Blog SEO and Book Marketing for Self Publishing Authors

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Ray Robinson

Using Blog SEO in Your Book Marketing Efforts

A large number of self published authors start a blog with the two-fold intention of communicating with readers AND building better book marketing success. A blog about a self published book can be a very effective book marketing tool for promoting a book and distributing information. However, a blog is also highly effective at driving search engine rankings and a key part of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plan for your web site.

Too many author blogs are not only incredibly boring – they are also nearly impossible to find in a relevant search (based upon the topic of the book) on Google. I can’t really cover the ‘make your posts interesting’ message in this article, but I CAN address using your blog as a key element of your book marketing through utilizing smart key words and key phrases to drive search traffic.

Self published authors often feel a bit lost after having a web site and blog built, because they’ve not been faced with developing blogs posts that contain relevant search keywords. I don’t promise to turn you into a SEO book marketing wizard, but I’ve developed a few strategies and ideas that you can implement on your self published book’s web site and blog to increase your traffic and build visibility for your book.

Keyword / Key Phrase Research

I’ve written extensively on creating a book marketing plan – and a core precept of those articles is the identification of your target customer. No matter what you came up with, everybody uses Google and its brethren search engines. You need to create a list of the keywords and key phrases that a potential reader might search for – and in turn, would indicate they are interested in your book. These keywords and key phrases must be items that are directly referenced in your book. Don’t go too broad – for example just because a character in your book drinks soda doesn’t mean someone searching for “Coca-Cola” cares about either your blog or your self published book.

Plan Your Blog Posts

Sure, writing an ‘off-the-cuff’ blog might be more fun, and it often might be more interesting to your immediate friends and family – but does American Idol really relate to your topic or book? Using the keywords you discover in the above section, make it a habit to first write posts that fit those topics. Your blog content plan should be structured to attract those readers – but it can still be flexible enough to let your personality show through and have some ‘fun’ posts. You might even take keywords or key phrases and assign them to future days or posts – to keep your writing on task and focused.

Write Relevant, Key-Word-Rich Posts

Your blog posts still need to be readable and not sound like they’ve been spit out of some automated system. You need to write posts that are a balance of good writing / reading and great content that attracts search engines.  These are not mutually exclusive goals – if you can accomplish both, you will find your readers more engaged with your topic (and possibly more inclined to buy your book) and you will discover your  web site / blog is building more traffic due to its increased exposure in the search engine listings.

Here’s a quick list of items that will improve your book marketing efforts while building reader engagement with your content:

1 – Put the key word / key phrase in the title of your post.

Put the key words or phrase right at the beginning of  the post title – just make sure it makes sense to your reader. The post ‘title’  is the text that will show up  in search results.For example, in this post my title is  Blog SEO and Book Marketing for Self Publishing – this covers the article topic (blog SEO), the category within the world of self publishing (book marketing), and a quick push of my site’s main  focus (self publishing). All combine to tell the reader exactly what to expect AND give great SEO.

2 – Put the key word / key phrase in the first heading  of your post.

The first bit of text in the body of your post should be a 1-Head (or Heading 1 style in many blog systems). This text should expand on the Title and further explain what you are going to tell the reader. Think of it as you would ‘sub title’ to your book. In this post it’s Using Blog SEO in Your Book Marketing Efforts – expanding on my Title, using two of my key phrases again.

3 – Be specific and use key words / key phrases in the body text of your post.

Here’s where your blog post can begin to read more like book marketing copy than good writing – and is the ‘balance’ I discussed earlier in this post. Search engine optimization means that Google and the other search engines easily ‘discover’ the focus of your site and posts – which in turn means you don’t use vague descriptors like “it.” Always be specific! See what I did above? One of my key phrases is “book marketing” – and I managed to include the words “book marketing” in my first sentence – where I could have just used “marketing copy” … or, even in this sentence just a few words ago where I could have just used ‘it’ but chose to use ‘…include the words book marketing copy…’ Just don’t go crazy with it – or you’ll lose your reader.

4 – Link to relevant content in your site and in your blog

If your blog is focused, then many of your posts should cover related topics – and try to use a key words  or phrases within the body that direct the reader to additional content. You can refer readers to earlier posts by using a phrase within the post that is related to both your current topic AND the topic of the related content. See what I did above where I directed to you a link on the Dog Ear Publishing site about creating a book marketing plan? Includes my key phrase ‘book marketing plan’ AND takes you to relevant content on our sister site Dog Ear Publishing. By using a key phrase in my link, I’ve let you know that the article I’m sending you to is about book marketing – and specifically about creating a book marketing plan. Much better than this: http://dogearpublishing.net/newsletter_060101.aspx?utm_source=selfpubtoday&utm_medium=blog.

