John Kremer : 1001 Ways to Market Your Books

Okay, I admit it I'm a fan. When I interviewed John Kremer on my blog talk radio show, for authors I confessed, and he took the complement graciously. I explained that it was due to his book that I attribute much of my success. I have successfully self-published since 1994, and now work with many authors publishing their books under the Media Angels®, Inc., imprint.

I first read the sixth edition of John's book, "1001 Ways to Market Your Books" on a family reunion in North Carolina.

Everyone else was on a trek to view the mountain falls close up, while I was very happy to view the lake, and mountain view comfortably from the deck of our hotel. There I was, with my littlest son, and my book on marketing. I had been writing and publishing for a few years at this point, in a niche market, and the thought crossed my mind to expand this market into the schools and libraries. I had no idea where to begin and this book, this great resource, was able to answer all of my questions and all the others I didn't know I had!

I am a book purest. I’m coming alongside the eBook revolution very quietly although I am kicking and screaming inside. The idea of a wonderful book in my hands brings a smile to my lips. And, I would never in one-hundred years even contemplate turning down the page corners of any books in my personal library, which easily numbers over a thousand titles. Yet, John’s book broke all my carefully laid guidelines.

In fact I had to take some pictures of his book to show you.

You can see the pages are somewhat faded with age, written upon…

And, the corners are well… I really don’t know what I was thinking at the time. Was the kite-fold really necessary?

When an author begins writing, very few have a mind for marketing. Of course there are the exceptions, such as a friend, Eric Reinhold, author of the Ryann Watters fantasy series for children. Eric is a business man, a financial planner, and knows how to market. Not only does he have three books planned for the series, he has hopes for a movie to tie in with Mount Dora's 100 year anniversary. Mount Dora is the location of the book, a real place in Florida.

For the rest of us, just getting the book written is a huge undertaking. Many of the aspiring authors I work with begin to panic when I outline an underlying marketing plan to work toward, as they finish their manuscript. There are several choices according to John, one is to hire someone to market and publicize for you and the other is to do it yourself. I opted to do it myself and found the information I needed in John's "1001 Ways to Market Your Books".

What kind of information? Let me recount what this book did for me, personally:

1. I saved over $1000.00 on the print run of my book Information in a Nutshell: "Writing and Publishing" by using the printer information in John's book and website. I was able to obtain printing proposals; comparison shopped and asked my local printer if they could match the price. In this case the print run was large enough that they said, "Yes!"

2. Learned innovative ways to market, by including specific information that helped with sales. For example, the authors of book titles I mentioned in my book, mentioned my book to others. In one case the self-published author with a typical print run of 10,000 books, mentioned me in her “Digging Deeper” section. My sales soared.

3. Learned more about niche marketing, in my case the focus was on a particular group, and using my educational skills. I offered to speak to small groups, parent groups and state conventions. I taught workshops to adults and hands-on science workshops to children.

4. Marketing seasons: I found information about the best times to release books and tying this into what his happening locally. A great example is the one by Eric, mentioned above. John gives the author many ideas about how to tie this into your overall marketing campaign.

5. A book promotion time-line that is second to none. In this list, the author knows when to market and publicize and the order that it becomes the most effective. This is worth the ticket price of the book, in my opinion.

For the rest of the points you will need to listen to the radio interview I conducted with John. I am embarrassed to say that the interview went over the prescribed one hour. We clocked in at 90 minutes of excellent information! He was unselfish and generous as he continued to answer without an eye for the clock, and explained such marketing gems as the importance of a good front cover, testing the market, and building relationships.

You can learn more about John Kremer from:
Website: http://www.bookmarket.com
Group Discussion on his “Ning”: http://bookmarket.ning.com/
He has over 5,000 members, and I am one.

Happily, Blog Talk Radio selected this show as one of  Today's Top Picks!

The link for the radio show interview is: http://www.writingandpublishingradio.com.

You are always welcome to join the live event; every Monday at 3:30 ET, in order to ask the guest questions in “real time”… this interview was as much for my listening audience as it was for me. John has the experience of over 25+ years in the industry, and this interview reflected just the tip of his knowledge. Thanks John, from all of us who have profited from your research, time, energy and knowledge. I thank you for writing your book.

