As we’ve been discussing book marketing so much over the last year or so, I wanted to step back a little this month and go back to the very reason why we need marketing, in the hope that we can identify the kind of strategies that will work for us. To do this we need to start at the beginning. Would it help if you had an understanding of the kind of campaign you will you'll require while still writing the book? Or do you prefer to focus on the writing now, and worry about the marketing later? Arguably the latter is the option for most newbie authors, either that or (like me and my first novel, I just wanted to get the book finished) we have no idea of what marketing entails at this stage. Depending on your reasons for writing your book, if this is a one-off memoir meant only for family and friends for example, you don’t have to worry about who your target audience will be. However, if you are writing in the fiction genre, or a series of children&rsqu...

Over the last few months' we’ve been discussing all aspects of book marketing. This month I wanted concentrate on you the author, your expectations, and your goals. To do this we need to first ascertain what kind of author you are. Following is a blog article I wrote in 2015. It might give you an idea to determine which category you will fall into – the hobby writer, the semi-serious writer or the serious writer/publisher. Bobby, Robert and Bob are self-employed plumbers who also sell their own (plumbing) products. Each man is around the same age, but each steers their plumbing career differently. Bobby is a motivated man who loves being a plumber and is open-minded, – especially when it comes to learning new ways to promote his plumbing service and his products. Bobby learned early in his plumbing career that being a good plumber wasn't enough, and that to be successful he would need to build a brand and take control of the sale of his products...

Last month, we discussed the types of freebies you can offer your potential readers. For the following exercise let’s assume you have written a novella as a prequel to your book, and that you want to give it away in the hope that your potential buyers will be so engrossed after reading it, they’ll want to purchase your book, or sign up for your newsletter. This is called a reader magnet. Obviously, for this to be free, you’ll want to offer it as an ebook with a sample chapter at the end and those juicy links where those potential readers who you have left hanging and wanting more, can purchase and download your book. You could set up a download function on your website, but to minimize hassle and time I’d suggest using one of the download platforms that have been designed to take away all the stress. Once again for the sake of this exercise, we’re going to use BookFunnel as an example. However, there are lots of alternatives out there. Do your d...

Let’s face, it everyone likes something for free. Unfortunately, depending on your genre some audiences expect a freebie of some kind before purchasing your book. This doesn’t mean, however, that you have to give away a holiday for two in the Bahamas or tickets for a night at the opera. Freebies can come in all varieties, and if you are creative, the cost to you can be minimal or even free. Bearing this in mind, consider creating something digital that can be easily downloaded from your website or a platform such as BookFunnel (see next month’s newsletter). Here are a few examples of the kind of freebies you can offer your potential readers: For fiction: Free subscription to your newsletter Free subscription to your podcast (should you have one) A sample chapter from your book A novella prequel  An exclusive lost chapter (one that didn’t make the final cut) Information about your main character such as a dossier of personal information that i...