5 – Use your key words and key phrases as categories and tags

All blogs allow you to set categories and tags for your posts – these should match or at least be centered around the keywords and key phrases you are optimizing.

Optimizing Blog Book Marketing – additional tips

The items above all contribute to writing good blog content and setting up strong blog SEO – while contributing to the overall marketing of your book. Self published authors need lots of book marketing options that have little to no cost, and blogs are a wonderful way to help build the success of your book. Spending some time on improving the SEO value of your blog and posts will result in better search engine rankings and site traffic.

Here are some ‘tech’ details that will improve your blog  results:

- Blogging Software -

We use  WordPress on our self published author sites – and it works great. Any of the easily available products – WordPress, Blogger, MovableType or Typepad – work just fine. Run  through a few of them to get an idea of which you like best – if the blog software is too hard to use, or you just don’t like the way it works, then you won’t use it…

- Add Your Blog to Your Domain -

If you  really want search engines to drive traffic to your site, then your blog should be hosted right on your book’s web site. Running your  blog and book marketing efforts on a domain different from your primary web site just sends traffic AWAY from where you really want it to go. Putting the blog directly within your domain delivers far more for your marketing efforts – building links, attention, engagement and search rankings.

- Be Engaged in Your Target Market -

No matter what focus your book takes, there is someone, somewhere, already blogging about the topic. Online communities already exist and ahve active members. Be engaged in this community and invite others to visit your blog.

- Research Your Content Titles and Tag Your Content -

This starts getting a bit more complex – though the easy part is to research the keywords and key phrases you want to use in your blog book marketing. Do this by visiting Technorati and look for similar tags. If you aren’t familiar, check it out…

- Keep Your Content Focused on Your Book Marketing Goals -

Did a HUGE story just break that relates to your core topic? That doesn’t really mean you should actually write about it in your blog (though you might want to link to it so your readers know you are aware…) Your blog must provide unique and valuable content – not a regurgitation of the latest news.

- Add Something Extra -

Who said your blog should only include text? Got a YouTube video that covers your core topic? Pictures? Some cool gallery? While text is certainly the most ‘seo friendly’ content – the occasional fun bit is nice.

- Deliver Great Content -

Writing blog posts that focus on your book marketing efforts, are well-constructed to deliver good SEO, AND appeal to your core readership is challenging. Keeping focused and writing along a ‘plan’ will turn it into a habit – and you’ll bring your ‘voice’ into the conversation without sacrificing your marketing goals. Try not to stray from your original  writing style – or you’ll disappoint your readers, either when they buy your book or within the course of the conversation on your blog.

- You, as a “Brand” -

One of our guest bloggers wrote an article on the difference between book marketing, book advertising, and PR. The article discusses the importance of building up you, the author, as a brand. Your blog will be a cornerstone in creating an awareness of you, your book, and your ideas. All of these contribute to what your readers will come to see as your ‘brand’.

OK  – enough already – I’m sure I’ve written more on blogs, book marketing, and SEO than you’d ever care to know… but I hope these strategies will help you build success in your self publishing efforts.

Filed under: Blogging, book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, self publishing, Self-publishing blogs | Tagged: , , | 7 Comments »

Book Marketing and Video Book Trailers for self publishing authors

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Ray Robinson

Video Book Trailers as Book Marketing for self publishing authors

The time of social media has arrived (many would argue it arrived quite some time ago…) and has dramatically changed how most of us communicate. Under the right circumstances, and when done well, social media will drive traffic to your website, help the market perceive you as an expert, and ultimately sell more books. Social media must be part of any comprehensive book marketing plan – especially for the author self publishing their book.

How do video book trailers fit into the world of book marketing?

Author engaged in self publishing must take an active role in book marketing. A video book trailer is the ‘multimedia backbone’ of an authors social media book marketing plan. Video book trailers are short (usually no more than a minute or so) videos that are essentially a ‘commercial’ for your book. A good video book trailer includes a number of multimedia elements including music, subtitles, imagery, and in more elaborate cases voice overs and custom-filmed action video. The goal of the video book trailer is, of course, to get the viewer to purchase the book.

Why use a video book trailer in my social media book marketing plan?

Everything old is new again – I’m using that cliche to mean that many of the ‘old’ marketing rules really still apply in the ‘new world’ of social media marketing. As always, it’s about the content. And a video delivers more interesting content to you potential readers than any amount of book cover copy ever could.

