Book Marketing 101—Part I

You are the center of my life, Dear Reader, except of course for all my family and real friends. Still, you are important. So in your best interests and mine, of course, I scoured the web for book platform and marketing plan ideas.

There are bazillions of commercial opportunities on the web. Lots of people want to help you achieve your publishing—and marketing—dreams. I have mostly avoided that here in favor of free stuff. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t want to pay someone to do something I should be able to do for myself. Also, there were some articles on e-mail as part of the platform, but I hate spam, so I didn’t include them.

I can learn this stuff. I can do it, too. And I care more about successful marketing than anybody I can pay.

My criterion for inclusion? Did I learn anything? You may already know all this stuff. I didn’t.

Certain terms kept coming up: form a relationship, on-going/long-term, brand/identity, diversified approach. I get it. A marketing plan and author platform is not just about selling this book to the public, but it is about making the public clamor for more from me.

So, here in Part I, I am listing some of these sites I found helpful. Part II will appear in “WriteAway” on Feb. 10. With a guest blogger in between! Read more at the end of this post.

“How to Build a Marketing Platform” by Christina Katz (she of Get Known Before the Book Deal) published in Writer’s Digest, May/June, 2010.

In order to market our books, Katz says we must have an area expertise, find a unique niche, and get a relationship going with the target audience. Her “10 simple steps” are ones we can all take. They are: 1) Find your tribes; 2) Connect, don’t network; 3) Serve to learn; 4) Give public readings; 5) Learn to teach; 6) Speak up; 7) Start something; 8) Pen articles; 9) Offer assistance; and, 10) Create a one-pager.

Read what these all mean at http://bit.ly/QAMhn

“Building a Media Platform for Your New Book—Part I” by Barry Fox

Not so much an article with new stuff as it is a tidy reminder of what you might already have heard but stated succinctly here.

Read more at http://bit.ly/eJP0aC

“Publisher Simon and Schuster Says Authors Should Blog and Social Network” by Joanna Penn

This article is full of links to related articles on blogging and social networking. A really good one-stop shopping source for bloggers. Very useful info here. Plus with the imprimatur of S& S, well . . .

Read more at http://bit.ly/doFddJ

“How to Build Your Author’s Platform from Scratch” by Dvorah Lansky

Practical, pointed suggestions in plain speak. Sort of a put up or shut up article.

Read more at http://bit.ly/h2Yj6P

“Your Author Platform—Branding” by Dana Lynn Smith, The Savvy Book Marketer

Smith makes the case in this short article for getting known by picture and brand. She uses “The Savvy Book Marketer” as her tagline after her name. We all need one, she says, and she offers suggestions.

Read more at http://bit.ly/8ltbIe

“Just Say ‘No!’ to Authors without Healthy Marketing Platforms” by Michael Drew.

Drew believes that editors ought to ask these four questions and like the answers before offering a contract to an author:

1. Does this author have a publishing history?
2. Does he/she have a large fan base to work with?
3. What kind of a marketing platform is in place?
4. How will the marketing plan bring readers into the bookstores?

Read more at http://bit.ly/91zYEv

Part II appears on Feb. 10. So come on back for it. In the meantime, set your alarm to show up here tomorrow for Kris Tualla’s blog tour. She will share info on e-publishing and give away some books to some lucky visitors. See you tomorrow. Right here. Write Away.

“Get Known Before the Book Deal”—That’s What I’m Trying to Do!

I got a great book for Christmas: Christina Katz’s Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform. You gotta add it to your personal gift-getting-occasions list. If you are a serious author, that is, in search of how to become a published author.

If you already know this stuff (or are Stephen King), apparently you have no need to buy the book. But, I know from conversations with my various critique group members that there are lots of us who are unsure how to navigate the book-marketing waters.

This Brave New World we face is relatively new. Sure, authors have always had to promote their books, thus the 12-cities-in-four-days book tours of the past. But this is different. We must have a clear idea of how to promote our work to selected audiences that we have already developed a connection with/to. These are “fans” who will be delighted to hear that we have something they can buy from us.

So, if like me, you are trying to figure it out, get this book! Christina Katz writes clearly and specifically about what we need to do. She manages to break the whole scary thing down to manageable bites and she does it without talking down to the debut author.

She explains what a platform is and in subsequent sections helps you see yourself doing what she describes. Part One is “Platform Ready” which includes (but is not limited to) chapters on becoming visible, cultivating your expertise, aligning with the audience, thinking productively, and acting from passion. There are more chapters in Part One.

In Part Two, “Platform Set”, she includes chapters on teaching to learn, connecting with others, and offering a service. Again, there are more sections than I have listed.

In Part Three, “Platform Grow”, Katz discusses, among other topics, identity quest, getting testimonials, and broadcasting your blog.

Practical, authentic, realistic. This book holds your hand and leads you through the parts of self-promtion that seem so scary and unfamiliar.

I have bookmarked her website: www.christinakatz.com because she has numerous helpful blog posts, a free monthly newsletter, and workshop offerings. It is a great site to add to your regular rotation of blog sites.

You CAN get known before the book deal. I believe that after reading her book. And you will, too. Welcome, Fellow Debut Author! And a round of applaluse for our guide there, Christina Katz.