How Authors Can Have a Successful Marketing Plan With Time Left Over for Writing

Congratulations!  You’ve completed your book.  That’s not a small feat and you deserve to do a Happy Dance!
I know how much time and effort went into writing your book.  Don’t shoot me when I say the work to SELL your book has just begun.
Now rather than later is the time to start the marketing process for your website and social media channels. In fact, ideally, this process began WHILE you were writing your book.  If you are still in the process of writing your book, please consider pausing for a moment to think about how you will market your book when it is done.  Marketing is a job in itself, and without the right knowledge and tools can be time wasted without progress.
In the past book tours and traditional marketing methods used by publishers worked well for authors (book reviews in large publications, etc), but now these methods are a smaller part of creating visibility to your audience, especially to readers on Amazon, the biggest bookstore ever.  The world is Online Now.  We can now connect with our fans and followers directly without these publications and we can nurture relationships with them both online and offline.
A well executed marketing plan can make the difference between being successfully published author and making a real income or just staying in the non-visibility zone among thousands of other traditionally and self-published authors. (Yes, having a publisher does not guarantee success.)  If you are seeking to attract a traditional publisher then marketing will be especially important as they are seeking writers who have an established following.
Where to Begin
A great marketing plan for authors starts with a professional website and a regular blog posting schedule, ideally building interest at least a year in advance of your publication, which is spread online via social media.  The key is to start small building your social net worth sooner rather than later and focusing on the right social networks in order to maximize your reach and effectiveness. Tap into any trusted associates, friends or family members who will be willing to share your content on their social media accounts and blogs. They have friends and contacts that you do not have.  The more relationships you can build online will greatly increase your book sales and media prospects.  If you build it right and attract raving fans, they will do the work for you!
In order to build authority in your book topic and make your marketing work for you then there are a few points to consider before making a plan:

Choose the right social platforms

The two must-haves are Twitter (over 300 Million active users) and Facebook (over 1.5 BILLION active users). Before you begin on social media marketing on the others, choose the networks where your readers are engaging in the most.  This all depends on your genre and focus and whether video is a component of what you are publishing.   For example, non-fiction cookbook authors can gain a lot of visibility at places like Pinterest, Facebook, and Google Plus while business authors should look into engaging on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook in order to connect with like-minded professionals.  Fiction authors can garner great exposure for their characters or story locations on Instagram and Pinterest.

Start building your community right away

It’s important to connect with readers who will be interested in reading your book(s). While engaging with other authors is good, you will want to focus more on those who will be the buyers of your book(s). This can be done through Twitter chats or live streaming, webinars, social groups, paid advertising, and blogging. The time to begin this process should be well before you’ve finished writing your book in order to have this audience ready for your release date – I like to advise a minimum of 6 months.  It takes time to build real and interested followers; and, it’s so much easier to sell a book to a fan than a stranger.

Blog, blog and blog

You can stay in touch with your readers by blogging free advice in your niche, reports, videos, host contests, ect., while cross promoting your other online properties where you can communicate with them even more. Once you build a strong level of anticipation for your book release you will greatly increase your chances of a sale.

Grow a strong subscriber list

Use your blog to not only provide value and interest for your audience, but to also build your email list. Make sure that your ‘offer’ – what you will give your readers in exchange for their email address is something they ‘can’t live without’.  Weak offers equal low subscribers.

Tap into free and low cost marketing management tools

There are a variety of resources available that will enable you to track, engage, and share content to your fans and followers. Many of these can be connected to your blog RSS feed as well, which can promote your posts throughout the day. Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, and Post Planner are all great places to start. As your budget increases you can invest in higher-end management solutions.

Host a book giveaway

Use tools such as Rafflecopter or Createspace to generate interest in your book with a free copy of your book in exchange for a review on Amazon. If you have a print publication then Goodreads is a great place for this. As you reach out to your winners be sure to thank them and stay in touch for any future publications.
If you didn’t already know, we provide all the above services and would love to help you!  I’m an author (both self-published and traditional), too in addition to working with authors every day.
Contact me for a free consultation.