Here’s some simple starting points:

  1. Video is far more interesting (and therefor more engaging) than static text.
  2. Online, a potential consumer will spend more time with an interesting video than they will with text.
  3. Video will strengthen the SEO of your site – readers are more likely to follow a video link on a topic of interest than a text link.
  4. Did you know that YouTube is now the second most popular search engine after Google? Online video is something they are beginning to expect when making a purchase decision.
  5. Promoting a book with a video truly fits the behaviors of our ‘multimedia’ world.

Video book trailers are something that is easily promoted (as part of  your book marketing campaign) via places like Facebook, Twitter, and the myriad other social networks. A video book trailer has the opportunity to reach hundreds (or even thousands) of potential readers through the web at very little cost.

Video book trailer distribution

Dozens of sites exist on the internet for the distribution of video – and distributing your video book trailer is much the same. There are some places that cater to book trailers specifically – but why narrow your audience? Hit the big ones: YouTube, GoogleVideo, MetaCafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv. Your video book trailer will  of course be on YOUR site and your publishers, right?

Video book trailer tips

Creating exactly the right video book trailer can be confusing and challenging – much like the publishing process. Most authors will benefit from hiring a professional video production company to produce their trailer. Here’s a few things to keep in mind, whether you create your own or hire a professional:

Check out other video book trailers. If you search for ‘book trailer’ on YouTube, thousands will come up. Check for titles within your genre. Look for things you like and things you don’t. If the video engages you, then it’s probably a success… if it’s boring… enough said. However, be reasonable – some trailers you will see had budgets in the tens of thousands of dollars. Some had budgets of hundreds.

Tied to the above is ‘Understand what you want’. Just like any other part of your book marketing campaign, your video book trailer must have a purpose and focus. Most self publishing authors won’t have a budget to create a viral video (one in which the product is almost secondary and the entertainment value of the video is extremely high) but will be creating an informative video designed to engage viewers and get them to purchase the book. An extreme example of a viral video is Liquid Mountaineering – try and guess the brand being promoted (or for that matter, even the product…). However, it’s been viewed over 7 MILLION times. A nice example of an informative video is the video book trailer for A Templar’s Journey – clean, engaging, and a great representation of the book.

While an informative video might go viral, they are really built to be an entertaining ‘commercial’ for your book. The video book trailer is another way to grab a reader and literally SHOW them what your book is about. The trailer provides potential readers with an opportunity to SEE why your book is for them.

Build the video with your potential reader in mind… and remember that you MUST accomplish the task in less than 90 seconds. Lousy images, poor quality, inappropriate music, and amateurish transitions will all drive readers away. Watch out for making your video too much of a commercial. Keep in mind that viewers want to be entertained and engaged, not to be ‘sold’ – even if that is the ultimate goal.

Some final video book trailer thoughts

  • Why wouldn’t someone want to watch your video book trailer? Because it’s boring or poorly produced.
  • What makes a ‘good’ video book trailer? Interesting and engaging information about your book, images and music that ‘fit’ your genre, and leaving them with a ‘hook’.
  • If it can’t be done in 90 seconds, don’t bother
  • Use the ‘description box’ to drive traffic and set up SEO – you can add links to your site, your blog, etc.
  • Put your video on your laptop, phone, iPad – take it EVERYWHERE!
  • Almost everyone watches videos online… why not yours?

Will your video book trailer drive more book sales? It’s hard to say – just like any other element of book marketing. It is, however, part of the book marketing arsenal – and when done well, and with a little luck, just might work wonders.

Interested in getting a video book trailer for your book? You can find video book trailer production services at Dog Ear Publishing.

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, self publishing, Social Media, Video book trailers | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Self Publishing and Social Media – redux -

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Ray Robinson

Dog Ear Publishing author, Ted Karam, is taking a novel and exciting approach to using social media and the web to promote his book, Jumping on Water. The ‘special offer’ approach has been used forever to help build sales for a product – but what can happen when you get literally dozens of experts contributing to your special offer and then engage literally hundreds of thousands of readers?

Maybe, just maybe, it builds a best-seller… (note that Dog Ear Publishing didn’t build this book marketing campaign)

Here’s hoping!

Curious?

Follow this: Jumping on Water Launch Promotion

Filed under: ambush marketing, book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, book publishing, self publishing | Leave a Comment »

Self Publishing, Google Book Search, Google PPC

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Ray Robinson

I just received our Google Book Search Weekly Summary Report – and I know I’ve covered Google Book Search before – but am consistently amazed at the power of this system to drive book sales.

