Free and Inexpensive Book Marketing really can Shift Your Sales Paradigms.
By Barbara Ann Cerda | Contributing Writer
You’ve spent an enormous amount of time and thought into getting your book published. One of the biggest obstacles to success is getting your work front and center to readers and that requires marketing. This is perhaps the biggest hurdle in achieving author stardom. But shifting the paradigms in achieving over the top book sales is more than possible. Start your own marketing campaign. Begin treating your work like an undiscovered gem. Free or inexpensive book promotions requires truly aggressive marketing.
Even successful authors face the same conundrum. Most publishers have budgets of many thousands of dollars dedicated to fomenting enthusiasm….for a single book. Those pre-allocated funds are normally exhausted within a month. Publishers take their return on investment and the author is stuck with continuing his own marketing efforts from that point on. It’s a little like being queen for day. Unless he/she is one of those authors that generates top of the charts status every month. That is hard and costly to maintain.
If you are a student or postgraduate where do get the money for marketing? There is crowdfunding. After all crowdfunding is among the newest ways in finding small investors by way of social media. But let us be real. Even free marketing has opportunity costs. Let’s explore a few.
The world is hungry for great content. We enter a time when the globe wants its info and entertainment in ways that appeal to all our sense. Quick…you have 60 to 90 seconds to capture an imagination, a need, curiosity, or diversion. This requires time to create and talent to deliver a compelling synopsis. But videos are rapidly becoming one of the best marketing tools. Quality sound and visuals can do a lot toward getting your book known cheaply. The happy parts is once you get the hang of it – productions get easier and cheaper. I love How to Make a Difference. It is a how to website that also offers an excellent YouTube how to video.
Author consortiums are cheap or free and the more the merrier. The caveat is finding websites with the greatest amount of traffic. You want your book cover advanced in markets where it will become a best seller. Joining the general book marketing blogs is good. But if you are writing about the economics of global terrorism….you probably wouldn’t expect a lot of interest with a group whose audience is clamoring for children or how to books. Time and energy required to do proper research on these sites draws from daily itineraries. But in the end your book cover will get buzzed on all the major internet highways.
The cost of posting your cover on book marketing sites vary from free and/or $19.00 onetime memberships to hundreds of dollars. Essentially aggressive book marketing can be expensive – you are paying for expertise.
There is a very important differences between a simple book marketing site and an author site that is a valuable resource. Resource sites actually offer important updates of the latest publishing listings where authors can market their books. These sites often conduct author to author book reviews. They are a treasure trove of wisdom and valuable feedback. But they often require active participation. You read my book and I’ll read yours. In addition many keep an active database of publisher submission guidelines and contests.
I love well done videos linked to websites that can sell anything. Learn how to get creative. WordPress and Word have plugins and themes dedicated to marketing books. The caveat in using YouTube and creating a winning website does not require that you become a tech nerd or junkie – although it helps. But it does require the time to learn and do and create. Learn how to use visualization tools like Vimeo or Visul.ly.
There is a term that economist use called “opportunity costs”. When making a decision on how much of your resources is required to successfully complete a tasks – you must take in consideration what is your time worth, how much will the goods or services cost in relation to successfully completing the task of selling your book(s). Most important at the end of the day will all those costs add up in the win column. Will you come away with over the top book sales – or close to it?
If you aren’t doing this already began creating posters of your cover art. Every university, college and school has a student union hall or cafeteria. Get permission to post your work. If you can, begin during prepublication to create buzz about your work in art and creative networks like My Journal, About me or See Me. Start a conversation about your book before it is published. This will give you an idea of where to find your market niche. Start a Twitter and/or Facebook page using your book title to generate interest. Build buzz.
Trust your own instincts when it comes to marketing your book. Whatever mode or hopefully combinations of marketing tools you decide to invest in….success comes from the old tried and true concepts. It is ALWAYS about working your market to gain real readership. But before your start working that market…know it. Know who is reading the subject of your books.
ChapterSee is an important tool in getting your book cover seen and your content read. Join us.