© 2008 J. Aday Kennedy All Rights Reserved
| J. Aday Kennedy |
| CREATE A BOOK MARKETING PLAN |
How to write a book marketing plan by dog ear PUBLISHING
www.dogearpublishing.net/newsletter_060101.aspx
Insider's Guide to Book Marketing
A sound and sensible book marketing plan is just as important as the writing, design, and
publication itself – no matter how wonderful your book might be, it won’t sell itself… and it’s
highly unlikely for a new author (and even many well seasoned ones) that your book is going to
jump off bookstore shelves without some help. Remember, in most bookstores, it has about
8,000 other competitors right next to it!
Your book marketing plan should be built to identify the revenue streams you expect to
attack. This document should be an outline on how you will achieve your income or sales goals,
and it should identify in detail the market you see and how you will reach your sales goals.
Building a book marketing plan.
You all know a book won’t sell itself? Right? Surprisingly, many authors DON’T understand this
fact until too late – and they are disappointed with their sales performance. Every book needs
some sort of marketing plan – something that sets your expectations and creates achievable
goals that you can attack in an orderly fashion.
But – how do you create a book marketing plan for your book? There is a ton of great
freeware, even more that you can spend lots of money on, that all help you create a marketing
plan for selling your book. But – before you go to the exciting effort of spending time and
money on downloading software, open up your trusty word processor and follow me…
Chapter One – Who will buy your book?
The secret to sales success is to target your book marketing plan as directly as possible to
your potential reader – and have it be someone who is reachable.
“Everyone will want to read my book!” Sorry, but that doesn’t work. Even the absolute best
selling books – that sell 2 or 3 million copies in a year - only penetrate to about 3% of the
reading population. Sales success for your book will be driven by defining a very clear picture
of who is interested in your book.
They must be identifiable: Make a list! Which groups would be interested in your book? Why?
Who is next? Why should the need or want your book? (remember this – someone is more
likely to buy something they NEED before something they WANT)
Now – narrow it down even more. Find a unique angle about your book – and don’t try and be
everything to everyone, because you can’t – instead target 100% of a specific part!
Chapter Two – What is your definition of success for your book? What is your
GOAL?
Some authors write for themselves and their families only – they don’t dream of their books as
bestsellers in the marketplace. Some authors write for a very specific personal need to tell their
story. Some have unique insight into very specific topics. Many have dreams of seeing their
book in the front of Borders or Barnes & Noble. Each author is different, but you MUST decide
what your real definition of success happens to be. We don’t want to pursue a goal that may
not be what you actually feel is important.
Chapter Three – Objectives, Plans and Actions
Everything needs to start with a GOAL – and that is what you outlined in Chapter Two.
Everything you do for your book should be in support of this goal.
Objectives- these are the steps you take to achieve your GOAL – for example, if you goal is to
sell 5,000 books, then you need to identify some OBJECTIVES as the “steps” to achieving your
goal. Just like your GOAL – make sure your Objectives are reasonable, and something that you
can achieve. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to confuse WANTING to do
something or achieve a goal with be ABLE to achieve a goal – make sure you possess the
necessary skills to do the things on your list. Perhaps my OBJECTIVES list would look like this:
1. Set up personal events to promote my book – book signings, seminars, radio interviews, etc.
2. Secure reviews from print resources.
3. Identify online resources for promotion of my book
4. Identify non-retail opportunities for book sales.
5. Create outbound awareness campaign of me the author as an expert in my field
Plans – your PLANS outline the needed steps to get your OBJECTIVES moving, and they begin
to create “to do lists” and measurable actions. For example, one of my Objectives is to set up
personal events to promote my book. So, my plan section might look like this:
* Objective: Personal Appearances:
o Plans:
i. Set up one book signing per week at local outlets
ii. Set up two seminars on book marketing in 1Q 2006
iii. Conduct one radio interview per month in 2006
Actions- these are the details of each PLAN- and, as the saying goes, “the devil is in the
details…”. This is where most book marketing plans fail – you must have a coherent and
workable set of “actions” to achieve each plan, that then leads to each objective – and,
eventually, achieves your ultimate goal. If you can’t produce a reasonable set of “actions” for
achieving each plan, then scrap the book marketing plan and start over. Here is my “Action”
list for the Objective / Plans above:
* Objective: Personal Appearances:
o Plan: Set up one book signing per week at local bookstores
ACTIONS:
• Call B&N at Keystone– get Events Coordinator's, name – make appointment to visit and
present book signing idea. BRING BOOK!! Mary knows Mgr – get intro?
• Borders Mgr – drop off book – and mention reading / seminar on marketing –
• Contact library for presentations on self-pub. Monthly event?
