Your Plan of Action

Over the last ten months we’ve discussed the following ways of marketing your books:

1. Mysteries and myths of book marketing
2. Preparing for your marketing campaign
3. Creating a mailing list
4. Attracting subscribers to your list
5. Finding your audience
6. Engaging with your audience
7. Your newsletter
8. Using social media to market your books
9. Paid advertising
10. Getting reviews
11. Managing your brand

Now that you have a grasp over some of the options open to you for your marketing campaign, it’s important to understand that if you are aiming to create a successful career as an author, you’ll need to run all aspects of that career like a business. There will be costs involved, so be prepared for a pre-revenue stage where you’ll be carrying (investing) your own time and money into your project, just as any small business owner would.

Be patient. Work out a marketing strategy that’s right for you, but don’t be afraid to try things out and discard them if they’re not working for you. The main objective in the beginning shouldn’t be selling books (as ironic as that sounds) but to be building your audience. Then, in time, that audience will not only purchase your latest book, but they’ll be waiting with anticipation for the next one and the next one. When you get to that point you’ve created a fan base and your initial investment will begin to pay off.

So, here’s a checklist of a possible plan of action:

1. Finish your book (this includes editing)
2. If required, source designers to assist with typesetting and/or cover design
3. Complete the above steps if necessary, for a prequel novella eBook to give away for free
4. Register your book with an ISBN and appropriate book databases and library submissions
5. Create print and ebook files if required
6. Create a website
7. Decide which social media platforms you are going to use and create accounts
8. Open an account with an email provider such as MailerLite, Mailchimp, etc.
9. Write automated responses and your welcome newsletter
10. Create an eye-catching ad to entice potential readers to sign up for your newsletter

While working on your plan this will also be a great time to make your book available for sale. Join me next month when I’ll be discussing online distribution and ways of getting your books to your audience.

Until then, keep an eye out for our next newsletter, and have a great month.

Write on …
Andy