by Ashlee McNicol
We all need a little help sometimes. As authors, it can be really hard to keep up with our writing when social media management and promotions take so much time out of the day. Most of us intend to make it full-time, but if you have no background in business, how can you make this happen without the planning taking too much time out of the day?
Let’s start with the basics in evaluating your current marketing strategy.
Do you need…?
- A marketing campaign and strategy
- Social media management and consultation
- A review of the media in your area
- A marketing analysis of your preferred genre
- A marketing brainstorming session
- A consultation on blogging ideas
- A detailed review of your current operations
- Helpful tips to get the process going
What do you want…?
- Someone to walk you through the process step by step
- Constructive criticism
- Someone to give you ideas
- Someone to guide you the right direction
- A mentor
- More time in the day
Consider these questions:
How do you feel your marketing is going for the time being?
How do you perceive it will go if you continue at this rate?
What do you feel are your weakest areas in marketing?
What do you feel are your strongest areas in marketing?
What do you feel are your strongest areas concerning writing?
How do you feel you could develop as a marketer?
What are some things that you would like help with or to see done?
What are your goals as an author?
What are your goals with this book, both personally and professionally?
To help you out, here are some sample marketing stunts I outlined for my novel The Unforgiving Truths leading up to the debut. This can help you evaluate your strategy further.
Sunday Aug 17 – Release Book Summary
Sunday Aug 24 – Youtube Channel Launch
Sunday Aug 31 – Release t-shirt opportunity
Sunday Sept 7 – Email signups in exchange for free short story
Sunday Sept 14 – Vote for a Name!
Sunday Sept 21 – Beginning of the Puzzle
Sunday Sept 28 – Media launch and release
Sunday Oct 5 – From the Eyes of a Main Character Blog Post
Sunday Oct 12 – 4 Weeks Away Special Giveaway Event
Sunday Oct 19 – Release of the Map of the Setting
Sunday Oct 26 – Week Long Blog Tour Launch
Sunday Nov 2 – Eleven Things You Didn’t Know About The Unforgiving Truths
Sunday Nov 9 – Countdown Contest via Youtube
The strategy really helped revamp my marketing strategy, increased followers on my blog, and revolutionized my social media. Let me know how this helps!
Guest review contributed by Guest post contributed by Ashlee McNicol. Ashlee is the author of YA Fantasy series The Secrets of Ghastillanda, as well as non-fiction books on marketing and creative strategic development for small businesses. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she enjoys facilitating community involvement through teaching.
A Writer's Path 
Looks great at first glance! Commenting here so I remember to read it later today when I have the time.
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Interesting and great marketing points. I don’t know what it is, but the last two years this industry has been absolutely flooded, deluged by more books and authors in history. The Kindle self-publishing platform has allowed any and all to publish virtually anything at lightning speed. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great opportunity for authors who were glossed over and rejected. But what we have is a glut in marketplace, where everyone is vying for attention. We have a traffic jam that is causing new approaches and innovations to promotion and marketing that were never realized before. Sadly, many, many authors are resorting to very expensive ads that have been created by the largest social media platforms. I don’t think we need new and improved promo and marketing ideas, as much as we desperately need a regulatory solution to this massive publishing blitz.
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Great post!!
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Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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