Publicity and Book Marketing

And so we begin April as the month of the publicists and book marketing experts. I will be interviewing four people this month who understand the publishing industry and know how to make the most out of your advertising dollar. Some of these experts are authors and others know the industry, inside and out. Getting the word out about a new book or product is very important, and the hope is that the advertising takes the form of social media viral “buzz”.

First let's look at the definitions of the terms publicity and marketing. Both appear to mean the same thing. The idea is to be noticed in order to find someone to purchase your books. Simply, publicity is local or national media coverage such as newspaper, magazine, or print reviews in the form of interviews or book reviews. It can also mean radio or television interviews. Today this definition is expanded to include media coverage via blog promotions, blog tours, or podcasts. Publicity is free exposure for you, and you gain notoriety in the form of the coverage. A press release is a good way to help shape your image and busy media outlets appreciate the help of a well worded synopsis of your book, photograph and bio.



Marketing on the other hand takes many forms. It can be paid advertising in order to present your product to the masses and is a direct approach in order to obtain sales from consumers. Marketing allows you to word the ad or hire a professional to write one for your use. This can also be the tools such as business cards, postcards, book marks, websites, pay per click ads, and other resources to use at book signings. Marketing can also take the form of author blog posts, and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

I have interviewed many authors who have hired a publicist for their book promotions and were very happy with the results. Publicists are not cheap, yet if they obtain the contact and publicity you hope for, they are well worth the money spent. As with anything publishing related it helps to have a goal and share this with the person you hire. Do you want to travel and speak? Do you want to be paid for your speaking engagements? Do you desire bookstore book signings? Or, would you rather speak from a telephone at home and talk about your book project?

Can you successfully promote your own book? Yes, it does not matter if you are a first time self-published author or you are an author with a traditional press. You can promote your own book, all it takes is time. There are many resources and guides available and we will discuss this on the broadcasts on my radio show, this month.

Here is the upcoming line-up:

April 5, 2010 Marc Grant: Mentor Equity Press  http://www.MentorEquityPress.com
April 12, 2010 John Kremer: 1001 Ways to Market Your Book: http://www.bookmarket.com
April 19, 2010 Kathy Carlton Willis: Publicist http://www.kathycarltonwillis.com/
April 26, 2010 Leili McKinley: Branding for Authors: http://www.leilimckinley.com/speaker/  

When do you Start Marketing Your Book?

Guest Blogger

Carol White

When I can "have it my way" - which isn’t often  - I prefer to work on the book at least 6 months ahead of the pub date – I know, “but my book is coming out next week!” - you really need that much time to get the marketing/distribution/pricing plans together. 



You need to apply to distributors, get their paperwork done, get their sales team representing your book to the chains, the chains place their advance orders, you know how many to print and ship to them, they have to get them in stores - all prior to your pub date. If you aren’t going to use a trade distributor, how are people going to get your book once they know about it? You have to be able to answer that question; and the answer isn’t “from my website” – most people will not buy from an unknown website by an unknown author.

Speaking of websites, a website is another activity that should be done as early as possible - you can use it to begin creating advance buzz for your book, have a media room where the media can learn about your book (cover art, pictures from the book, pub date, etc.) and a place to post your media coverage as it comes in. You can post your Table of contents, a sample chapter, do a blog, and so on - lots you can do to start building that platform waaayyy ahead of the book.

You also need your publicist in place with your media kit to do pre-pub reviewers 3-4 months minimum before pub date (required time), get early copies out to large magazines with long lead times, and then when the time gets closer, do newspapers, blogs, websites, and short cycle magazines. If you don’t hire a publicist, then you need to do these activities.

WHEW!!! See why it takes 6 months? Oh - and YOU have to follow-up on all this to maximize the impact.

My motto: No follow-up = no results
Get your book really ready by following these steps:

1) You need a distribution strategy (whether POD or off-set - just the logistics are different) - how sad is it to create great buzz - and you don’t have your book anyplace where the trade and consumers can get it for your anxious buyers.

2) To engage a trade distributor or even a wholesaler (assuming you are doing print runs) you must have a written marketing plan for them.

3) You have to make sure that your product is top notch - or a publicist won’t take it - their reputation is on the line with every book they recommend to their media contacts. That is what you are really paying for - who they know and how effective they are at placing your book for publicity.

4) You have to make sure that your price is competitive with other books in your genre or no amount of publicity will create the sales that you expect.

