Book Marketing 101: General Marketing

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

General marketing notes-

The biggest myths debunking e-marketing- There are those who will tell you that you can't sell books unless you go to the major reader cons, advertise in certain venues, get reviews from the right places... Those venues are primarily aimed at the traditional print market. Not that there is anything wrong with crossover, but e-book authors would be best served going to e-marketing first and then print marketing as a secondary measure. Even print authors shouldn't write off e-marketing, since many print-only readers are hanging out on lists and filling their TBB and TBR lists, from there. In addition, e-marketing, as a rule, costs you little more than time .

Fact! E-book readers are usually computer literate and spend time online. They cruise chats, lists on things that interest them and web sites. Fact! We have a growing market, often looking for the right information at the right place and time to flower.

Can it be my only form of marketing?- Of course it can! But, will you sell any books? The point is to meld the standard forms of marketing with marketing targeted primarily at computer users, not to exclude the traditional market. We want e-publishing to grow. That means we have to appeal to both markets. The problem many authors have is relying on one or the other exclusively. You have to promote. Unless you are Nora Roberts in a wig and sunglasses, your marketing is going to fall largely on your own shoulders, whether you're in NY or indie/e.

Even if you don't like interacting, always attempt to do so- Ads are pretty. Reviews are nice, but the bottom line is that readers like an author they can relate to, interact with, and come to know as a person. But, here's the twist...

Pros of e-marketing: perfect for the shy: the personal touch without the touch- E- marketing offers the ability to reach out and touch someone without having someone in your personal space. If you are the type of person who carries a book in your hand so you don't have to shake hands or hug, this type of marketing is right up your alley. It is perfect for the shy, the person who can't stand crowds...and we all know that many authors are actually introverts.

They allow you to lay out more of yourself to the hungry readers who want to know you. In short, they give readers what they want from you...but...

Promo CDs: The pros and cons of different types- We all love the business card CDs. They are small, sturdy, not as easy to damage as a full-size CD, hold more than enough information... Readers like them too; they are novel.

However, many people won't pick them up, because they don't know if the business card size will work in their machines. Many computers, especially older CD drives and laptops with the slide-style CD drive, cannot handle them.

Worse, some truly mechanically incompetent people will try to force a machine not equipped to use them and damage the drive in the process. Though this is hardly your fault, the reader in question may hold a grudge against you for the damage, and it is never a good idea to chance that.

There are pros and cons to each size, and you have to weigh durability and novelty against drive specs and limitations. Luckily, though the full size CDs don't fit in a wallet or back pocket, they are still popular with readers.

Make it something you can sign if it's a handoff- Many readers collect signed promo materials. If it can be personalized, all the better.

Be on the lookout for contests! Entering REASONABLE contests through a major venue can win you extra advertising for a small cost- Writers' Digest and Writers' Digest online offer a variety of contests. I personally wouldn't enter the self-published one. The prizes may be nice, but $150 plus 3-5 copies of the paper book is more than I can swallow. There are others, though. They sponsor flash fiction contests and timed/themed contests for $5-$15 entry fee. The prizes are, again, nice. I would love to win $3000, but I will be honest. Getting my story listed as a winner or honorable mention in the magazine is worth $15 to me. Winning contests, of just about any type, may get you coverage in the local paper. Don't discount that one.

Some contests I'd suggest? EPPIE (even NY-published authors have e-book versions of our books, these days), DREAM REALM (again, we all have e-books, and many of us are in the SF/F/H/Para and cross-genres thereof that DRA takes), PRISM (for our cross-genre romance authors), Passionate Plume (for authors with erotic content), LAMBDA (for authors with GLBT content), IPPY... IF you are an RWA member, I highly suggest entering the RITA, now that more publishers are eligible. If you're not a member... I don't know about you, but $140 plus book copies is too rich for my blood. For every genre, there are a ton of awards you might enter. Be sure to ask about genre-specific awards on your writer's groups.

Know your books: always have blurbs ready to pull out- NEVER make the mistake of not knowing your books inside and out. Practice answers to common questions with someone. What genre do you write? Blurbs for books. Get at ease with answering them. If you are excited (okay, sometimes it's manic, but the readers mistake it for enthusiasm), they will be excited for or with you.



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