the ones responsible for the large numbers of sales and success of the books? If so, why the change?

[Daniel Decker]

Good words here. I agree 100%. While I haven’t been in the publishing game nearly as long as Chip, I have been actively marketing books for author for almost 10 years now (with success). I think many authors get confused with the various roles in publishing. Most authors would be surprised to know that publishers don’t usually allocate much in the way of $ or resources to the average release, at least not much beyond the publication date or a couple weeks thereafter. Sure, they will put money into their A-list authors but that is because those A-list authors carry everyone else and have proven to generate a return on the publishers investment. You have to earn your way.

To me, one of the primary benefits of a publisher is that provide credibility, distribution and access. Distribution is NOT to be confused with actual sales, just the ABILITY to get it to market. They have access to get your book into stores but sales won’t happen unless YOU (the author) help to create the momentum that shows sales reps / buyers that your book is worth their inventory space. Sometimes that takes a while and a lot of effort and persistence. Never give up if you truly believe. It’s not easy but nothing worthwhile in life is.

Marketing can be mysterious to many but it really doesn’t need to be. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money either. What it requires most is time, your desire to get it done, and your ability to try and try again. A few simple ideas… Co-promote with other authors, start an online newsletter, start a blog, use social media but be active and present – proactively seeking out contacts, read and comment on other blogs often, engage and interact with people, speak at events, do an internet search for radio stations and call shows that fit for you and pitch them on doing an interview, do free teleseminars, add value to others buy providing resources and help to them, do something worth being talked about (sometimes great book marketing comes from something around the book but not necessarily about the book itself), create accompaniment secondary products (workbooks, Bible studies, etc) that you can sell direct as a way to generate income to help invest back into your book – platform development, consult with an expert, seek out groups (online and offline) of people who read books in your genre, ask questions and be open to honest feedback.

[Momma Mindy]

I have to admit, on top of the pressure of finishing my book, to know I have to have a marketing plan, as well, is a little intimidating. Am enjoying your great advice. Thanks!

[Tracey solomon]

my book- my message-my passion... why would I NOT, market it?

I think author's (In the CBA esp) get worked up about doing their own PR. I think we fear it's connected to pride and even sin.

I'd feel the same if I felt like the goal was to say how great I am.. but it's not. It's about the message/passion. It's about me.. and not about me all at the same time.

Bottom line- If I don't "buy it" enough to "sell it".. why should others?

just my thoughts as I prepare to "share" my first book;)

[Livia Blackburne]

"This pleased me to no end, since I've noticed that books without titles and covers simply don't sell in today's market."

Dying of laughter.... Oh my gosh, why did it take me so long to find your blog?

[Tracey solomon]

ok. so I admit... I'm also a natural control freak.. and the truth is- I think my passion and understanding of the project is best to represent it to the market.... not minimizing traditional marketing.. but I see it as a partnership:)

[Sharon A Lavy]

Thanks Chip.

[Teri Dawn Smith]

I'm looking forward to the marketing aspect of the Polish conference in Seattle in a couple of weeks, but from the looks of the questionnaire Jim Rubart sent, I'm going to have to be willing to get out of my comfort zone.

Hopefully, he'll impart courage as well as wisdom.

[patriciazell]

I think once an author (or a would-be author, as in my case) takes the first step in social media, other venues should open up. A year ago, I had a book proposal that wouldn't sell if it was the only proposal on earth (yes, it was that bad). Since that time, by listening to experts like you, Rachelle Gardner, Michael Hyatt, etc., I have written just over 80% of my book on my blog and am finding beginning success in getting my message out. I am building a following on Twitter and my blog is averaging over 700 visits a week. While I still have a lot to do, I have made good progress in a year. And, I see great potential in reaching my goal of writing a best seller. Thanks for your help, Chip!

[Laura Droege]

How much time should I spend marketing my work versus writing? I'm blogging, commenting on blogs targeted toward my target audience, doing the social media thing, etc., and I'm too tired to write. (Writing even one blog post takes all of my daily writing time and leaves me mentally exhausted.) Worse yet, it hasn't really paid off.

What's the best way to balance marketing and writing? And how do I maintain my sanity while I put myself into the unfamiliar and uncomfortable position of being my own marketer?

[Michael K. Reynolds]

Great candor. Excellent comments. As someone who is launching my writing career after serving as a marketing professional for some time I can share the bad news that even IF your publishing company is putting budget into marketing your book...it won't go very far.

Marketing is expensive and only draws big results with massive expenditures or a long, ongoing campaign, neither of which any reasonable person should expect from their publisher.

No one sells like an entrepreneur selling their own business, and as a new writer you want to carry the oars in getting your book out to the public and developing a loyal audience. It will take a LOT of work, but without a commitment to building our own audience with hoops and hustle, we're all better off just writing entries into our personal journal.

[chip responds]

You know, finding a balance between "writing" and "marketing" is always a struggle, Laura. And there's no right answer -- the solution for you is probably different from the solution for your writing friends. And different writers approach it in different ways -- some take an hour or two per day to do marketing, then write the rest of the day. Others leave all their marketing for Fridays. And, of course, the release of a book calls for much more hands-on marketing than during the writing season. My point is just that most working authors spend time at it regularly. Does that help?

[chip responds]

Okay, the correct link for that audio tape set is now www.bestsellingauthor.com. Sorry for the mix-up! -chip

[Laura Droege]

Thanks, Chip. That does help.

[Wise Step]

Wuh ! Some great Tips on the Marketing side. How about some viral concepts. Can you throw some insights on them too?