Conquering that Marketing Monster

Guest post by Lois W. Stern

Writing our books is the fun part, as it challenges our creativity, satisfying a need for self-expression. But marketing our books . . . that’s a whole different story. I call it the marketing monster! Many internet sites are out there to help us slay that dragon, but I’d like to share three little gems that you might have overlooked.

Hold on for a second. Before we begin, I want you to build yourself a promotional template. It will take a little time, and you won’t need all of these items for each venue, but trust me, in the long run, it will be a real time saver.

Template Items:

• Book title:
• Author:
• Genre:
• Book formats (paperback, hardcover, Kindle, other e-reader formats):
• ISBN #:
• Author bio:
• Book teaser or elevator pitch:
• URL links to any places where your book has a presence:
• your website or blog
• amazon.com, Barnesannobles.com
• Your social media pages (Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter)
• Goodreads
• Amazon Central page
• Images:          your headshot            book cover(s)
• Several compelling reviews of your book”
• An enticing excerpt:

Here are three ideas I have discovered that I can recommend for free or low-budget book promotion.

Submit your book and some of its best reviews to Carolyn Howard-Johnson* for a free posting on her website and you will get some great cross promotion opportunities.

Follow these guidelines.
(or copy and paste: http://www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com into your browser.)

Watch this brief video to meet Carolyn and learn about her fabulous writing and book marketing credentials.
(or copy and paste: http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com into your browser.)

* Carolyn’s site has been named to Online University’s 101 Best Blogs for Readers.

 

 

 

Recommended through Dan Poynter, One Thousand Words Plus is a fabulous new site where you can actually create a separate web page for each of your published books. You are given the opportunity to:

• Display a synopsis/description of each of your books
• Display chosen samples of text from anywhere within your books
• Direct potential readers to your preferred online retail outlet for your book
• Direct potential readers to your other relevant URLs

(i.e. publisher’s website, author’s website, blog and social media pages, etc.)

• Post book cover images and more.

The publishers have agreed to offer a 50% discount for readers of this blog who sign up by the end of this calendar year. By using Code LWS2015, you will be charged only $24.95 for the lifetime exposure for each of your books (normally $49.95). Note: Since there are no annual renewal fees, this is quite a bargain.

To get familiar with their format, go to:

http://www.onethousandwordsplus.com/

Then click on the words: I’m an author, I want to learn more to promote your book.

The Next Best Thing, sent to me by Linda Maria Frank, host of The Writer’s Dream LTV Show, is both free and a clever original. It is set up more or less like a blog tour, to help market yourself while helping your fellow authors. The basic idea is to respond to ten questions about your published or about-to-be-published book, while submitting your headshot and book cover images. Follow these directions carefully and click here to see how I set up my page.

Note: I will limit my blog tour to the first ten people who respond. It’s free but I will only have space to include the first ten authors who follow every step of the directions, so read carefully.

Please use the comment area below to share one great marketing tip or lesser known website you have discovered to help conquer that marketing monster.

About the author

Author Lois Stern

My first two books focused on physical beauty: Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery (with sound advice and personal emotional undercurrents to cosmetic surgery) and Tick Tock, Stop the Clock ~ Getting Pretty on Your Lunch Hour (with chapters written by eleven nationally renowned experts and outstanding practitioners, detailing many of the most current minimally invasive beauty procedures).

Then my writing career took a seemingly sharp turn as I began to focus on inspiring stories, stories to touch the heart and soul. But in truth this was not a new interest for me as I always had a special appreciation for feel-good stories that reach the inner spirit, inspire, motivate, make us question. I started to develop this idea further as I initiated a Tales2Inspire™ ‘Authors Helping Authors’ project/contest, and with contributing stories from other talented writers, have begun a series of inspiring story anthologies. I have now published the first four of these little jewel books: the Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire and Ruby collections, with more on the way. Each book is enhanced by the inclusion of original photos and drawings.

If you think you might be interested in participating in Tales2Inspire™, do visit my website and click on the word CONTEST for details. Winning authors receive an incredible number of platform building opportunities. And isn’t that what all talented authors are seeking? DISCOVERY!

Thanks so much for sharing these great marketing tips with us, Lois.

And, writers, don’t forget to tell us about your favorite marketing tips in the comments section below.

HAPPY WRITING & BOOK MARKETING, ALL!

Bette A. Stevens

Bette’s Blog