Marketing a book is different than marketing a smartphone or a pair of shoes.
(Please click on image to enlarge.)
Up to this point, we’ve covered lots of marketing basics involved in becoming an SBM*. We’ll soon be heading into some more specific techniques and trends in book marketing. Before we go there, though, it’s imperative that you understand this next piece: a successful marketing plan for YOUR book is going to depend on the specific audience for YOUR book.
While every marketing campaign must be directed to its target audience in order to succeed, books need particular care and attention because every book is different. Not only is the audience different from genre to genre (would you market a romance novel the same way you’d market the latest Social Media Strategy guidebook?), but it can shift from book to book for a single author. Think about where the world was when David Baldacci’s first thriller, Absolute Power, was released in 1996 and where we are today. World relations are different; US leadership is different; the economy is different; the publishing industry is different. Does this impact Baldacci’s audience? You bet it does! And it also impacts the way he must market to his audience.
This goes back to our discussion a few months ago about knowing your audience, and knowing how to find and connect with them. Many readers are online, so social media strategies will work well for them. However, there are still a LOT of folks out there who would rather do it the old-fashioned way: see you at a bookstore; hear you on a radio interview, have a friend recommend your book; come across your postcard at their favorite coffeehouse. It’s essential that you know which strategy/strategies are the ones that will reach your readers.
Then, you know what to do. Get started, and stay active every day!
See you Thursday!
MARCIE
*Savvy Book Marketer
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Visit Write | Market | Design to download your Marketing Skills Evaluation. This will help you determine how close you are to SBM status, and where you may need a little extra boost.
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Marcie Brock, Book Marketing Maven 
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