Google Book Search Weekly Report for Dog Ear Publishing

Google Book Search Weekly Report for Dog Ear Publishing

We’ve (at Dog Ear Publishing – my self publishing company) been focusing more effort on the Google Book Search system for our self published authors. And it’s paying off… All the information above is proprietary – but it’s so astounding that I wanted to share at least portions of it with you.

Over 17,000 visits were made to our books’ pages on Google during July – and that’s for only 365 titles (not our total title count, but the total number of titles viewed in GB). Nearly 2.5% of those visits resulted in “buy links” being clicked. For most search-engine based book marketing efforts (or any book marketing effort for that matter) a 2.5% purchase response would be amazing – interestingly many of the top titles in GBS are also participating in some form of search engine marketing / pay-per-click book marketing / Google Adwords marketing at Dog Ear Publishing. My current findings are that the Google Book Search system is delivering a much higher purchase response than our search marketing campaigns – though the traffic is much smaller… It seems that perhaps the two items may work hand-in-hand at driving traffic and sales.

In any case – if you aren’t participating in Google Book Search, you should be. I realize many authors have deeply rooted concerns about copyright – but read the previous articles about Google Book Search and content view control. Hopefully you fears can be allayed – and you may realize increased book sales.

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, Dog Ear Publishing, Google Book Search, self publishing | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

How to be a ‘Highly Successful’ Self-Published Author

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Ray Robinson

Bob Baker just wrote a great article for the Small Publishers Association of North America’s Newsletter, SPAN Connection. In “The 7 Attributes of Highly Successful Authors,” Baker explained various qualities he found esteemed authors have in common.

From my point of view, his tips can be divided into 3 sections: Determination, Promotion, and Innovation. I’ll outline Baker’s attributes below so you can see how they fit into these categories.

Category 1: Be Determined (and Smart)!

Baker’s Successful Author Attributes: They’re on a mission (or at least feel they have something to say); Their vision is stronger than the rules and obstacles they encounter.

Making sure you are passionate about writing and getting your book published is a must, especially for self-motivators who go the self-publishing route. While writing your manuscript seems like it might be the hardest part of the self-publishing process, Baker raises issues that may become major stressors: “editing, pre-press, . . . distribution matters, . . . fear of rejection, financial struggle, and anticipated prohibitive costs to enter the field.” Therefore, not only must you be resolute in working through these things, you must also take the time to do your research, and find out which self-publishing company will best suit your needs.

Category 2: Promote Yourself!

Baker’s Successful Author Attributes: They understand the “self” of self-promotion; They think of themselves as a personal brand with a clear identity; They put a focus on readers and fans.

Once you have painstakingly written your book, there is the big question of “now what?” How do you get your book into readers’ hands? The best way thing to do is create a book-marketing plan. As Baker writes: “Sure, you can hire a publicist or assistant to help with some things, but no one will ever promote as passionately as you will. To succeed, get on friendlier terms with promotion.” Schedule book signings, call around to local radio and television stations to see if they would be willing to interview you, get your name in the public domain by networking through friends and family. If you are uncertain about how to go about doing this, check out this helpful marketing idea page on the Dog Ear site.

Category 3: Innovate and (and Collaborate)!

Baker’s Successful Author Attributes: They make the best use of available tools; They understand that being a solo author doesn’t mean working alone.

Are you sure you are following a self-publishing path that is tailored to the needs of your book and your expectations? Baker explains: “There are all sorts of ways to create, market, and sell books these days. There are traditional methods such as sheet-fed printers, distributors, bookstores, trade magazine reviews, bulk sales to associations, etc. And there are relatively newer options at your disposal: print-on-demand, Web sites, e-zines, Amazon’s Advantage program, blogs, podcasts, and more. You don’t have to use every option (and probably shouldn’t for sanity’s sake), but you should at least be aware of what’s available and choose the best new and old tools for your book topic and personality.” As a self-publishing author, you are already taking an original stance on how you get your book published by skipping the traditional publishing house “gauntlet.” Continue that originality by making sure you use innovative ways to market and sell your book that suit the technological society in which we now live. Also, don’t be wary of collaborating with other people—designers, editors, graphic artists—just because you think it will make your work less original. You are simply bringing in fresh perspectives to help you make your work as relevant and interesting as possible, and you have the final say in what you produce.

Self-published authors are pioneers in the new and growing industry of self-publishing, and it never hurts to keep tips like these in mind while carving your own niche.

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, self published, self publishing, Self Publishing Company Comparisons, Successful Authors | Leave a Comment »

Lesson of missed opportunity in self publishing…

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Ray Robinson

You know that saying about when opportunity knocks, all you need to do is open the door?