5) You need a good media kit for the publicist to use as a basis for the publicity she/he will create for you - or you can pay the publicist or another marketing professional to do that work for you.

 

Of course all of these steps are predicated on your goals for your project, the amount of resources (time & money) you can devote to your book and any constraints that your life situation imposes on you (don’t want to do live appearances or maybe radio terrifies you, etc.).
So give your book a chance – start early and plan your marketing just as carefully as you planned your words on the page

 
Carol White is an author, speaker, writer, and book marketing coach.  In addition to co-authoring the best selling, award-winning book, Live Your Road Trip Dream, Carol is a frequent guest speaker at conventions such as the national AARP Life @ 50+ and The Great North American RV Rally.  She is also a published writer for magazines and websites and has spoken about publishing to groups including IBPA’s Publishing University, the Northwest Association of Book Publishers and the Bay Area Independent Publisher’s Assn. She has an active book marketing consulting practice that includes both domestic and international clients. www.carolwhitemarketing.com

Marketing Your Book and Yourself...Again, and Again

I have the pleasure of interviewing some wonderful people, and one recurring theme I have found is they all know something about marketing. You know, I’ve often thought it would be handy to have an MBA degree. Seriously, I know of an author who went back to school to take marketing classes in order to understand how to move products more effectively.

However, I think the paradigm has shifted and the wave of the future will include more virtual marketing than ever before. The idea is to let people know about your book, what other people have to say about it, and create a book-buzz encouraging people to part with their hard earned cash and buy your book!

Most of the latest information has not made its way into a book. Books on Internet Marketing almost become obsolete before they make it to the bookstore shelf. There are many platforms on the internet and finding one that works for you is the key. The platforms I’m suggesting are Blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. I am currently assembling an eBook on this topic for authors and may post some specific ways that have worked for me in the near future. I’m still tallying the results as to what works the best and what does not!

Do you realize if you master one of the “Big 4” online formats you will have a readily available stream of targeted clients and customers waiting for your next book or eProduct. In fact, a scant five years ago, no one would consider online marketing the wave of the future. Many of us (yes, myself included) considered eBooks non-books. Today you will find many best sellers released simultaneously in Hardcover, Paperback, Trade paperback, and eBook for many different eBook readers.

While I have trained my word processing software to stop flagging the word, “eBook”, there is no need to train the public to accept this type of product. People want to read it now and convenience, in the form of an eBook reading device, is the key. As the marketing trends catapult into the next century, readers will continue to improve as will hand-held technology, such as cell phones. Readers are nothing new; three years ago, my cell phone had one. What has improved is the ease of downloading new books and browsing the internet bookstores.

Writing goes hand-in-hand with marketing and keeping up with the latest trend will make you more effective not only as an author, but as a businessperson who wants to sell more books. What online marketing tips work for you?

Marketing Your Book Now

Are you tired of hearing me talk about marketing? Shouldn't an author write just for the sake of pleasure? What ever happened to purity in an art form? While I like the idea of writing well, writing to spread a message, teach an idea or rally the troops (whatever your cause). I much prefer the bottom line to be black!

As a publisher it is all about the bottom line. Much as I hate to admit it. If publishers don't make money, they don't pay the bills, and they don't publish any other books. In fact those of us who have published, unwisely (putting a book out before we lay the groundwork) have ended up with hundreds of books they can't move, sell or give away at rock-bottom prices.

I have held all types of sales and some are more successful than others. Yet, if I had marketed correctly in the first place I could have saved myself the aggravation of wracking my brain to decide how I was going to sell the book! I once read a blog in which the author was giving away 100 books to 400 readers. The first 100 read the book and passed it on to 3 other people so that there were 400 readers in all It was an honor system. What a brilliant concept and before the publication of his book, he had many, many sign ups to obtain a copy.

There are all types of innovative marketing techniques. And...I'm looking for some! If you know about a good book marketing technique share it with us. In fact, I'll make the offer a bit "sweeter".

For the month of March I will pick one person ... this month to receive your choice of a free book Information In a A Nutshell and DVD,  and/or a free 30 minute consultation. The consultation can be in the form of a chapter evaluation of your manuscript, talking over a book idea, or questions you may have about the writing and publishing process.

All you have to do to win is post a comment to one of the blog posts this month, and bring along a writing friend! (latter is not are requirement, but I'd love it if you did!)