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If you're going to put out tons of effort writing a book, you
should also invest the extra time and energy into creating some
strategic components that can really help leverage your
promotional options. Building marketing into your book is one
way to help maximize your book's earning potential. If done
correctly, you could shave hundreds, if not thousands of dollars
off of your marketing and publicity budget.
So, how do you get started? Well, it's easier than you might
think. First you'll want to do a little brainstorming and really
begin to focus on your reader. A good analysis of who will be
reading your book will help you determine which components need
to be included in this book to enhance its marketability.
Through this, you can add those things you might have not
otherwise considered. Let's say, for example, you are writing a
book on relationships or great places to meet your significant
other. You might decide to include those places to assist your
readers in their search and in so doing have now opened the door
to the possibility of offering this book to those sites or
singles programs. When it works for your topic, incorporating
companies, Web sites, or other helpful resources is a great way
to extend the growth of your book beyond the initial reader,
turning it into a "one-stop-shop" and thereby enhancing your
marketing avenues. If you're a fiction writer, consider the
setting for your book and if possible, why not set it in a real
place? This could potentially lead to signings and events where
the book is set.
Does your book have a handy resource guide? If it doesn't, you
should consider adding one. Then you can also offer this same
resource guide (and the updates) on your Web site as well. From
this, you can also consider offering special reports that
readers can subscribe to; or even a newsletter or mailing list
with periodic updates works well. The key here is: You don't
want your relationship to end after the reader puts the book
down. You want to continue to stay on their radar screen as long
as you can.
As you begin to focus on your reader, take a moment to consider
what they'd really love to see in your book as opposed to what
you'd like to see in it. There is a big difference. When I was
putting together my most recent book: From Book to Bestseller
(due out this fall), I realized that timelines and check-off
lists were big deals to my readers, so I incorporated them.
These lists now can also be offered on my Web site as a
downloadable product.
In an ideal marketing world, your book should be its own
marketing machine, offering not only the potential for spin-off
products (as discussed in our last issue) but also a means to
market, market, market and maximize its earning potential.
Ideally, you want to capitalize on your book for as long as you
can, and turning it into a marketing machine will go a long way
toward extending the life and reach of your book, increasing
your bottom line and getting you that Chateau in France you
always dreamed of.
About the author:
Penny C. Sansevieri helps turn authors into success stories.
Check out her Virtual Author Tours, free insider info on
publishing, and author marketing newsletter at
http://www.amarketingexpert.com
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