Well, I got a good lesson in that today – and it brings to light how opportunities abound for promoting you, your book, your web site… pretty much anything that you’d like to display to the world.

One of the most amazing things digital media has brought to the world is the opportunity to become an expert and promote your topic. Somewhere out there – someone is looking for the kind of content you have… you just need to make sure you answer the door when opportunity knocks (as well as recognize that it is opportunity knocking…)

A couple of weeks ago now a reporter from PBS posted a comment to a post here on Self Publishing Today – asking if I’d be willing to be interviewed for a story on self-publishing. Well – I happened to be neglecting the site… I missed ‘the knock’ if you will. Mike Rosen-Molina wrote a great article on the 6 Ways Authors Can Succeed by Self-Publishing Books – and he included a number of references to resources in the self publishing industry (including the Dog Ear Publishing competitor BookSurge)… no mention of my company, because I was too busy to respond.

A great lesson learned – opportunity is all around us each and every day. Perhaps it sounds a bit Deepak Chopra, but it was a great reinforcement that you need to pay attention.

About the article? Well written, great advice, aimed at folks new to the self publishing world – but his last item on the list? “Get your name out there” … Hmmm – maybe I should post that list on the wall here in the office – it appears that no matter how long you’ve been in the industry it occasionally makes sense to review the basics.

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, self publishing | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Self Publishing Hits – The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry and Lorna Page

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Ray Robinson

Here it is again – another story of a self-published author that has made it BIG… REALLY BIG. The difference this time? It’s true… not a product of great PR. Several stories have surfaced about Brunonia Barry and her self-published novel The Lace Reader - one of the most insightful from way back on August 1 by NPR. What I find most interesting is that this story broke before and around the time of Lorna Page’s novel A Dangerous Weakness and its associated stories. What made the Lorna Page story so much more exciting? I have no idea…

The Lace Reader and Brunonia Barry performed a miracle in self-published circles – a self published novel that ‘went traditional’ and brought the author a publishing contract with William Morrow and $2 million… pretty nifty. I’m most fascinated by how she did it – it looks like from the articles she started local and found ways to create awareness amongst her target audience. According to the NPR interview, the author visited independent bookstores, asking for the names of local book clubs. She then created ‘pull through’ interest by getting the book clubs to read her book. Not an easy feat for a first-time author.

But – that’s not the full story about the marketing efforts…

The book released in late July from Morrow – and already sits at #49 on the Amazon bestseller list – #1 in the Mystery category. The original book released to Amazon in September of 2007. Pretty incredible when you think a book went from self-published, to an agent, to traditionally published in less than a year after release. Apparently a large chunk of the initial success is due to the work of the author’s original PR firm Kelley & Hall Book Publicity. Another blog article gives a broader overview of what exactly happened (and how) to create this phenomenon…

ANY successful self publishing effort will requires a book marketing plan and awareness to succeed – as I’ve said in many places on the Dog Ear site. It will take a tremendous amount of planning and effort. You’ll need to combine several different types of marketing efforts. Make sure you know where to start and with whom to partner to make your book a success. It doesn’t require you to hire a PR firm – but it can certainly bring a whole new level of professional talent to the process. Fiction benefits from a higher level of professional contacts that non-fiction – you’ll find that the referrals and ‘Rolodex’ of an established PR firm may help get your book in the door in many critical places.

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, self published, self publishing | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Amazon Kindle Webinar – self publishing implications

Posted on August 21, 2008 by Ray Robinson

I’ve just attended a webinar about the Amazon Kindle product, titled “Leveraging he Kindle – How to maximize the Kindle’s benefits to your readers and your business” presented by Joe Wikert of John Wiley & Sons. The webinar was for the most part aimed at book publishers, but in the self-publishing world the word “publisher” is really synonymous with “author”. Even if you’ve hired self publishing company like mine (Dog Ear Publishing) you still will perform many of th functions of the traditional indie book publisher – and you should be aware of what new and upcoming publishing technologies mean to you.

The Kindle – for those of you who don’t know – is Amazon’s relatively new e-book reader. The reception in the traditional book industry has been fairly cool, with most publishers unsure of what impact, if any, the thing might have on their bottom line.

Joe’s presentation brought to light a number of ways the Kindle might be important to you, the self-published author. (I’m skipping past all the iintro stuff – like what the Kindle does, how it does it, why it’s ‘clunky’ and that pretty much only books with no complex formatting or graphics work well).

