Book PR and Marketing Questions Answered Part V
By Ann Marie Nieves | December 13, 2021 |
This has been on my brain for some time, and what better time to write about it than the holiday season. Here goes…
I believe we’re forgetting to say our thank you’s. I also believe that because of our on-demand society, we’re forgetting that human beings don’t function like an app. While you can get a good Barolo in the hour to enjoy with your dinner ordered from Seamless, your marketing team may not deliver as quickly when you text them at 11 pm for an update.
So spend some time this holiday season saying thank you to those that have given you a referral, plugged your work, given you a compliment, provided sage counsel, or just lent a good trusting ear. And as you begin 2022, don’t allow your attachment to desire overcome business etiquette. Be patient with responses. Be gracious with requests. Remember that there are boundaries when it comes to the workday. Be mindful of how you’re communicating. Be mindful of why you’re communicating.
Now, let’s unpack some PR and marketing questions asked in the Writer Unboxed Facebook group:
How can you persuade yourself that marketing is necessary, that contrary to how it feels, marketing does not drain the soul from your body?
You don’t have to persuade yourself that marketing is necessary. You already know it is. And you may never feel comfortable doing it, but it’s important you make peace with it. I was reading an article today written by a client Elazar Aslan, co-author with Joe Loizzo of Boundless Leadership: The Breakthrough Method to Realize Your Vision, Empower Others, and Ignite Positive Change, he writes that clear decisions start with clarity of the mind. What could distort our lens is ignoring your reality.
You can’t ignore what’s part of your work even though it’s not the preferred part of your work. This might be TMI, but when I came home from the hospital after my second C-section, I made sure I had stool softener in my medicine chest. Find your stool softener.
What is the most efficient way to do marketing vs. what do people think is necessary but isn’t?
There is no answer to this. You may write and publish 25 books, and each should be treated individually, with its own unique marketing efforts. While certain things may stay the same—setting up an interview with your favorite radio show host, sending notes to your favorite Facebook group leaders, sending out a pre-order newsletter to your email subscriber list—you’ll want to have a marketing effort in place that plays to a book’s strengths, timeframe, and current book culture appetite.
What is and isn’t necessary is also something that’s individual to the genre, to where the author is in her career, to the brand she has built or is building. Here are a few truths:
- Big social media numbers don’t mean big sales.
- Social media numbers don’t grow overnight.
- It doesn’t mean your book sucked if you didn’t make a round-up on “25 best books of the year”.
- If your publicity team doesn’t get you into a magazine or a roundup, it doesn’t mean they are not doing their job.
- Pay attention to your ‘likes’ and comments so you know who is engaging with you and the content your readers prefer. Don’t pay too much attention.
- Pay attention to what similar authors are doing. Don’t pay too much attention.
- Pay attention to what you enjoy doing and what you despise.
- Before jumping on the latest bandwagon because The New York Times said it sells books, do some basic research, consider you’re learning curve, consult with a professional on the cost and possible content, and understand what purposes it serves for your body of work.
What’s the best way to reach the most people without spending an obscene amount of money?
This question is tough to answer because what’s obscene to you may not be obscene to me, and the goal shouldn’t necessarily be volume but targeted. When I ask an author who is the primary reader for their book and they say anyone, I know we need to have a marketing primer. Don’t go into marketing without having realistic target readers and a budget in mind. Even if you don’t know what PR services or Goodreads advertising costs, only you can determine if you can shell out $500 or $5,000 to market your book. Pinpointing your reader will help you determine where best to spend that budget.
Does anyone want to tell me your favorite part about marketing? Least favorite? I really REALLY want to know.
(**On January 20, WU contributor and author of The Sound Between Notes Barbara Linn Probst will lead a webinar with the great Jane Friedman on Book Publicity 101. Register here.)
Ann-Marie Nieves (she/her) is the founder of Get Red PR, and an award-winning communicator with experience across a broad range of industries in both the business-to-consumer and business-to-business sectors. She has experience within all communications platforms including public relations, advertising, marketing, copywriting, website development, community relations, and social media.
I LOVE your list of “truths!” What they have in common (to me) is: Take a wide view.
And that is definitely something I continue to struggle with. I’ve found that my emotions react to each publicity “hit” that does or doesn’t happen—from thrilled to devastated—and that intense emotional see-saw is what makes it so “soul-draining.” My least favorite part , in other words, is my own tendency to take everything so personally. I’m working on it, trying to be more of a grown-up with each book, though I seem to be a slow learner :-)
And the best part are those moments of human connection that make it all worthwhile …
Thanks, Barbara. It’s hard to be a grown-up.
Thanks for this post, Ann Marie. To answer your question, my favorite part of marketing is interacting with readers: doing readings, visiting book clubs, talking about my books at a book festival.
This. I love making that human connection.
YES! Keep at it. That human connection is everything.
My least favorite part of the whole marketing ball of wax is that most advice given self-publishers cannot, by any strain of the imagination, be applied to me or my WIP! Which leaves me connected with a lot of lovely writers who can and do use these methods (because that’s who populate most of the writing groups online I have access to), searching for the rough diamond that I might find in tons of kimberlite to polish into something I can use.
I’ll figure it out, eventually, but it’s like being a celiac in a boulangerie.
I’ll write to you separately Alicia.
Thanks. I did get your email, and am waiting patiently. It’s a solvable problem – just haven’t solved it yet.
Thanks for all the insights and intel you’ve given us this past year. My favorite part of marketing is connecting with readers, ideally in person. My least favorite are never being quite sure what actually sells books, and hearing my own tiny voice of jealousy and resentment when I see other authors getting opportunities I don’t get.
We’re all human. These are understandable feels. I’m certain you have riches in other places.
‘Find your stool softener” is my life motto going forward. :) Thanks for this useful, helpful post, Ann-Marie. I always enjoy your insights on marketing.
Thanks, Tiffany! BIG smile
Great post, Ann Marie, and sounds quite accurate to me. I’ve learned to accept book promotion as part of being an author. It’s kind of like baking a delicious cake to share but you don’t invite people over to have a piece. We MUST invite readers into our fiction or nonfiction books. Do it wherever you think readers gather, on Facebook groups, Goodreads groups, Instagram, etc. Posting on my short story blog for readers is my favorite social media effort. Because I can communicate so directly to not only my followers about fiction, authors, and stories, but for others who are searching the web for fiction blogs.
I LOVE your spirit Paula. Keep it up.
I’m a newbie, but what I can already tell is that I enjoy the human interface portion of marketing. I am not daunted by the electronic/social media aspect of it, but it’s tough to feel that I’ve actually made a connection (even if I get a “like” or supportive passing comment). I felt bolstered and positive the other day after popping into an indie bookshop and chatting for ten minutes with the manager. That meant so much to me, and it is exactly what’s missing from the online/electronic versions of marketing. Thanks for a great article, Ann-Marie!
Eileen – I have the feeling marketing will not be a problem for you. BIG smile.
This is a really great post, Ann-Marie. Marketing is essential and can yield positive results if done right. I was lucky to have you as my PR agent and realize just how valuable your work was in getting me and my book noticed. But I think what also has helped me very much is making connections with other authors in groups like Womens Writers Womens Books, Great Thoughts Great Readers, Friends and Fiction, Tall Poppies, just to name a few. Following them, supporting them, reading and reviewing their books, sharing their posts and retweeting, all have helped me build a community of supporters. I may not be as successful as many of them, but I am honestly happy for others’ success, and make note of how they market their books. I join in their podcasts now and then to keep abreast of what’s of interest to authors and their readers; and in doing so, I’m self-educating and hopefully gaining skills in marketing.