As you can see, it really is all about breaking your marketing efforts down in to small enough
pieces to be A) understandable, B) achievable and C) measurable.
Marketing & publicity is a long-term, consistent and concerted effort – it never ever happens
overnight, even though it may seem to for some people.
Chapter Four – Create a reasonable time line and budget
All of us have finite amounts of time, energy, and money. A book marketing plan can eat up
all three very quickly, leaving you alone, exhausted, and broke. The game is to pace yourself
and resources so that you can keep the effort moving along. This is where your planning in
Chapter Three works it magic - without looking at the “big picture,” most of us would never know
how much of our precious resources should be devoted to each aspect of the game.
Organization and prioritizing are the most important part of the process – and you may find
yourself returning to “Chapter Three” and rewriting sections of your plan.
Here are some monetary expenses you may expect to incur in your book marketing plan:
1. Sample Books – do you plan on sending them out or dropping them off?
2. Marketing materials – posters, flyers, postcards, etc.
3. Press release writing and distribution
4. Advertising – sponsored search, links, banners, print
5. Web site design and shopping cart creation
6. Direct mail opportunities
A quick note on samples – I don’t believe in sending out books blindly – it’s too expensive and
not effective. If a potential resource is interested in your book, they’ll ask for it (as long as
youve written a good press release…)
Chapter Five – Creating a brand with your book marketing plan
Think about this… in many cases, you – not your book – are really the “brand” you are selling.
Books can occasionally be seen as a commodity… “experts” who can be interviewed on a topic
are often far more valuable. Your book is your calling card – and ultimately the way you will
profit from your “expertise” – but many times, it's YOU that is the selling point!
Use your book marketing plan to push you as the primary product – building a brand around
what you know and your “mystique” as an author. Also - don’t forget to let us know your plans!
If you and your book are “tied” as a brand – let us help you use your book to increase your
credibility and awareness. At least have us add your web site in several places in the book –
even on the cover. Letting us you’re your book marketing plans can allow us time to help you
create the best possible product.
***
That’s it – the building of a book marketing plan in a nutshell if you will. Let us know if we can
answer any questions, and thanks for reading
Reposted from www.dogearpublishing.net
If you have any questions or comments - please write them at
AuthorResources@dogearpublishing.net
www.dogearpublishing.net/newsletter_060101.aspx
Insider's Guide to Book Marketing
A sound and sensible book marketing plan is just as important as the writing, design, and
publication itself – no matter how wonderful your book might be, it won’t sell itself… and it’s
highly unlikely for a new author (and even many well seasoned ones) that your book is going to
jump off bookstore shelves without some help. Remember, in most bookstores, it has about
8,000 other competitors right next to it!
Your book marketing plan should be built to identify the revenue streams you expect to
attack. This document should be an outline on how you will achieve your income or sales goals,
and it should identify in detail the market you see and how you will reach your sales goals.
Building a book marketing plan.
You all know a book won’t sell itself? Right? Surprisingly, many authors DON’T understand this
fact until too late – and they are disappointed with their sales performance. Every book needs
some sort of marketing plan – something that sets your expectations and creates achievable
goals that you can attack in an orderly fashion.
But – how do you create a book marketing plan for your book? There is a ton of great
freeware, even more that you can spend lots of money on, that all help you create a marketing
plan for selling your book. But – before you go to the exciting effort of spending time and
money on downloading software, open up your trusty word processor and follow me…
Chapter One – Who will buy your book?
The secret to sales success is to target your book marketing plan as directly as possible to
your potential reader – and have it be someone who is reachable.
“Everyone will want to read my book!” Sorry, but that doesn’t work. Even the absolute best
selling books – that sell 2 or 3 million copies in a year - only penetrate to about 3% of the
reading population. Sales success for your book will be driven by defining a very clear picture
of who is interested in your book.
They must be identifiable: Make a list! Which groups would be interested in your book? Why?
Who is next? Why should the need or want your book? (remember this – someone is more
likely to buy something they NEED before something they WANT)
Now – narrow it down even more. Find a unique angle about your book – and don’t try and be
everything to everyone, because you can’t – instead target 100% of a specific part!
Chapter Two – What is your definition of success for your book? What is your
GOAL?
Some authors write for themselves and their families only – they don’t dream of their books as
bestsellers in the marketplace. Some authors write for a very specific personal need to tell their
story. Some have unique insight into very specific topics. Many have dreams of seeing their
book in the front of Borders or Barnes & Noble. Each author is different, but you MUST decide
what your real definition of success happens to be. We don’t want to pursue a goal that may
not be what you actually feel is important.
Chapter Three – Objectives, Plans and Actions
Everything needs to start with a GOAL – and that is what you outlined in Chapter Two.
