In the previous blog we discussed how to attract subscribers to our mailing list by using incentives such as reader magnets. If you missed it you can find a copy here: https://www.publicious.com.au/blog.html Before we discuss how to find subscribers, let’s have a look at who these people who are willing to join your mailing list are. Although there will be a minority of those signing up who are doing it just for the freebies, the majority of your subscribers are there because they are interested in you, your writing, and what you have to share. These people are called your audience. Ideally, once they have read a couple of your books, they’ll become superfans but we’ll discuss this in a later edition. Regardless of what genre you write, you have an audience out there. In some cases, millions or even billions. Romance, thrillers, detective, and murder-mystery are the biggies and although these genres are extremely competitive this is actually a good thing because man...

In the previous blog we discussed the necessary preparation and steps required prior to commencing your marketing campaign. (if you missed it, you can read it or any previous issues here.) This month we’ll be looking at arguably one of the most important components of your marketing campaign. If you’ve been doing research on book marketing, you may have come across the term ‘mailing list’. It’s important to understand now that if you are planning to be a serious author/publisher (and I’m assuming you are because you’re reading this) you will need to build a mailing list. So, I’ll be using my mailing list to sell books, right? Well no … sort of,  but ….  It may sound contradictory seeing as we’re discussing book marketing but the aim of your list isn’t to sell, its main purpose is to give, not take. Of course, there is method in the madness, which is, the more you give your audience, the more they wi...

  ‘Build it, and they will come!’ You might remember that line from the 1982 W.P. Kinsella’s novel, Shoeless Joe or the 1989 movie adaption, A Field of Dreams. This famous line can work as a great analogy for the author who is at the beginning of their marketing campaign and not sure where to start. Here’s why: Build it … Build what? You need to begin your publishing journey by planning and building your brand. What do you think of when you see the Coca Cola logo? That’s right, a brown fizzy substance that, apparently, can clean your floor as well as taste great with Jack Daniels. In author terms, Stephen King is a great example of a brand. He writes horror novels, and he has millions of followers who love his books. When he brings out a new title, fans don’t even need to know the name of it, they can simply go into any bookstore and ask for the latest Stephen King novel. And because they’re buying the brand, they know exactly...

Things to consider prior to your book marketing campaign.  You know, being in the fortunate position of working with hundreds of self-published authors as I do, arguably the most asked question is ‘How do I market my book?’ I wish there were an easy answer to this. It would certainly make our lives easier if there was a product or a magic bullet that could take care of this part of the publishing journey for us, but regardless of what BS systems you might see out there on the internet, there is no such thing! The only answer to this dilemma is education. At the end of the day, you as the self-published (or Indie) author needs to be in full control of your writing/publishing career. This will be the first month when we’ll begin discussing all aspects of the book marketing business from beginning to end. There are endless options out there but it’s important to find the right strategies and tactics for you. The best place for us to start is at the very b...