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Non-Fiction Book Marketing – An art and a science to success

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Published: 09Oct2007
Word count: 643
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How you market your book depends on the subject matter, your ability to speak well on the message, your ability to attract attention for the book, current trends in the world market, and a variety of other factors. Regardless of how you specifically market your book, do not underestimate the time, energy, and tenacity it takes to do it well.

Among the marketing channels an author should consider are public relations (PR) kits and press releases to print and broadcast media, Internet marketing, speaking, exhibiting, catalogs, and special and premium sales marketing (markets other than bookstores). Your current client or prospect lists may be your best immediate source of sales. A book should be one piece of an overall personal or business marketing plan.

It is important for these three decisions to be made as early in your process as possible. Do some research and some soul-searching, and you will be poised to make the most of your hard work in developing your book.

Your marketing strategy should include what marketing activities you plan to undertake, along with your budget and timetable for those activities. What are you going to do to be sure your audience knows your book is available and the place where it's being sold?

Most first-time authors are shocked to find out that publishers do very little marketing on behalf of authors. The traditional publisher will get your book into its catalog, on its Web site, and into mainstream distribution and bookstores, but little else.

Publishers allocate a miniscule marketing budget of $500 to $1,000 for a new title with a new author, which pays for a few hundred flyers, press releases to the appropriate news organizations and magazines, and a few dozen review copies to go out on request. Only a few of all books at the major publishers have marketing budgets of $20,000 or more, the kind of budget needed to do a credible national marketing campaign.

Effective marketing will start with preparing your resources such as:
• Targeting important endorsers for testimonials
• Creating a high-impact cover
• Preparing a full and professional media kit
• Adding to or making a Web site for you as an author
• Designing appropriate print collateral materials

You must also decide what will be the most effective type of marketing for your book based on what you like to do:
• Writing articles
• Public speaking
• Email campaigns
• Exhibiting at trade shows or other events
• Public relations resulting in interviews in broadcast and print media
• Web promotion and affiliate sales, perhaps using blogging or podcasting
• A launch part, book tour, or book signings

Finally, consider how you will get all of these things done. Do you have the time and resources to do it all yourself? Or will you hire a virtual assistant, PR professional, speaking or media coach, writer, or speaking agent to help you?

Each of these items has a cost, either in dollars or in time taken away from other business money-making activities. The impact of book marketing time, energy, and money can be negative on your business unless you plan for it up front. Just be sure you market your business and your book together.

The author most likely to succeed makes the best use of her own connections. Think about whom you know and whom that person knows. Even if you hire a publicist to carry out your PR plan, that person can do his or her best work with enthusiastically proactive author clients. If you expect the publicist to do it all while you are busy doing other things, then you will probably be disappointed with him or her.

You have to be not only proactive but also organized and persistent. Keep a record of every media contact and exposure you've ever had, so you can contact them again when you have something newsworthy.

Gail Richards is founder of http://www.AuthorSmart.com a dynamic website connecting aspiring authors with the classes, audio library, tools, information and resources needed to make smart, informed decisions at each step in the nonfiction book publishing journey. Jan King is the founder of http://www.eWomenPublishingNetwork.com a membership organization devoted to supporting and coaching women who become successfully published nonfiction authors.

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