Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Are You Crazy to PAY for Your Book's Marketing?

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It's easy to go into debt paying for book marketing programs that don't work. Want some ideas to avoid this? Examples and ideas follow: 

Moving from paying for promotions to making opportunities means you need to use skills you already have. You have to assert yourself on the page; so, assert yourself with attention-getting marketing. Writers can find free professional advice via websites, blogs, and newsletters online. The Internet is as good a research tool as you will find almost anywhere. And what about doing research in public and university libraries?

Before my company, Opine Publishing, released the rare Charles H. Spurgeon book, The Mourner's Comforter, in 2007, we sent 40-plus free Advance Review copies, six weeks in advance, to a carefully prepared list of individuals and organizations. The book did well. 

Three years later, a reviewer finally read his free copy, and got his review into a widely distributed magazine. Who knows if the book's second climb among Spurgeon books on Amazon.com came from the 2010 review? I think so, for we did see a spike in orders.

You have a passion for your writing. You want to connect with readers. You're willing to grow as a writer. You want to know all of the important parts of writing and publishing as well as anyone else at your stage of experience! 

Marketing is: "Reliable and persuasive communication about something of value."* That's it: Communicate! If you pay for marketing, are you sure you've carefully evaluated what that expense might get for you? You're only "book marketing crazy"  if you don't think with a hard hat on, for this service.

Jean Purcell (c)2010
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