marketing and media planning for how to books
Book Marketing

Where to Start with Marketing & Media Planning for How-To or Self-Growth Books

We all start with marketing somewhere, and I was a floundering beginner for many years. My first attempt: digital printing to self-publish a book in 1996 called The Total Image Manual. I sold it through flyers to business boxes and a very expensive print ad. Thankfully, options have gotten less risky in the book marketing game and now we can leverage a personal brand, upload to YouTube, and if clever in angling it, seek free mass media coverage. Actioning a Marketing & Media Plan You may already realise that taking a book to market is one of the hardest parts of being an author. It is hard to both plan the right tactics for you (tailored to your strengths) and confidently carry out those promotion tactics, week after week.  It brings out our inner imposter or makes us feel like a…
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newsletter writing for financial advisors

Why Your Newsletter Stays in Your Mind

You know you’ve got to expand into newsletters if you’re writing a topical book or self-help guide. So why does your online newsletter sit unwritten? I believe it’s not about writing ability or finding the time. It’s about overcoming perfectionism. Most of us have the expertise or life experience. But translating that knowledge into newsletter content exhausts both your mental capacity—and hits the wall of wanting to be perfect. While my newsletters are not perfect either, I think research can help us overcome these barriers. The Research Gap Nobody Talks About Expert authors say “Just share about how your wrote your book”. Specialists say “Just share your expertise and stories” That’s not where to start. Before you write a word, you need to understand what your audience is actively searching for. Not what you assume they want. What they’re actually…
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marketing strategies for small publishers

Deep Dive into Micro-Publisher Marketing Strategies: A Focus on Niche Platforms

This post will utilise my knowledge of marketing to guide you to create a sustainable content marketing plan tailored for author-publishers. Are you experiencing the core challenges of running an indie/micro publisher:  limited time, limited budget, and the need for high-impact, long-lasting content? Some muck about on Instagram, even when they are not connecting at a heart level on there. If you don’t have a plan, you’re not going to keep up momentum and gain a niche audience. So I’ve mocked up a Content Plan to tweak below. Plus, always remember that comments are key to any social media. Make the most of groups by having your books in a banner and mention of authoring in your bio (INCLUDING ON YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE!) 30-Day Content Marketing Outline: Niche Platforms for Indies This plan focuses on creating a single, high-value piece…
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how newsletters sell books and services

How Newsletters Sell both Books and Services

Why are Author Newsletters a Low Hanging Fruit? (An extract from my Micro Publisher book) When building any information-based business, influencing new readers is all part of the process… and we don’t do that overnight. Monthly newsletters make this super simple. Rather than solely worrying over promos – what new campaign to offer your email list – you set up a systematic schedule of writing and emailing a newsletter. The beauty is, anything you put into a blog can be transferred to a newsletter, either with RSS setup or simply copying the details and headings. I would suggest putting as much real and actionable content into your newsletter as possible and don’t rely on ‘read more’ links. Over time, my list shows that 2-3% click the read more link, so I switched to one long article and one promotion of…
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Rewrite a book blurb
Book Marketing

Re-Write of a Book Blurb

Occasionally I like to re-write a book blurb because it’s leaving so much unsaid. When writing a non-fiction book blurb especially, we need to focus on the specific group of end readers and what problems they want solved. How does the material match those problems? How can their dreams be helped on track by these pearls of wisdom? Let’s see how it works in this example (re-write is below the original). ORIGINAL: “How to be a Six-Star Business” (2021) Share the stories, inspiration, and genius of 22 entrepreneurs from around the world who provide insights and action steps to go BEYOND the every day in your business. Discover the 3 pillars and 9 principles that will make your business 6 Star as you continually strive to do and be better connect your heart to your purpose and join the 6…
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Pay to Play Book Media and Marketing
Book Marketing

Steer Clear of Pay-to-Play Book Media

Indie author, you thought you were in the clear because you chose your own editors and designers and uploaded your books and didn’t get caught in hybrid or vanity publisher fees. Or maybe you did. Either way, there are more sharks waiting for you: it’s called Pay-to-Play Media and Marketing. Pay-to-play means hiring a company or individual to ‘guarantee’ your brand a mention in a publication, for a fee. There are all kinds: paid reviews, paid upfront (higher than $99) book awards, book fair stands, video trailers, ‘blog reviews’, pay-to-play magazine articles, book ad setup, and even high markups to place your book ad into Ingram’s magazines – which an author can tick a box to do themselves for US90 (not that non-US residents should). This last one was seen at a Balboa Press website. It may come to you…
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