Congratulations, you're published! But what exactly does it mean to be "published"? Besides the fact that your work is finally in print and your college alumni has asked to interview you for their newsletter it also means fame and fortune, right? Well, ok, maybe not on the level of J. K. Rowling, but at the very least you can expect a call from Oprah, right? I hate to be the one to break it to you but you're probably not even on her radar screen. The truth about publishing is really stranger than fiction and the truth is: getting published is only half the battle. The other half is to keep your reality check in balance so it doesn't bounce.
While publishing is all about creative expression, it's also about business and it's those business savvy authors who will succeed in the end. Now you don't have to be an MBA to be a keen business person, you simply have to understand that the choices you make relative to your books future should be based on strategies that will enhance sales not just drain your pocketbook. So, how do you do this? First, take a long, hard look at your reader.
At Author Marketing Experts, we always create a reader profile for each book we promote. This reader profile will tell us where to find buyers for the books we represent. Taking this first step helps us sort through our choices when it comes to book promotion and make decisions on behalf of our authors that are sound and will help leverage sales.
There are times when it's a waste of resources to do a nationwide radio or TV promotion. In fact, some of our programs don't include any outreach to broadcast media. Why? Because as alluring as it might seem to appear on the Today Show, what's the point if your audience doesn't watch morning TV? And, if your audience isn't watching this show, the chances are slim they'll even consider you anyway. What? More rejection? Who needs it!
As you embark on or continue your campaign, ask yourself a few tough questions. First, what's your ultimate goal for this book? If it's just to give away at family reunions, that's great! But then you'll probably want to nix any marketing. If your book is an arm of your business and you have speaking engagements lined up through the end of the year. You probably don't need to spend a lot on marketing since most of your sales will come from your speaking engagements (i.e. back of the room sales). On the other hand, if you wrote this book to grow your business or to leverage your credibility then you will probably want to dial yourself into your industry through enhanced media exposure.
For fiction authors this area becomes a little tricky. First, you need to determine your long term goals. By long term we mean: do you want to stay in this business or was this book just "something you wanted to do." If it's a hobby, then treat it as such but if this is going to be your career, then you need to keep your message out there on a continual basis, through venues such as author events, talks, signings, print and broadcast media.
Make sure the choices you make, make sense for your book and aren't just made because you've always dreamt of being on Oprah. I've known authors lured into inappropriate marketing plans by big, flashy names and promises of stardom, wasting thousands of valuable marketing dollars and heading in a direction that wasn't right for them. If you're serious about your work, ready to let go of your muse and face the task at hand with some business savvy, then you're really ready to get published. Below are some guidelines that will help further your success!
1) Reader profile: create one of these at the beginning of your marketing campaign and keep refining it as you move through the process. Refine and redefine who and where your audience is and how to get to them.
2) Time commitment: determine what you can and can't reasonably do. If you have a full time job it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to commit yourself to forty hours of marketing a week unless your boss is on vacation.
3) Investment: how much are you willing to invest in your future? Are you willing to invest money without seeing much in return knowing that you are building a foundation or do you want to see immediate monetary results? Most authors don't see a return on their investment for a year or more. Are you committed enough to yourself or your project to keep this investment going?
4) Reality check: what's realistic for the industry you're in? Are you latching onto a fad or something with more longevity? Are you getting into a brand new market that will require lots of reader education? Or are you trying to go mainstream with a non-mainstream topic? While this is an admirable goal, it can be like swimming upstream.
5) Budget: while we encourage authors to invest in their future, we've also seen a number of people go into heavy debt, quit their jobs and even sell their homes just to promote their book. While that kind of dedication is certainly admirable, remember that although you have the potential to make a great deal of money it's not going to be overnight. The lure here is of course that "If I stick with it, this next sale will make me famous." Well, maybe or maybe not. If you've been plugging away for a while without any significant success get a professional to give you some honest, constructive feedback about your plan, your market, and your book. It might be that a poorly designed cover is the reason you're not making sales, or a topic that's fallen off of the public's radar screen. In the meantime as you're waiting to hit the big time you'll still need a place to sleep and Uncle Vinnie's couch will get old real quick.
6) Burnout: we hear this term often, even to the point of being overused. What we're really talking about here is author burnout. We've found that the average author only markets their book for ninety days. That means ninety days of day and night marketing, radio interviews at 3am and a book signing every weekend. On day ninety-one they are so tired, so discouraged and so broke they quit. You can avoid this by giving yourself realistic goals and a realistic timeframe in which to complete them. There's nothing in the world like seeing your book in print. If approached realistically, objectively and with sound business sense, it can be one of the most exciting times in your life.
The Business of Publishing
Can Publishing a Newsletter Benefit Your Business?
In a Word, Yes!
Publishing a newsletter as a part of your marketing campaign can increase the potential profit from existing customers becoming long-term buyers.
Newsletters gives us a tool for collecting the email addresses of targeted visitors with the intent of turning them into paying customers.
Utilizing this tool also gives us the means by which we can remain in contact with an additional valued resource,"The Previous Customer."
If You want to keep customers, A Newsletter is a must.
If you don't have a Newsletter, you have no way of following up with your paying customers, or for that matter, any potential customers. Someone that has purchased from you once is very likely to purchase again. You don't want to run the risk of losing that person because you don't have a follow up method in place. A Newsletter.
The standard for publishing your newsletter is generally once a week. You may want to publish bi-weekly. If you find something of value that your customers might have an interest in, you don't have to stand on ceremony, you can notify them at will. The frequency of your publication will really be determined by your marketing niche. Who and What your marketing.
Your topics will be determined by your area of expertise. If your knowledge is limited, you may have to do some research in order to keep your subscribers informed, There is no shortage of pre-written articles, on any topic, you may be looking for. With Article Directories, such as this one, that abound the Internet, your search will be an easy one.
Of course you can always do the research and write the articles yourself, based on what you've learned. You also may want to consider subscribing to a Private Label Content site. You'll have access to pre-written articles available for re-write.
Your newsletter doesn't have to be "The Great American Novel." (:-) Quite frankly if it's too long, your readers probably will lose interest before they finish reading it. Sometimes a quick announcement about a New Product or Service will be sufficient. Other times a short 400 to 500 word article will do the trick. It will really depend on what you're trying to convey to your readers.
You'll also need to be consistant. With the thousands of newsletters that are available. You'll want to avoid having your newsletter mistaken for spam. Announce your publication in the subject line and don't forget to personalize it by inserting your subscribers firstname. Address them by their first name within the body of the message whenever and wherever possible. Personalization cannot be stressed enough. This function is available in most autoresponders.
To limit complaints or spam reports remind your readers that they agreed to recieve emails from you etc. Once again, most autoresponders provide this function without your having to do anything, other than putting your message in for sending.
Your newsletter will be your Brand. It will speak loud and clear about your business and will be your tool for building relationships with your customers. No other tool has this ability. Give your Newsletter the time and attention it deserves and it will reward you Over an Over again.