A couple big points from the webinar -

No manufacturing cost on a ‘per unit’ basis. According to Joe, the retail price for Kindle books seems to cap at about $9.99. Most of the books in the Amazon top 50 Kindle seem to run from about $7 to $9.99. Amazon forwards 35% of the SRP for the Kindle product to the publisher/author. So, if your book is $9.99, you get $3.50… Pretty decent for no manufacturing expense.

No apparent impact (negative or positive) on print book sales. Dog Ear Publishing has a number of authors that have released Kindle versions of their books. As an average over the group, there appears to have been no significant impact on print product sales. That’s good in that it means the authors basically made ‘free’ money by releasing a Kindle. Since none of the Kindle product appeared in a ‘pre-release’ marketing version (they all released as entire books) I don’t know if additional demand was built prior to the book release.

A great way to leverage your content and turn it into either marketing materials or content sub-sets for whic you can get paid some amount. An example is an author that releases as a Kindle book a small excerpt of his book, and charges some nominal fee for the download. Another might be an author that takes each chapter of her book and makes it available as an individual Kindle product.

(another angle on this is the web site Scridb.com which I’ll discuss in another post Monday.)

Take a look at the webinar -it’s up for the next 90 days (you’ll just have to register) – you might find the Kindle becoming another tool in your book marketing plan.

Filed under: Amazon, book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, Joe Wikert, self publishing | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Ten Things Editors and Agents Hate – applied to Self Publishing

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Ray Robinson

Joe Wikert’s blog – Publishing2020 – has a post referencing a blog that lists the top 10 items publishing editors and book agents dislike. Joe applied comments that referenced the traditional publishing world – but it’s a list that has application for everyone interested in self publishing – not so much because some editor or agent might be interested in seeing a book proposal, but because each of these items is important for creating a truly valuable and salable product in the market.

I ‘cherry-picked’ the items most relevant to self-publishing – here is a link to the full article at the Small Publishers Association of North America website. I cover some similar thoughts on the Dog Ear Publishing site regarding writing a book marketing plan.

The author of the article is Rich Frishman – he’s an author, speaker, and founder of Planned Television Arts (a very successful PR firm). He also happens to have an interesting blog that focuses on book marketing – though more for the ‘traditional’ author.

Unless you are intent on self publishing a book that isn’t intended to sell – these rules make a lot of sense:

#1: Writers claim no competition exists.

Competition exists for pretty much anything and everything ever written. It is critical that you as an author understand how and where your book fits into the market. Even if you are writing fiction or a narrowly targeted biography – it’s unlikely that Amazon doesn’t have some other title that the potential reader won’t be comparing to yours. An extension of this thought – is that if your book truly has no competition, does it perhaps mean there isn’t any market?

An extension of the ‘no competition’ rule is the ‘my book is for everyone’ rule – an audience that cannot be define more narrowly than ‘everyone’ is really, really difficult to market…

This is a critical component of your book marketing plan – having competition doesn’t mean you don’t write your book (in many ways it may be an incentive to write a book), it just means you need to be aware.

#2: Writers claim their books will be the next blockbuster.

We here this frequently – usually accompanied by the statement “if only it can get the exposure / marketing / shelf space it needs to succeed.” While we look for a high level of author enthusiasm and expectations, it is often a warning sign when an author expects their book to be the next blockbuster – here’s a slightly dated quote from Publishers Weekly:

“…950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. The average book in America sells about 500 copies.”
– Publisher’s Weekly, July 17, 2006

That means that 96% of all books sell less than 1,000 copies – and 98% of all books sell less than 5,000 copies. We don’t need you to try and convince us that your book is a best-seller (in the self-publishing world in most cases it’s honestly not relevant, since the author is carrying the financial risk of publishing a book) – If you want us to market your book, we need to know that you have reasonable and thought-out expectations.

#3: Writers say how much others liked their books.

This is critically important with self-published books. It is, however, only important in two ways – as book reviews on your cover / web site / Amazon / B&N book page; and as anticipated purchasers of your book. Most folks who liked your book don’t have any way to influence OTHERS to BUY your book – if they do (their name is Oprah Winfrey or they happen to run a web site / blog / magazine that has tons of readers) then you need to get them promoting your book once it really comes out and is available for purchase. If they don’t use their comments as a way to help other potential buyers understand what is good about your book- but don’t assume it means anything in the way of sales.

#8: Writers send submissions in strange formats and colors.

