As someone whose career was in marketing long before I became an author, I want to make sure other authors understand why the marathon mindset is important.
Here’s what marketers know: it takes 6-plus touch points to reach someone’s consciousness, which means your brand has to interact with a person at least 6 times before they’ll remember it.
Misconceptions:
- If you tweet your audience 6 times, you’re all set, right? No. For one, there’s no guarantee they’ll see any of your tweets. And second, people tend to tune-out old-hat marketing tactics. That means if they’re already inundated with tweets about book offers, even if they happen to skim yours, they’re less likely to retain the message.
- If you plan 6 different marketing tactics, then you’re good to go, right? No, because there’s no guarantee that any one person will interact with all of your tactics, even if all 6 are sent directly to that person’s inbox.
- If a person has received 6 of your touch points, this means they’ll buy your next book, right? Maybe. It’s important to note that as an author, you’re marketing not only your core brand, which is your name, but that each of your books can be considered a sub-brand. Consider how you buy books. Sometimes you buy based on the author brand, and sometimes it’s because you’ve heard so much positive buzz about a particular title, and maybe you have no idea who the author is yet.
This is why I like to think of book marketing as a marathon—the ongoing effort to market your author brand and book sub-brands—with legs of sprinting when you’re pushing a particular title or sub-brand, such as leading up to a release.
When you hear authors talking about their marketing strategy, they aren’t referring to an intangible concept. It’s the marathon of goal-oriented, diversified, and often innovative tactics they are planning over the foreseeable future, collated into a document.
This post is part of the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop. So many great blogs to keep hopping through. Click here to join the hop and to see what other writing tips you can glean from this month’s edition.
As an author, how do you feel about the marketing side of the biz? Have you noticed any innovative marketing tactics for authors lately? Chat with me in the comments.
Yes – I like the marathon analogy, as you need to pace yourself, keep the right mental attitude and it really helps to know how well you are doing. Most of us are writing another book while marketing our last, so time is at a premium. I keep a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, what I did, contact email, website URL and notes. This makes it easier to relate marketing activity to actual sales.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I’m going to take a cue from you when I actually have a book to sell. 🙂
LikeLike
Interesting analogy. I usually ignore/skim tweets about book offers. But I’ll read an interview with an author about their new book – it gives a peek into the author’s mind and tells me about the book too.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Nice analogy, though I would add a few hundred hurdles, about ten mazes, a long and twisty path uphill and a swim across shark-infested waters. Thanks for the informative post!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Agreed! Oh, the hurdles.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Marketing is overwhelming to me. I haven’t finished my first draft yet, but I hope that by being active on Twitter and my blog I will develop a following before my book is ready to be released 🙂 The worst marketing tactic I’ve seen is when an author tweets nothing but a buy link for their book. I prefer authors who are friendly and active in the community, and I love video book trailers.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Marketing is overwhelming to me as well, and I’m a marketer, so you’re not alone. Maybe if the field didn’t keep changing, we’d all be able to keep up. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
great analogy 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Marketing is definitely a marathon sport. Not only once you are competing but while conditioning yourself long before you are out on the market.
It is one of the areas where I have a lot to learn and have been watching and reading avidly on the subject. The upside is there are a lot of authors out there with some great materials, and I am starting to feel like maybe I might figure it out. However, there are a ton of days where I feel like I have so many miles left to go.
As an expert in this area, do you have any resources you think are worth looking at for a novice “runner” like me?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Joanna Penn’s podcast is fantastic. Also, have you seen Iola Goulton’s post in the hop where she lists her 9 top marketing websites? http://christianediting.co.nz/best-book-marketing-websites/ I also created a free tool for authors to track marketing leads. Let me go grab the link for you: https://raimeygallant.com/2017/01/31/bookmarketingleadstemplate/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a murky topic to me. I hope it makes a lot more sense when I get to the point where I need sprinting legs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a murky topic for me too, and I’m a marketer, so you’re not alone.
LikeLike
Marketing is a murky topic to me. I hope it makes more sense when I reach the point where I need sprinting legs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post, Raimey! This is an area I struggle with so I always enjoy any marketing tips (not just as an author, but other areas, too). Thanks for sharing 🙂 !
