Marketing Musings
I'd like to share a few random thoughts about marketing. Making
a living as a writer is a goal most authors never realize. Unfortunately for those
of us who write, it requires marketing. Most writers resent marketing because
it distracts them from writing. When I decided to get serious about writing and
turn it into a full-time occupation, I knew nothing at all about marketing.
Once the first book (White
Jade) was up on Amazon I faced the reality that my book was one choice for
readers among what amounted to an infinite number of choices. How was I going
to get people to notice it?
The world is awash with books in any given genre. No one
could possibly read them all. I write thrillers, which means that at first
glance it looked as though I was competing against blockbuster stars like Steve
Berry, Clive Cussler, James Rollins and Tom Clancy. Not to mention Vince Flynn
and Brad Thor. A little intimidating, no? You get the idea.
Therein lies marketing truth #1 as an independent writer. Competition
is an illusion. It's a mistake of perception.
Your Perception is Everything
Change Your Perception and Change Your Reality
There are millions and millions and millions of readers,
more than enough for everyone. More than enough to find and enjoy your work.
It's not about competition, it's about discovery. Change your perception about
competition. Give up the idea that you are competing for market share. That's a
waste of time which will drain your energy.
Okay, you say, I'm not competing. So how do I get noticed?
I'm not going to give you advice about social media, book
signings, podcasts, etc. There's plenty of that available and you don't need to
hear it from me. If those things work for you, that's fine. One of the truths
about marketing is that nobody's quite sure what really works. I do know one
thing that works. Before you can succeed at marketing, you have to have a
product people want. That means you must learn your craft and write a good
story people want to read. You need to have a professional presentation. A good
cover, clean copy, an edited manuscript and so on. If you don't have those
things you're wasting your time trying to sell your book. Marketing truth #2 is:
You Have to Write Something People Want To Read
Let's assume you've done that and have a decent product.
Good. Write another book. Write another book. Write another book. Am I getting
through? Selling one book is difficult unless you are very lucky. Writing is a
business you make out of something that you love to do. At least I hope you
love to do it, because otherwise you will not be able to sustain the output
required to succeed. Lee Child said that he became an overnight success after he'd
written ten books. Think about that.
If I had to pick one single tool that has helped me sell
books, it would be free promotion. I've lost count but I know I've given away more
than three hundred thousand books in the past few years. I've seen articles and
posts from people who hate the whole idea of letting books go for free. They
think it cheapens the price for everyone and devalues the quality of the book.
They think their work is too precious to give away and that they should always
be paid something for it. They get very annoyed at the idea that someone's free
book might be chosen over their not-so-free offering.
Most of the people I see complaining aren't selling very
many books.
Readers who discovered my work through a freebie and liked
it will buy another book in the series or even all of them. I get emails all
the time from people who picked up one of the Project books in a free promotion
and discovered the rest of the series. They're happy to find a new author they
enjoy. They're grateful that I made the book available to them for nothing.
Some wouldn't be able to afford the book if it weren't free. So here is marketing
truth #3 of Indie marketing as I see it:
Free Works
The marketplace for books is in constant flux and change is
a given. Just the same, I find it hard to think that a good product offered for
free will not be picked up by someone who knows a deal when they see it. In
turn that will stimulate sales.
Remember what I said earlier about perception? If you want
to succeed as a writer, you must see yourself as a writer who is successful, a
writer who sells books. Picture yourself successful, whatever that means to
you. It doesn't necessarily mean you have the number one bestseller in the New
York Times. Maybe it means that you make enough money to pay for the groceries.
Maybe it means you make enough to quit your day job and write full time. Maybe
it means you make so much that you can take that European vacation you've
always wanted. It doesn't matter. What matters is your perception.
Perceiving/Feeling yourself as successful is the most powerful marketing tool you can apply.
You
still have to chop wood and carry water. You still have to get your book listed
wherever you think it needs to be. You still have to pay for ads to get the
word out. But the key lies in perception and feeling, seeing yourself as a writer who
succeeds.
Reality Follows Perception
The last thing I want to mention in this post is branding.
Branding is one of those words straight out of Madison Avenue. See Mad Men, if you don't know about Madison
Avenue and how it has shaped our world. It seems to me that the primary place
to establish brand is on the cover of your book. There are lots of opinions
about covers, about how they should look. About what goes on top, for example.
Should it be the title or the author's name? I've been told many times that the
title should be the primary information on the cover, with the author's name in
smaller type and of less importance than the title.
I disagree with this. What are you branding here? Is it the
book? The book is ephemeral. It will be read and then the reader will move on.
The author is the brand, not the book. I want people to remember my name as a
writer they enjoy. It's not important to me that they remember which book in
the series they read.
When I want to buy a book I rarely look for a title. I look for a favorite author. Robert Crais, Alex Berenson, James Lee Burke,
Craig Johnson, Daniel Silva, James Rollins, Michael Connelly, to mention a few.
These authors are branded. I remember them. I don't know how many books they've
written and I don't really care. I just know that I like what they write and
when I want to purchase a book for entertainment I automatically think of them.
That's branding. How can you get your brand across? I'll
leave you with that question.
Posts
