How to Make Author Marketing Work for You (Part 1) by @Beth_Barany
To begin, let’s define some terms.
You’re an author who needs to market.
Marketing is about connecting with potential readers and sharing with them about your book.
Let’s talk about mindset. Another word for mindset is attitude. Another is belief. How we look at the world and ourselves determines our actions. What we believe is true influences how we think and act.
In my Branding & Marketing for Novelists class this past summer, one of my students thought that she had to get set up on social media, but she said she didn’t like social media much. I suggested that she market herself and her books in other ways, like in person. She shared a few days later that she’d already set up a bookstore event and was already in conversation with another bookstore for another event. She thanked me for reminding her that she had other options and could market in a way that was comfortable to her.
Many authors think that marketing has to be done in a certain way, but really connecting with your readers and potential readers can happen in ways that work for you.
How do you discover what works for you? You experiment. You step into the spirit of play that you had as a child.
Often we don’t know what works until we try. And in trying new things, you’ll discover more about your likes and dislikes.
Besides trying new things, you can also make adjustments to your mindset or your belief about marketing. Our beliefs are like the air we breathe, essential and invisible. To know your beliefs that underpin what you think is possible, and not possible, and so you can have more choices in your life, try this exercise to discover your author marketing mindset.
Exercise to discover your author marketing mindset:
1. Write down what you think of when you envision yourself marketing your books. What do you feel? What actions do you see yourself doing?
Example: When I think of marketing my books, specifically asking for reviews for my romance (action), I feel both excited and shy. (feelings) What if people leave bad reviews for my books? What is the reviewers and bloggers say “no” to reviewing my books? (thoughts)
2. What might true about someone who has these experiences? And what else might be true?
Example: Someone might think that marketing is fun and scary. She might also think that marketing her books is a risky business. She may be afraid of rejection, the “no’s”.
3. Distill that truth to an “I am” statement and notice if that fits how you see yourself. Draft a few “I am” statements based on what you uncovered in #2.
Example: “I am someone some people like, but not everyone.” “I am a certain kind of storyteller that is best suited to some readers and not others.” “I am unique.” “I am a certain flavor, a certain kind, of romance writer.”
4. What did you discover about yourself in this exercise?
Example: I discovered that I’ve been holding back on continuing my review requests because of fear of rejection. I also discovered I need to make sure my request for review accurately reflects my stories.
Use this exercise to gain clarity on your beliefs around marketing. You have some choices. Play and discover them.
Have fun!
♥
Part 2 coming next week.
I love helping authors step into a useful author marketing mindset, so I’ll be sharing more on that topic soon! Join us!
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 3pm Pacific
Free LIVE WEBINAR with Beth Barany and Penny Sansevieri
How to Step Into a Marketing Mindset & How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon
I’ll cover:
- The core skill to marketing your books: relationships
- The #1 concern of shy writers: privacy and how to honor that need and still have a public persona
- The most common block to learning marketing: aversion to the crowd, and its solution: crafting your ideal reader portrait
- Marketing is a skill like writing a novel that can be learned and tailored to you, your personality, and your lifestyle
Penny will cover:
- How to optimize your Amazon page: what you must do to start showing up in more searches
- Understanding categories/themes and how to rank consistently #1 in your category
- Amazon has an internal sales machine that will actually help you market your book, for free, if you learn how to trigger it
Heads Up: Space is limited and these LIVE trainings always fill up quickly. But as long as you’re signed up you’ll still be sent a copy of the webinar once it airs!
Sign up here: https://authormarketingexperts.leadpages.co/barany-sansevieri-free-webinar/
See you next week!!
If you’d like to get more support around your marketing mindset and belief system, chat with me in a complimentary Discovery session. As a certified Creativity Coach and Certified Master NLP practitioner, I honor where you are and hold space to help you get to where you want to be. Talk with me to discover if a change session is right for you.