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure!
LikeLike
I’m a freelance copywriter by day and I also do some social media marketing for a few of my clients, so I actually enjoy marketing, but it’s definitely a marathon! And since writing books is also a marathon, that means we’re all running two…
Some days I feel like “writer” is just another word for “masochist” 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great, now I’m thinking about it the same way as you are. Thanks a lot, Dianna. 😉 Just kidding. You’re absolutely right, of course. We are running two marathons, and it’s exhausting, and we’re all masochists.
LikeLike
Fellow marketer here! It’s definitely not a sprint, I struggle to make people understand that at my day job, they don’t see why we can’t convert leads who’ve come across us just once. Hopefully everything I’ve learnt from working in marketing will help when it comes time to sell my book, I’ve already got my author platform building and hope to work more on that in the future. Thanks for the advice Raimey, and the hop! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me and you, when we’re ready to sell our books, we should brainstorm, collaborate maybe. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a great analogy. I feel like I am great at marketing for other people, but I just can’t seem to sell myself. I hope I get over that hurdle if I am to ever have a book published.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel that way as well.
LikeLike
The six touch points is an interesting factoid. I guess the issue is we never know which of our outreach efforts will touch any potential reader, which makes it important to do each one as well as we can. Food for thought …
LikeLiked by 1 person
I almost wrote “food for thought” at the end of this post. It’s like we’re mind melding!
LikeLike
Marketing completely baffles me. It’s one aspect of being an author that I dread learning about because it seems so confusing and overwhelming. Your analogy of marathon makes it easier to understand, though it’s still foggy and distant to me. It’s clearly something I need to learn more about as I get ready to publish.
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Take it one step at a time. Try reading an article on book marketing or author platforms once a day or once a week, and slowly, you’ll become an expert. I promise. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Raimey. I feel like I am just beginning to see some payoffs from my intense marketing efforts these past three months. I think the biggest tip I have is to stay at it. Just like a marathon. You can’t give up and sometimes when you see the finish line, you sprint all out and try, try, try some more. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooh, interesting. I vote you tell us about what you’ve learned in an upcoming #AuthorToolboxBlogHop post. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always skip over book ads. My twitter feed is clogged with them, and one more just adds to the noise. Authors should focus on more meaningful content. Tweets about getting a contract, or a book release date, or an author interview are far more interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
BadRedHeadMedia has blogged about just this topic recently. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Raimey, This is all so true. I’ve been running my blog since 2011. My first book was published in 2015. As part of the marathon, I’ve found sharing other author’s books and writing advice has helped build a following. I believe if we market each other’s books we all win.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The collaborative spirit when it comes to marketing, I love that I see so many authors working with this.
LikeLike
When marketing I’ve always been afraid of offending the people, I as trying to charm. Luckily I had publishers to give me guidance and suggestions to get me through–and I kept a list of what worked for me for the next round.
Anna from elements of emaginette
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope I have this same benefit someday. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post. 🙂
I hate marketing and always get it wrong. It’s like graphs or calculous, which have the power to switch my brain off. I try to get a grip, to work-it, but my forced enthusiasm soon flickers and vanishes like a flame near a draft.
http://shahwharton.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s definitely trial and error.
LikeLike
Thank you! Very timely read for me because I’m on the cusp of publishing my first book on Amazon and needed the reminder. Would you believe that I have nothing planned other than one post for my blog with an automated share on social media? Despite having been a corporate marketer for all of my career, I am actually very bad at selling myself (read insecure-introvert concealed behind an overbite of devil-may-care egoism). Precisely the reason why I would rather publish traditionally – let someone else handle the stress of arranging the book launch and signing. I now feel like I need to crack open my Kotler and draw up a strategy. Good ol’ days, eh?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wish you every luck. If I were you, I would look at what others are doing to collaborate on the marketing task. This is a growing trend and a way to lighten everyone’s workload.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will definitely do that. I’m seeing great results from such collaborations across the board. Will look to you if I need any hand-holding since you obviously have it down pat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Truthfully? I buy books because I like the concept–simple as that. …As long a the author isn’t one I’ve scratched off my list because I’ve tried them and didn’t connect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome post! I love the parallels between marketing and running. My day job is working in social media, and before I started this job I never realized how integrated all of the marketing and communications aspects are for big brands, and have been thinking about how these things can be adapted and utilized for smaller brands (like authors…)
To be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to book marketing, but I’ll have to pay more attention now, and think about how I become aware of certain books and authors. Thanks for sharing this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure!
