Marketing of your book must start before you begin writing your book.

What happens when you wait to start marketing until your book is ready to be published? The answer is ‘Lost Opportunity.’ There are many aspects to marketing a book.

Waiting until the last moment restricts your marketing program. Some might say, ‘Too Little, Too Late.’ Three marketing things to consider before writing are establishing your brand, developing a website, and creating a cover.

Marketing Your First Book

https://nybookeditors.com/2018/05/9-tips-for-marketing-your-first-book/ You have spent many months writing a book. Why not have two trains going down two parallel tracks at the same time? One train is your book writing, which includes cover art, formatting, editing, and more. Marketing takes time also. Do the Top 10 authors in your genre wait until their next book is ready for sale? No. Act like a Top 10 author! Begin your marketing campaign no later than completing your first paragraph.

Do you have a brand? Develop your brand as you are writing your book. Reach out to your intended audience and let them know you exist. What value are you providing with your latest release? Branding yourself or your business takes time. When in doubt, look at what the Top 10 authors have done with branding.

Do you want to be known as John Smith, author? If so, grab that website, FB page, LI account, IG account, and more. Maybe being the Plant Lady is more to your liking. Again, reserve the website domain and available social media platforms. You can be a wine guru, or you can be The Wine Guru! Choose your brand and develop it.

https://www.aicpa.org/interestareas/youngcpanetwork/resources/career/fivetipstobrandingyourself.html You wrote a book on a specific subject; therefore, you are an expert. My mentor, Myron Golden, told his audiences many times that you can become an expert in an area by reading three books. Read five books, and you can write a book on that topic. Most people do not read three books on a single issue.

When your book is published, how do your future readers know that your book exists? Time is wasted when you keep your book a secret until it is ready to print. People should know about you well in advance of your book.

It is best to have a professional presence in the marketplace. Is your brand your name? My company is MRO Global, LLC. However, I brand my name, Red O’Laughlin, with everything I have written. I even use #redolaughlin.

Presence in the marketplace can result from your emails, social media, website, press releases, advertising, and more. I network with many groups weekly. My name and face are seen by over a hundred new people every week. People interested in my business contact me to learn more about me and my publishing, speaking, or writing companies. New connections are continually being added to my calendar every week.

Presence, the development of your brand, comes as quickly as writing articles or blogs and posting them inappropriate places. Connect with various groups that share common interests. Regardless of what direction you choose to let the world know you exist, you must be clear, consistent, and constant. You cannot post one article today and a second article next month.

Post on a schedule you can support. I write articles and post them daily and have not missed a day since January 1, 2020 (408 days in a row). I post on my website, FB business page, FB personal page, other FB group pages, and LI – every day. I have a daily presence on other social media sites, but I do not always post my articles on each of them.

Better to Have a Personal Website or Book Website?

https://themeisle.com/blog/do-i-need-a-website-for-my-business/
Brand your name at least on a website. You may choose to have a website domain that matches your book title, but it is not mandatory. All Top 10 authors have websites in their own names. Book websites might also exist, or they may be a page within the author’s website.

Websites give you a professional appearance. Look at the Top 10 authors’ websites for hints to make your website competitive. A website is part of your brand and marketing campaign. Use your website name in your emails rather than Gmail, Hotmail, or another email service.

Attract new readers through your website. Post information about your book’s progress. Include pertinent details that will develop a following. Include photos, reviews, and testimonials from people who know you. Professional marketing is expensive. A website is simple, inexpensive, and worth it.

Book Covers

https://thewritelife.com/your-self-published-book-needs-a-cover-heres-how-to-create-it/ Cover art delays are the most common publication delay I have experienced. The completed book awaits publishing, and you are waiting for a designer to make a minor change.

Amazon or Kindle sends a notice that a cover is rejected for various reasons. Book cover dimensions are the most common. Your book cover can exist at any time. You can update the physical book cover when you know the number of pages in your book.

An e-book cover is a jpeg image. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G6GTK3T3NUHKLEFX 2,560 x 1,600 pixels are ideal for most e-book covers. The minimum size allowed is 625 x 1,000 pixels, and the maximum size is 10,000 x 10,000 pixels. Your file size should be less than 50MB.

I asked my social media audiences to comment on several e-book cover options. My best cover idea was not in the top five, and the cover I wanted the least won first place. It is the cover of my 2019 best-selling book. Readers know what they like. Share your cover art with readers, not other authors!

Physical books (paperbacks) are in pdf format and have a front cover, spine (if over 104 pages), and a back cover. The number of pages of your book determines the width of your spine. Choose your designer wisely. Physical book covers have been one area that has dragged out the publication date by weeks and, in one case, months! You can get cover art for free on Kindle. The link above this section offers several options.

Conclusion

Marketing involves many more activities than the three I listed. Start as early as you can. Deadlines and essential activities are missed when you wait until the last moment. I know, I have been there as an author, thinking I had plenty of time to find out that time is fleeting and does not wait for you.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com

 

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