Marketing

Marketing Your Writing at a Conference
Creating a Marketing Plan in a Book Proposal
Develop a Presence on the Web
Developing a Platform
Marketing Plan Resources on the Web

Marketing Your Writing at a Conference

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Creating a Marketing Plan in a Book Proposal

You must include a marketing plan. Given a choice of three good book proposals, all things being equal, publishers will focus on an author's ability to market and publicize her or her own book.

Penny C. Sansevieri, the author of Get Published Today!, has some important advice, “Your marketing plan will be based on your subject matter, time/availability, and budget. These are each significant and contributing elements that will determine what marketing mediums you pursue. The possibilities for marketing your book are really endless. The thing to remember is you don't have to do all of them. If your time and budget is limited, then pick a few. You're far better off approaching your campaign with a reasonable, realistic approach that you can stick with, than a frenzy of marketing ideas that will loose their luster after a week or two.” - Penny C. Sansevieri, Author Marketing Experts, Inc. From Book to Bestseller: An Insider's Guide to Publicizing and Marketing Your Book! and Get Published Today!: An Insider's Guide to Publishing Success.

When you are writing a marketing plan for your book proposal, list your promotional activities and efforts in a descending order of importance. The Action Plan Marketing Plan from the book Selling Your Book can be printed and used as a guide in creating a formal marketing plan: Your Action Marketing Plan 

John Kremer, the editor of the Book Marketing Update newsletter and author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, states, “In making a marketing plan for a book, I always encourage people to focus on the audiences for the book first. Then focus on the ways to reach those audiences.”
 
“It is the author who is the source of the energy behind the book and the source of the success of the book.” - Marcella Smith, Small Press Business Manager, Barnes & Noble
 
You must be willing to help market your book. Publishers will want to know that you are marketable too. Can you be a great spokesperson?

Brainstorm ways to start a grassroots buzz about your book. Then list the best ideas in your marketing plan.

Target your audience - how large is your audience, where are they, what do they buy and where so they shop? Ask yourself, “Who will buy your book?” The focus is to build a unique demographic profile of your potential buyer based on: Age, education, gender, income, interests, associations, media access, and buying habits. It is vital that you know what your potential buyers read, what they watch, what the listen to, and where they will find it most convenient to buy your books or tapes.

Write a realistic marketing plan that includes potential location/sites where your book can be marketed. Many books can be sold through non-bookstore outlets: garden shops, boutiques, car washes, sporting goods stores, museums, travel agencies, cookware and specialty shops, hardware stores - the list is endless, based on your book's topic.

Remember that books can be marketed to corporations, store chains, organizations, nonprofits, and associations.

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Develop a Presence on the Web

Build a personal web site.

Start an e-zine on the subject of your book - numbers count.

Start a blog to promote your book's idea and topic, and you - exposure counts.

"If you want your book to get high visibility, you'd better learn how to generate the coverage yourself." - Dennis Henseley

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Developing a Platform

Your platform is your accomplishments, expertise, and media experience-everything you bring to the publisher's table as an author. An author with an existing platform is more appealing to a publisher than one who has no platform. If you do not have a platform, explain in your book proposal how you will work to develop one. Be realistic. Some of this can be done even without a published book. Each of the items below should be considered as a part of your whole platform. A platform can take many forms:

1. Have you written other books and articles?
2. Have you done speaking engagements?
3. Are you active in a church or service organization?
4. Have you contributed to achievements or breakthroughs in your market?
5. Have you achieved expert status on in the media, including TV, radio, and print?
6. Have you toured the country promoting previous books?
7. Do you have endorsements or testimonials from market leaders?
8. Did any previous books make it to any best sellers lists? Did they receive any awards?
9. Have any of your previous books been featured in magazines?
10. Do you have an e-zine? If so, how many subscribers do you have?
11. Do you lead a discussion group via your e-zine or on the web?
12. Do you have a source of dedicated “listeners or subscribers”?
13. Do you have a mailing list? If so, how many people are on your list?
14. Do you have credentials?
15. Have any of your previous books and articles appeared in other countries or been translated to different languages?

The sum of all these items is your platform. If it is good, it will help you stand out above the rest of the crowd. If it is weak, others will stand out above you. A good platform will make you the right choice for your publisher. Write your platform in a descending order of importance.

“We say an author needs a platform in order to help launch a book and get it out there.” - Linda Konner, literary agent, The Writer, May 2005

“When you write nonfiction books, one of the first things a publisher or agent wants to know is what kind of platform you have. An author's 'platform' is her ability to reach the masses. You develop a platform by becoming media-worthy.” - Jenna Glatzer of Absolute Write

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Marketing Plan Resources on the Web

Author Marketing Experts by Penny Sansevieri

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