I’m modifying this to refer to how authors submit their manuscript and what they expect their book to look like when it goes to press… Please, please, please – let our book design team build the interior of your book. We welcome your suggestions and comments, and we want you to review the design our team creates for your book – but very seldom is a great writer a great book designer. As a service provider, your self publishing company will (or rather should – it’s one of those items to watch for in choosing a self publishing company) give you exactly what you ask for … just be careful what you ask for – ultimately if you want to publish an ugly book, most of us will let you. I’m not saying any publishing company’s design team is infallible, but it is what they do every day of the week.

Complex or unusual interior book designs rarely ADD to the saleability of a book – too often complexity will be a detriment to sales. Keep it simple.

#9: Writers have a bad attitude or act superior.

There are times when you will need to be firm with your publisher – it happens all the time, with almost every publishing company. Just don’t start out that way – if the poor soul you are calling dreads your calls… how much better do you expect things to get? Constant, unrelenting confrontation isn’t usually the way to get what you need. If you feel the need to start the process in this manner, you’ve probably chosen the wrong company to work on your book. Every company in the world has its own personality – and it is certainly acceptable to say “Hey, this isn’t working out; I’m not comfortable; we need to move on…” If you’ve been through several publishing companies and felt you had to use the same tactics or attitudes with each one… well…

#10: Writers reject professional advice.

This sort of addresses the ‘don’t be cute’ post also – a good self-publishing company (and good editor or agent) will offer competent advice, from book content to design to pricing / wholesale discount issues to book marketing. Ultimately, you may reject any and all advice and follow your own path. You can go it alone, as the saying goes, and there are plenty of examples of authors who rejected all conformity, advice and common practices to do something ‘unique’ and who consequently ‘made it big.’ There are far more that took no ones’ counsel other than their own and consequently failed miserably.

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan, Joe Wikert, self publishing | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

How to Write a Marketing Plan for a Self-Published Book

Posted on August 1, 2008 by Ray Robinson

Self publishing is a game where the author is completely in control – but it also means there really isn’t anyone to blame when something goes wrong or doesn’t get done (or meet your expectations). I’m sure you’re not too surprised to find out that your work as a
self published author doesn’t stop when the presses finally start –actually,
some of the most important work you’ll do to make your book sell STARTS
now (if not a bit earlier…). When you are marketing a self published book, you must work from a plan. Here is the article I wrote for the Dog Ear Publishing site on how to write a book marketing plan.

—–

How often have you heard other self published authors lament their lack of
sales? All too often, I’m sure – and all too often, good planning
and a smart strategy could have changed those stories

A sound and sensible book marketing plan is just as important as the writing,
design, and publication itself – no matter how wonderful your book might
be, it won’t sell itself… and it’s highly unlikely for a new
author (and even many well seasoned ones) that your book is going to jump off
bookstore shelves without some help. Remember, in most bookstores, it has about
8,000 other competitors right next to it!

Your book marketing plan should be built to identify the revenue streams you
expect to attack. This document should be an outline on how you will achieve
your income or sales goals, and it should identify in detail the market you
see and how you will reach your sales goals.

Building a book marketing plan.

You all know a book won’t sell itself? Right? Surprisingly, many authors
DON’T understand this fact until too late – and they are disappointed
with their sales performance. Every book needs some sort of marketing plan –
something that sets your expectations and creates achievable goals that you
can attack in an orderly fashion.

But – how do you create a marketing plan for your book? There is a ton
of great freeware, even more that you can spend lots of money on, that all help
you create a marketing plan for selling your book. But – before you go
to the exciting effort of spending time and money on downloading software, open
up your trusty word processor and follow me…

Chapter One – Who will buy your book?

The secret to sales success is to target your marketing as directly as possible
to your potential reader – and have it be someone who is reachable.

“Everyone will want to read my book!” Sorry, but that doesn’t
work. Even the absolute best selling books – that sell 2 or 3 million
copies in a year – only penetrate to about 3% of the reading population. Sales
success for your book will be driven by defining a very clear picture of who
is interested in your book.

They must be identifiable: Make a list! Which groups would be interested in
your book? Why? Who is next? Why should the need or want your book? (remember
this – someone is more likely to buy something they NEED before something
they WANT)

Now – narrow it down even more. Find a unique angle about your book –
and don’t try and be everything to everyone, because you can’t –
insteand target 100% of a specific part!

Chapter Two – What is your definition of success for your
book? What is your GOAL?

Some authors write for themselves and their faimilies only – they don’t
dream of their books as bestsellers in the marketplace. Some authors write for
a very specific personal need to tell their story. Some have unique insight
into very specific topics. Many have dreams of seeing their book in the front
of Borders or Barnes & Noble. Each author is different, but you MUST decide
what your real definition of success happens to be. We don’t want to pursue
a goal that may not be what you actually feel is important.