LikeLike
Marketing is such a malleable idea. I only recently started a newsletter, and I had someone ask why, when I already have a blog. It’s like you said – to hit on more touch points. But I’m learning as I go to see which touch points have the most effect in the end, and where my efforts need to be expended most.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The newsletter is a terrific idea, so terrific, that I think I tweeted your post twice today, an extra time to let people know about the newsletter. Marketing is malleable to the brand, indeed.
LikeLike
This makes me feel a lot better about the certificate in marketing I’m planning on starting next year … There’s just so much to do, and so much to learn, and if I’m going to do it well, I feel like I’d be best off actually studying this craft.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good for you!
LikeLike
Hi! It sure feels like a marathon because I’m exhausted! 🙂
Leslie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Phew! We deserve a break.
LikeLike
An interesting and informative analogy. If I ever do get around (read: work up the courage) to try marketing myself / my work, I’ll need to keep this in mind. Thank you, Raimey.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes on the marathon with bits of sprinting. 🙂 Loving the other comments here! For me, marketing is first and foremost about engaging people who might enjoy my book, supporting other writers, and balancing the relentless campaign with self-care. That last one is vital. Amazing how fast you can burn out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well said!
LikeLike
I didn’t realize it took 6 TIMES before you registered marketing attempts! CRAZY! Thank you for sharing!! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure!
LikeLike
I always tell the authors I work with that if they thought writing the book was hard, wait until they start trying to market it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Marketing is just as hard as writing sometimes! It is most definitely a marathon, not a sprint. Especially if you’re a debuting author. You can’t expect people to suddenly jump on your personal bandwagon, no matter how much we all wish they would. And I LOVE the six touch points you mentioned. It’s incredibly true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally agree. It drives me nuts when people keep tweeting the same thing over and over. I just tune it out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so interesting! I don’t think I’ve ever heard the six touch points before. I’ve been studying (trying to, at least–why must marketing be so hard?), indie marketing for books, lately, and I think this concept would be super helpful to work into a lot of the plans I’ve seen. Thank you!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so happy you found the article helpful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome post!! Nice analogy- I don’t know much about this field, but I think this post was very illuminating!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome!
LikeLike
Interesting read.
http://sagarikajhamb.wordpress.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
good content, i just started my blog on DM 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just checked it out. Thanks for stopping by and good luck with the new blog!
LikeLike
So true. I have been “building my author platform” which is something I enjoy but also stresses me out because I always just feel like I should keep writing more. This post makes me think that it’s actually 2 marathons – one for the writing itself and a second one for the actual marketing/selling of the product! http://www.juliavee.com/writing-is-a-marathon-not-a-sprint/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Two marathons too many. 😉
LikeLike
It’s a marathon for sure! Indies now have to be both writers AND marketers. In a way you have a leg up by being in the marketing industry before you became an author 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I work with writers, authors and small business owners all the time. Marketing should always be viewed as a marathon not a wimpy sprint!
Authors should boost Facebook + Instagram posts, use TumblR promotion & set up well marketed websites as a point of contact or point of sale.
I am Ashton Deroy from the Toronto-Businessphere.com website. I want to share your post with some aspiring authors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Ashton! I appreciate it!
LikeLike
Appreciate your perspective on marathon versus quick little sprint. Speaks to agility, to digging deep and keeping trying new approaches….Have been to runner marathons and been astounded by the courage, determination, need to find more strength when you have nothing left to give. So, yes, it is a marathon…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I trained for a marathon once, and the analogy works. But…. The marketing never ends! Never.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good point!
LikeLike