- April 13, 2021
- • Laurie Wright
Amazing Secrets of the Unsuccessful Book Marketer
Guest post written by Allen Kitchen
Focus! Focus! Focus! And why it’s so important to do online book marketing
Do you ever find yourself wondering if any of the cast of Gilligan`s Island are still alive? How about the cast of Little Rascals? Did you know that William Smith (the actor from Rich Man, Poor Man) once had CIA and NSA clearance and is a bull whip master? He is a fascinating person. How about LeBeau from Hogan`s Heroes? Did you know that he is still alive, and was actually a Jewish prisoner during World War Two at Buchenwald?
Now you may think this all seems like unrelated, meaningless trivia from someone who watched too much television as a kid, and spends too much wasted time surfing the internet.
And you are right.
And you may also be thinking, what does this have to do with marketing your own books?
Well, nothing, yet, for me, a life-long, although selective procrastinator, everything.
Procrastinating my way onto the bestseller list?
I love marketing in person however.
Before Covid hit, I was often out at craft shows and book stores promoting my books. I enjoyed speaking with people and telling them about my ideas and how my books came into being. It was a lot of fun.
But trying to market my books online has been much less interesting and much less fun. I have had very little success. I have sought out and listened to many different authors who have given me a wide range of ideas for marketing my books. There is just so much information! By the time I think I have the hang of one thing, I have ten more to consider.
So, what do I do?
I let absolutely anything get in the way of me studying about successful marketing.
I will clean, cook, build something, exercise, go help someone, wander around the house, watch Netflix, play Big Farm online, think of new stories to write (somewhat useful), hope for snow so I can go out and shovel, chase the cat, watch my son play video games, surf YouTube, or research random people that pop into my head.
You name it, I will do it. Are you starting to understand my affinity for Sgt. LeBeau?
Rallying Against Unsuccessful Book Marketing
So, I am very happy to have found Laurie Wright.
Laurie has been so helpful with beginning to get me on track, and selflessly answering any questions, no matter how trivial, that I may have.
In fact, she is the one who encouraged me to write this blog.
It is the first blog I have ever written. Now that I have actually done it, I will sit patiently by my computer and wait for the thousands upon thousands of eager followers to miraculously amass.
In all honesty, I hope that writing this blog will be just the first step in my emergence from the fringes of the marketing world.
Take heart! Friendly online book marketing advice, from one newbie to another.
With my limited knowledge of marketing books online, I will leave you with this piece of advice.
- Stay focused.
- Research your book and target audience before you write it.
- Get it edited by a professional.
- Find someone you can trust to guide you and educate you on how to begin actually selling your books.
Finally, convince yourself that you love online marketing if you have to.
I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings and I implore you to try to stay on task with your writing and book marketing.
And remember, you never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.
Keep moving forward.
Now, I wonder whatever happened to Bailey from WKRP in Cincinnati? I always kind of liked her…
~Allen
Check out Allen’s books on Amazon here
PS. Allen’s got it right, book marketing can really get us down! And we do tend to push off the things we don’t like, and aren’t confident in, don’t we? Here’s a place to start: it’s a series on the podcast I did a while back, called the ‘12 Days of Marketing‘. Then join the FB group and say hi. ~Laurie
Laurie Wright
Teacher turned author, turned children's mental health advocate. Laurie has given a TEDx talk, gives workshops for parents, teachers, and children, and has published five books in the Mindful Mantras series, all to help combat the crisis kids are currently facing.
Teachers can't stop the urge to teach! A course for creatives who want to write for kids is coming soon!
