by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I have been seriously buried lately trying to research and learn effective marketing practices for writers. First, it takes a while to find the information you need. Then you have to absorb it. Implementation also takes longer than you think because sometimes you don’t have all the needed elements in place (I needed to design a landing page and set up autoresponders through MailChimp).
Sources for information on smart marketing practices.
Author Mark Dawson with his site (Self Publishing Formula), which is currently dealing with Facebook advertising. He has a free video series that leads us through it.
Author Nick Stephenson, who has a free video series at Your First 10K Readers, primarily focusing on Amazon keywords and categories.
Podcasts full of recent information/best practices for marketing authors. Especially Joanna Penn’s podcasts.
For a quicker project (probably, anyway), here is a nice post from author Carolyn McCray for Digital Book World on more effective product descriptions (she touches on other important things, too): “Best Practices for Amazon Ebook Sales”. I used it as a starting point for tweaking my book descriptions. Be sure to read through the post comments.
Penny Sansevieri has an interesting post on making pre’orders work for you on C.S. Lakin’s blog: “The Best Way for Writers to Use Amazon’s Pre-Order Feature“.
Things I’ve been working on and researching include:
Facebook ad
Landing page for the FB ad to be directed to
Free book giveaways in the back of a gateway (perma-free) book and through the FB ad
Autoresponders
Box Set for several of my self-published books
Translation
Amazon Affiliate (because I’d never joined on. Go figure).
Amazon Pre-Order
Product descriptions
And, on the writing end of things, I’m writing a book in another genre. Some days it’s slow-going. I’ve had to decide how I want to tie it into my current online profile. More about that soon.
Tips for not feeling overwhelmed:
1) Write first. To me, this works exactly like a home organizing project. If I’m doing a massive project like organizing the garage or a large closet, I make sure I’ve done my regular, daily housework first. Because otherwise, face it, it probably won’t get done and then we fall behind with that, which is frustrating. We tend to get drained on the larger project. So if I write the very first thing in the morning, everything else is icing on the cake.
2) This is incredibly important, especially if you’re taking on a lot of different things at once: make very exact notes to yourself detailing how you did whatever complex thing you just learned. For example, I learned how to set up a subdomain for my website. I would never remember all the steps I took for doing that unless I’d jotted them down. You can either devote a notebook for this purpose, or use a program like One Note or Evernote. I used One Note (which came with my PC) and included screenshots of my steps.
3) It’s also helpful to keep all of our research for our different projects together. One Note was very helpful with this. So I have a large notebook called “research” and then each page of research is on a different topic: Facebook ads, box sets, Amazon algorithms, etc.
4) Set a time limit. When I start researching various business and/or marketing projects, it’s almost like going through a rabbit hole. I keep uncovering more and more information, more and more helpful dos and don’ts and possibilities for approaching the different areas. I keep probing, keep clicking related links, and before I know it my kids are back from school and the chicken isn’t defrosted and my back hurts from hunching over the computer. Timers work well for this. I usually Google “set timer for ___ minutes” and then Google counts down for me.
5) Or, if I don’t want to set a time limit, I at least set breaks. I find that doing something very active is helpful and keeps me from feeling too strung out while sorting through research.
What kinds of things are you learning now? What are helpful, current sources you turn to? And how do you keep from getting overwhelmed by it all?
Balancing industry and promo-related research and writing: Click To TweetImage: MorgueFile: Pippalou
A marketer’s work is never done…..
Back in the old days of marketing — back before the internet — I heard the best bit of advice on doing a large and complicated project.
Just do five little things a day.
You might do more on some days, especially if you want to get a big job off your desk, but on ANY day, just do five small promotional tasks. Answer five emails, comment on five blogs. Contact five bloggers who might let you do a guest post. Mix n match.
While the internet has given us the power to do 500 little items a day — i.e. to spam the universe — pulling it down to five individual items can allow you to also use the personal touch. (Contact those five bloggers not with a form letter, but with a short, but personal note, as if they’re real individual people.)
It’s amazing how strong the connections we can make with slow, steady quality persistence.
Camille–Excellent advice for fighting overwhelm while still making progress on a project!
And good point about the personal touch. I have the type of reader who replies to autoresponder emails (which is actually delightful) and I’ve been making sure to respond to each of those responses personally.
Thanks for those links!
I just know there is only so much I can do. I could try to do it all, but I would be overwhelmed.
Alex–So important to know our limits!
I’ve been doing many of the same things as you this past month! Times change and with it we need to keep up on the newest most effective marketing strategies like using the best keywords. I’ll be creating a landing page too! I worked on creating affiliate links! I think a lot of us are in the middle of this. Thanks for the links in your post!
Laura–The links are *very* helpful. They help lead through the process. Yes I think most of us are in the thick of it! For a landing page, a subdomain off the main site domain works really well, FYI.
Elizabeth – I couldn’t agree more about the importance of writing first. It’s so easy to get distracted by marketing and promo that writing time can go out the window if we let it. I also think you’re very wise to organize everything as carefully as possible. As I’ve been reading your ideas (For which thanks!) I’ve also been thinking that it’s important to start with making some choices about one’s basic marketing identity – about what kind of brand one’s going to have. Readers want to know what they’re getting, and I think finding a few catchy and appealing ways to tell them is helpful.
Margot–I couldn’t agree more. Branding just helps readers know what to expect when they read our different books. Such an important message.
