Authors seem to approach marketing in one of three ways:
- They hate it but they do it anyway, to the best of their ability.
- They consider it a business requirement and understand it “enough.”
- They love it because it comes to them naturally.
Number 2 seems to be the most prevalent advice from authors who love marketing. “Marketing is necessary so just think about it as another form of storytelling!” they say. And they’re 100% correct. It’s great advice.
Yet many authors struggle with building that bridge between storytelling and commerce. “Telling a story” in an ad or a book description or a social media post is a tough task for many, so this advice can fall flat. A major reason for this disconnect is they’re not being spoken to on a level that resonates with them.
If you don’t like marketing, no one can convince you to enjoy it. But someone can convince you to try a process you may enjoy. So where can the fun be found in marketing? Fun may be too strong a word. Where can the good habits be found in marketing? There, that’s better.
Planning
Just like storytelling, planning can be fun for many of us. We all have at least one thing we love to ponder on. Maybe it’s a vacation. Maybe it’s a party. Or a hobby like collecting or DIY projects, or spring cleaning. Whatever the case, that productive feeling of mentally reviewing how we want things to go is one of the joys of life.
With this in mind, a marketing plan serves a number of critical goals:
It documents your focused frame of mind, allowing you to refer back in times of disarray when you forget why you got into this business in the first place!
It gives you solid next steps and can help you adapt to changes that would otherwise blindside you and throw you off track.
It lets you “diarize” an otherwise dollars and cents, competitive, lonely, confusing, and often stressful process.
It’s a great place to get creative, spot trends and themes, and even doodle! Yes, doodle.
The Simple Marketing Plan
The Simple Marketing Plan can take many forms. A Google Doc, a binder, notes on your mobile device. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what form it takes, as long as it fits into your life comfortably.
The Simple Marketing Plan can be crafted by asking yourself five basic questions. Your answers are the core of your marketing plan. That’s right, answer the following queries and review them once in a while to make a marketing plan that will grow with you and your business:
- What’s your story about? This is basically your book description.
- Why are you telling your story? In other words, what made you decide to write this story over all others?
These two questions will yield a treasure trove of information for you and your readers. Simply review the answers and lift the words that have some power behind them. Maybe your Paranormal Romance has “centaurs” and “reunited lovers” with an “exiting-the-friend-zone” sub-plot. Those are great keywords to be used in ads, hashtags and posts.
Why you’re telling the story usually exposes critical psychological terms that resonate with your ideal audience. You might have written the book to understand “the power of fine wine” or a feeling of “abandonment.” Or maybe you were simply inspired by “Patricia Briggs.”
- Who’s the audience for your story? If you don’t know, then make some assumptions for now. Writing up a creative profile of your ideal reader can be helpful.
- Where do your readers hang out online? This is where you can list social media, podcasts, fan sites, etc.
- How will you reach them? Tactics include newsletters, blog posts, postcards, podcasts, irresistible ads, and compelling social media posts.
When you have your answers written down, review them and put on your planning hat. The same hat you wear to prepare for that weekend project you can’t wait to do. The same hat you don upon your noggin when you think through the tasks required for the cocktail party. You get the idea.
Identify tasks that you can commit to a calendar. Don’t overthink things. You can fill in the blanks and refine the ideas and to-dos over time. By revisiting the plan often you’ll unearth new tactics and tasks.
The marketing plan is not etched in stone. It’s a living document, an adjusting process. Set aside time each week to review it and make changes to the ideas, dates due, and priorities if necessary.
Keep the marketing plan open on your device, or nearby on your desk. When you come up with an idea, write it down. When you hear an author name you should try to target with ads, write it down. The plan should be a container for all of your ideas, tactics, and inspirations.
Once you’ve completed these five questions, it’s a good idea to identify three tools to help you on your quest for readers. Some advice, especially for new authors, is to stick to ONE tool in each category, at least at first.
- One social network (i.e. Facebook)
- Once direct line to your readers (i.e. newsletter)
- One tool to understand your readers (i.e. Facebook Insights)
Each tool can help you reach your readers. It’s usually just a matter of mastering it to find success. Don’t get distracted by the shiny new thing in your inbox!
In the end, leveraging a marketing plan is about enriching your life by identifying and documenting the things that, right now, would make you feel successful. All too often, when we actually achieve goals that we don’t write down they fade away without being recognized. That’s a shame.
But if you write down your intentions and goals now then you’ll be ready to celebrate when you’re successful. You won’t have any choice. You can’t belittle them, right? They were important to you just weeks ago! You can’t forget them. They’re right there in the plan!
If you’d like to read more about The Simple Marketing Plan, you can grab a free eBook provided by all of us here at The Author Helper.
Ben Zackheim is the author of 22 Fantasy and Young Adult books. He’s been publishing independently since 2012. He’s a co-founder of the Author Helper Suite, an online service for authors who want to keep track of their marketing efforts.