Before you authors run away because I’m talking about a marketing idea today. Don’t. You blew that one off with another author’s post recently and missed out on a very good, very easy opportunity. We write about things like book covers and formatting and you eat it up but anything that ventures in to the area of the dreaded world of promotion you run like conservative and a tree hugger festival.
I have eleven years experience in marketing. My interest in helping promote authors is not one that is some half wit idea without some thought given. I’ve done articles about authors needing social media presence for a reason. Articles about getting your book description right on Amazon have come up, with little attention by readers.
“Why does my great book about blah blah blah not sell?” Because your book description says a boy and his dog set off on an adventure across the country. That it, nothing else.
Back to marketing. How do you get people to buy your books? Advertising? No.
There are two ways; Word of Mouth and Word of Your Mouth
Word of Mouth
This is how most books get around. People to friends. Those friends could be face to face friends (f-f) or online community friends (OCF). Regardless of which, they are among people that know each other and are liable to listen. Send me an Amazon email with that list of books and I am more than likely not going to bother.
Word of Your Mouth
And here is why I’m writing this today. Jo Robinson wrote a great article How to Create Downloadable Links to Give Away Books from your Newsletter Sign Up In it she discusses exactly what the title says. But there is something she mentions that might be missed. And it was missed by a lot of people because for some reason this article didn’t get the massive response a Jo Robinson article normally does. Why? I won’t repeat why but as authors we want to write our books and that’s it.
Those times are long gone unless you write about wizards and have a nice bit of plastic surgery done. Or you have so many books out there that they do your leg work for you. But even then you have to play the game. Indie Authors MUST do it. House Published authors NEED to do it and are encouraged to do it by their publishing house.
What did Jo say in her article? A lot. But the one piece that I am talking about is as an author you MUST build up an email list. An email list is made up of people who have shown interest in something you were giving enough to give you their email address, which is a big deal these days. Start now before you even know you are going to write a book. Come up with some idea for a Newsletter and have those people sign up. 1000 people sign up and then get word of your book. Let’s say 10% buy your book. 100 people buy it. of that say 50% tell their f-f or OCF.
It keeps going and going. Your one email newsletter or email blast about your book is now spreading for you by word of mouth. Just think. Oprah speaks and people buy. Books never heard of may be mentioned by her and are then a best seller in days.
Read Jo’s article about how to set up a newsletter email system. It’s worth the time.
@RonovanWrites
on GoodReads
on Google+
on Facebook
© Copyright-All rights reserved by litworldinterviews.wordpress.com 2015
Lit World Interviews 
Reblogged this on Michaelphelps1's Blog and commented:
SO YOU ARE A WRITER, HUH? NEVER HEARD OF YOU.”
WANT TO CHANGE THAT? THEN FOLLOW RONOVAN’S MARKETING INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR WORK AND THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE YOUR FANS THEY WILL BE ASKING FOR YOUR AUTOGRAPH . . . I CHARGE $100 FOR SIGNED COPIES. (just kidding).
LikeLiked by 1 person
That WAS a great post of great relevance to me as I am working on a campaign to try and get more email subscribers right now… great timing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a great post and Jo’s article was full of solid advice. Thing is that no matter how much I keep reading about email lists, from what to put in them to the technicalities, I have still not got around to make one. I just feel that no matter what I do, I’ll only have like one email three times a year or so, and I know this wouldn’t be enough.
LikeLiked by 2 people
http://indiesunlimited.com/2014/02/17/developing-the-perfect-author-newsletter/
That might give you some ideas. I may write an article with something in it later. But this is a start. Hope it helps.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the link! I only skimmed it for now (bookmarked it for further reading) but I already like some of the information/tips on it. I know I’ll have to bite the bullet at some point but so far, I’m still staring at it on my to do list, with tons of dread. I’ll be happy to read any post you might make about the subject!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think you have so much you could share. Your interests are varied. And you would save something fantastic for a newsletter to encourage others to want to subscribe. It doesn’t have to be a book update. You could even promote a friend in it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re already giving me idea. I’m glad you don’t mind the discussion/brainstorming. Sometimes, just reading about certain things help enough, but other times (like this one) being able to talk about it with someone else is much more efficient (even with a kitten trying to take the keyboard over in my case).
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have the flu, you have a kitten;. I think you win though. Kittens are cute. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, also do Natacha’s picks. You could do a monthly newsletter and include your picks of books, graphic novels, movies related to your genre, Anything supporting your particular scene, work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m planning a book recommendation weekly feature on my blog as from April, but yes, that’s an idea. And you get better! We have 2 kittens at home, so that makes for entertainment and difficulties to type!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Pro bloggers send out weekly newsletters, with afiliate links and stuff to make it profitable. Personally I’ve not come up with anything to make this work for me. I guess it also comes down to that I don’t like spam. But, this has now been put back on my to do list. Your reader needs to find value in your newsletter or they will just let it drop into the spam folder.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for forwarding her information!
LikeLiked by 1 person
…unimpeachable good sense and advice 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
RONOVAN,
THANK YOU! AGAIN, GREAT ADVICE THAT IS VERY HELPFUL!
TEA WITH LEOMON, GET RID OF THE FLU!
Best,
Mike
LikeLike
This is a hard one for me for some reason. I thought we’d ‘gone past’ emails, in that all my friends text, or message nowadays. Few of them seem to use email. So, while I’ve been busy trying to master Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, Instagraming and such, the circle has turned and I have to build up an email list. But, not just any old email list. People who don’t mind me sending them information they haven’t asked for. I find that very daunting.
It’s not that I don’t believe you that that’s what I should do, it’s just that it’s like standing at the bottom of Mount Everest and looking up at the top knowing I’ve to climb it!
I’m exhausted already!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The people will knowingly sign up for a newsletter. That’s the basic idea. You promise them some original and exclusive content and updates. Things not to be found on a blog or site of yours. I would do it once a month or you could do it quarterly if you liked. Anything that is comfortable to you. Offer them a peek at a chapter of a book that is coming up. Things like that.
By making note on the place they sign up that they will be getting a newsletter you should feel okay with sending them something. Even at times someone who receives it and perhaps is the first to respond gets a free kindle version of a book, or a signed copy of a book.
LikeLike