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Book Marketing Plan – Don’t Write a Word Without It

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Published: 12Sep2007
Word count: 489
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Your marketing plan provides an opportunity for you to consider the strategy you will take to get your book to your audience. Regardless of who publishes your book, the primary responsibility for marketing it successfully falls to you as the author. Generating your marketing plan before you write your book will help ensure that your book content, cover, publishing, and distribution all work together and support your marketing efforts.

Simply stated, your book marketing plan is your road map to success as an author. Don't make the mistake of waiting until your book goes to press before thinking about who will read it. By developing a marketing plan as soon as you have a preliminary concept and outline in place, you will be able to automatically build marketing awareness into every element of your book by:

• Targeting the specific audience most interested in your topic
• Developing content that meets their exact needs
• Creating a book that offers a unique approach or solution
• Knowing where and how to sell the most books at the lowest selling price

Potential publishers will require that you include a strong marketing plan as part of your book proposal if they are to give your manuscript serious consideration.

The depth of your marketing team and the activities you can afford will depend on your abilities, time, budget, and goals. Your plan needs to include:
• Clear strategies and promotional activities to reach your target market(s)
• Compelling printed and electronic sales materials that speak clearly and directly to your audience(s)

It is critical that your book marketing become an integral part of marketing your core business to help you sell other products and services. Take advantage of the contacts and activities to promote and sell books. In turn, this will bring added credibility and visibility to your core business.

Here are some questions to consider about marketing your book:

1. Who is my target audience?
2. How can I create a book that resonates with my audience?
3. How can I reach my markets within budget?

Specific answers to this question will require in-depth planning, but keep in mind that selling one book at a time is slow and expensive. Instead, look for strategic alliances and other cost-effective activities to sell in volume to the places where your audience clusters. And remember to assign definitive deadlines, budget, and personnel to help turn your dreams into reality.

By developing your plan early, you can have all of your marketing activities ready to roll out before your book comes off the press. You will be able to make a great first impression and take full advantage of your all-important publication year.

Your marketing plan will start with an audience and competitive analysis. Then it will go on to consider your positioning, your author platform, and the place where you'll sell your book. The plan finishes with focused activities along with a budget and timetable.

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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