Everything you do for your book should be in support of this goal.
Objectives- these are the steps you take to achieve your GOAL – for example, if you goal is to
sell 5,000 books, then you need to identify some OBJECTIVES as the “steps” to achieving your
goal. Just like your GOAL – make sure your Objectives are reasonable, and something that you
can achieve. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to confuse WANTING to do
something or achieve a goal with be ABLE to achieve a goal – make sure you possess the
necessary skills to do the things on your list. Perhaps my OBJECTIVES list would look like this:
1. Set up personal events to promote my book – book signings, seminars, radio interviews, etc.
2. Secure reviews from print resources.
3. Identify online resources for promotion of my book
4. Identify non-retail opportunities for book sales.
5. Create outbound awareness campaign of me the author as an expert in my field
Plans – your PLANS outline the needed steps to get your OBJECTIVES moving, and they begin
to create “to do lists” and measurable actions. For example, one of my Objectives is to set up
personal events to promote my book. So, my plan section might look like this:
* Objective: Personal Appearances:
o Plans:
i. Set up one book signing per week at local outlets
ii. Set up two seminars on book marketing in 1Q 2006
iii. Conduct one radio interview per month in 2006
Actions- these are the details of each PLAN- and, as the saying goes, “the devil is in the
details…”. This is where most book marketing plans fail – you must have a coherent and
workable set of “actions” to achieve each plan, that then leads to each objective – and,
eventually, achieves your ultimate goal. If you can’t produce a reasonable set of “actions” for
achieving each plan, then scrap the book marketing plan and start over. Here is my “Action”
list for the Objective / Plans above:
* Objective: Personal Appearances:
o Plan: Set up one book signing per week at local bookstores
ACTIONS:
• Call B&N at Keystone– get Events Coordinator's, name – make appointment to visit and
present book signing idea. BRING BOOK!! Mary knows Mgr – get intro?
• Borders Mgr – drop off book – and mention reading / seminar on marketing –
• Contact library for presentations on self-pub. Monthly event?
As you can see, it really is all about breaking your marketing efforts down in to small enough
pieces to be A) understandable, B) achievable and C) measurable.
Marketing & publicity is a long-term, consistent and concerted effort – it never ever happens
overnight, even though it may seem to for some people.
Chapter Four – Create a reasonable time line and budget
All of us have finite amounts of time, energy, and money. A book marketing plan can eat up
all three very quickly, leaving you alone, exhausted, and broke. The game is to pace yourself
and resources so that you can keep the effort moving along. This is where your planning in
Chapter Three works it magic - without looking at the “big picture,” most of us would never know
how much of our precious resources should be devoted to each aspect of the game.
Organization and prioritizing are the most important part of the process – and you may find
yourself returning to “Chapter Three” and rewriting sections of your plan.
Here are some monetary expenses you may expect to incur in your book marketing plan:
1. Sample Books – do you plan on sending them out or dropping them off?
2. Marketing materials – posters, flyers, postcards, etc.
3. Press release writing and distribution
4. Advertising – sponsored search, links, banners, print
5. Web site design and shopping cart creation
6. Direct mail opportunities
A quick note on samples – I don’t believe in sending out books blindly – it’s too expensive and
not effective. If a potential resource is interested in your book, they’ll ask for it (as long as
youve written a good press release…)
Chapter Five – Creating a brand with your book marketing plan
Think about this… in many cases, you – not your book – are really the “brand” you are selling.
Books can occasionally be seen as a commodity… “experts” who can be interviewed on a topic
are often far more valuable. Your book is your calling card – and ultimately the way you will
profit from your “expertise” – but many times, it's YOU that is the selling point!
Use your book marketing plan to push you as the primary product – building a brand around
what you know and your “mystique” as an author. Also - don’t forget to let us know your plans!
If you and your book are “tied” as a brand – let us help you use your book to increase your
credibility and awareness. At least have us add your web site in several places in the book –
even on the cover. Letting us you’re your book marketing plans can allow us time to help you
create the best possible product.
***
That’s it – the building of a book marketing plan in a nutshell if you will. Let us know if we can
answer any questions, and thanks for reading
Reposted from www.dogearpublishing.net
If you have any questions or comments - please write them at
AuthorResources@dogearpublishing.net
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J. Aday Kennedy, children's author of Buster Bear and Uncle B, received a contract for
it's publication in September of 2008. She has not received a publication date, but she
has begun her book marketing plan. As soon as she has completed the plan, she will
post it. Any and all comments, suggestions and discussion is accepted and encouraged.
it's publication in September of 2008. She has not received a publication date, but she
has begun her book marketing plan. As soon as she has completed the plan, she will
post it. Any and all comments, suggestions and discussion is accepted and encouraged.
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