Chapter Three – Objectives, Plans and Actions

Everything needs to start with a GOAL – and that is what you outlined
in Chapter Two. Everything you do for your book should be in support of this
goal.

Objectives- these are the steps you take to achieve your GOAL
– for example, if you goal is to sell 5,000 books, then you need to identify
some OBJECTIVES as the “steps” to achieving your goal. Just like
your GOAL – make sure your Objectives are reasonable, and something that
you can achieve. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to confuse WANTING
to do something or achieve a goal with be ABLE to achieve a goal – make
sure you possess the necessary skills to do the things on your list. Perhaps
my OBJECTIVES list would look like this:

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Set up personal events to promote my book – book signings, seminars,
    radio interviews, etc.
  2. Secure reviews from print resources.
  3. Identify online resources for promotion of my book
  4. Identify non-retail opportunities for book sales.
  5. Create outbound awareness campaign of me the author as an expert in my
    field

Plans – your PLANS outline the needed steps to get your
OBJECTIVES moving, and they begin to create “to do lists” and measurable
actions. For example, one of my Objectives is to set up personal events to promote
my book.

Actions- these are the details of each PLAN- and, as the saying
goes, “the devil is in the details…”. This is where most marketing
plans fail – you must have a coherent and workable set of “actions”
to achieve each plan, that then leads to each objective – and, eventually,
achieves your ultimate goal. If you can’t produce a reasonable set of
“actions” for achieving each plan, then scrap the plan and start
over. Here is my “Plans” and “Action” list for the Objectives
above:

* OBJECTIVE 1: Personal Appearances:

PLANS:

i. Set up one book signing per week at local outlets

ii. Set up two seminars on book marketing in 1Q 2008

iii. Conduct one radio interview per month in 2008

ACTIONS:

• Call B&N at Keystone– get Events Coord, name – make
appt to visit and present book signing idea. BRING BOOK!! Mary knows Mgr –
get intro?

• Borders Mgr – drop off book – and mention reading / seminar
on mktg –

• Contact library for presentations on self-pub. Monthly event?

As you can see, it really is all about breaking your marketing efforts down
in to small enough pieces to be A) understandable, B) achievable and C) measurable.

Marketing & publicity is a long-term, consistent and concerted effort –
it never ever happens overnight, even though it may seem to for some people.

Chapter Four – Create a reasonable timeline and budget

All of us have finite amounts of time, energy, and money. Marketing can eat
up all three very quickly, leaving you alone, exhausted, and broke. The game
is to pace yourself and resources so that you can keep the effort moving along.
This is where your planning in Chapter Three works it magic – without looking
at the “big picture,” most of us would never know how much of our
precious resources should be devoted to each aspect of the game. Organization
and prioritizing are the most important part of the process – and you
may find yourself returning to “Chapter Three” and rewriting sections
of your plan.

Here are some monetary expenses you may expect to incur in your marketing plan:

  1. Sample Books – do you plan on sending them out or dropping them off?
  2. Marketing materials – posters, flyers, postcards, etc.
  3. Press release writing and distribution
  4. Advertising – sponsored search, links, banners, print
  5. Web site design and shopping cart creation
  6. Direct mail opportunities

A quick note on samples – I don’t believe in sending out books
blindly – it’s too expensive and not effective. If a potential resource
is interested in your book, they’ll ask for it (as long as you’ve
written a good press release…)

Chapter Five – Creating a brand with your book marketing
plan

Think about this… in many cases, you – not your book – are
really the “brand” you are selling. Books can occasionally be seen
as a commodity… “experts” who can be interviewed on a topic
are often far more valuable. Your book is your calling card – and ultimately
the way you will profit from your “expertise” – but many times,
it YOU that is the selling point!

Use your marketing plan to push you as the primary product – building
a brand around what you know and your “mystique” as an author. Also
- don’t forget to let us know your plans! If you and your book are “tied”
as a brand – let us help you use your book to increase your credibility
and awareness. At least have us add your web site in several places in the book
– even on the cover. Letting us you’re your marketing plans can
allow us time to helpyou create the best possible product.

That’s it – the building of a book marketing plan in a nutshell
if you will. Let us know if we can answer any questions, and thanks for reading.
As always – if you like this information (and found it helpful) please feel
free to post it on your site, put it in a blog, toss it in your newsletter,
or in general spread it around. Please just give us credit at http://www.dogearpublishing.net

Filed under: book marketing, Book Marketing Plan | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

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