I know what you mean about rabbit holes. One could spend weeks clicking on links.
Diane–It’s crazy. One will lead to another and then another…then I’ll look up and half the day is gone…
It’s so much work! I have so many sites and posts bookmarked for when it’s time for me to market (just bookmarked this one too!). And I definitely am prone to slipping down the rabbit hole – have to set myself timers for everything :)
Jemi–I think that works really well, too. Because there’s no point in putting the cart before the horse…we can just wait and research when we need it!
I read the McCray article about best ebook practices, and she recommends things that as a reader and shopper, annoy the crap out of me. When I look at a book’s description, I want to know what the book is about. Make it good. I don’t want to see sixteen blurbs from other satisfied customers. To me, it says the author is needy and desperate, and I’m more likely to click away. I think her advice is a wee bit outdated.
Kessie–I liked the basis of what she said, but I did think she took it a little far (although she’s had a good deal of success with it). I thought maybe a short blurb, some good code in there to set things apart, and then maybe a call to action for the other books at the bottom. Yeah, I know…I thought the same thing you did. Then I wondered…is it because I’m a *writer* that this seems so strong to me? I toned down my copy too, but I did use her ideas as a springboard.
Great advice and excellent tips. I would add Jane Friedman to your list!
Claude–She’s a fantastic resource and always very current!
The right way to go about doing promo will probably never be right for longer than six months at a time, which is another sort of rabbit hole connected to this topic. Or maybe Sisyphus is a better comparison. Kessie points out something to keep in mind–what works well one year might be considered tiresome the next. Think back to animated gifs and websites with lots of visual effects a few years ago–those have lost ground to clean design and sites that load in a snap. And popups–everybody seemed to have them for a while, but if you still have them now, it’s considered gauche, with only a few exceptions.
The best way to keep up with promo ideas is to “go shopping” yourself–browse with the intent to self-educate and to keep a finger on the pulse of trends. For instance, right now it is ultra-important to have a landing page or blog that plays nice with mobile devices. There are also new strides in video presentations. Do I know how to make the most of this info? Hell, no–have to pay my rabbit-hole dues first ;) But it’s important to at least get a sense of what to aim for.
That’s one way to keep from being overwhelmed–first get a sense of what seems to work for you as a shopper and reader, then go with your gut, and make sure whatever you choose to follow through “feels” right for your genre and your brand. I know when I don’t do this, I am easily overcome by a sense of inadequacy in every aspect of being an indie author.
Along with the information you post on this incredibly valuable blog , I have found some very useful links on Anne R. Allen’s blog, particularly a list of free or cheap book promo sites. I tried several free ones for a couple of days recently, and got 5,000 copies of my first book into new hands. Yes, the book was free for those promos, but on the other hand it didn’t cost me anything out of pocket. At this stage of the game, I couldn’t buy better results.
But for now, I’m going to NOT do any promo and research until I am ready to send the next book off to the beta readers. Time’s a-wastin’.
Meg–Most definitely changes quickly! Those podcasts can be helpful as far as helping keep current (it’s tough for me. Only so many hours in the day).
You’re having a lot of success with free…and if you’re not afraid of free you could try it as incentives for newsletter signups (currently a recommended best practice). But wait until after the book goes to the betas!
Great article Elizabeth. And I love your new Avatar pic, it’s gorgeous :)
I’ve been planning and doing pretty much everything you’ve mentioned above for the last 7 months. And I agree, it’s a rabbit hole when you start researching the marketing stuff.
I started setting myself a 6-monthly production schedule and goal plan from the beginning of this year. So far, these have included
1. Writing and publishing six short stories linked to my current series Seventeen. I’ve just completed Story 6 and I will have two short stories going on preorder in the next 2-4 weeks.
2. Writing a short story for an anthology. This was fun. It was a horror one. I never thought I could myself s***less writing a short story but I did. Had to leave the lights on at night and everything. Also scared two editors and assistant, so job done :)
3. Finishing book 4 in the series. It’s due for release June 9th.
4. Starting the process of making audiobooks on ACX. Book 1 will be completed by Friday and available for sale by end of May-beginning of June. Hoping to have three more novels and all six short stories done by end of year.
5. Getting my books ready for Booktrack. First three novels and four short stories currently in production with them. We’re negotiating contract details.
6. Creating a reader magnet (free story) to attract newsletter subscribers and incorporating this offer. I used the first short story in the series. I then incorporated this offer in all my books and other short stories, including the permafree first book in the series. This meant reformatting all the ebooks. My formatter and website designer/helper installed a fabulous WordPress plugin called Pretty Link to do this. So all the active links in my books now go straight to the book’s sales and review pages on the relevant sales platform and Goodreads. All the links are fully controlled by me as well and are trackable in terms of analytics.
I thoroughly recommend Nick Stephenson’s books and course BTW, as well as the fabulous Joanna Penn(she’s so funny in person!).
7. Creating a landing page for the free download offer. I did create a lovely page in January but it still had links. I experimented with Thrive Theme and other plugins to no avail. I then begged my website designer for help. All it took was upgrading my Divi Theme from version 1.0 to 2.0. We did this last week. I lost some coding which I then had to reinstall but no biggie. Landing page looks great now.
8. Do more on the craft of writing, speed up my daily word count, and use tools to improve time management. Getting there with these.
Following London Book Fair 2015, I’ve added
1. Using Facebook ads. Mark Dawson’s video course is great for basics. He’s creating an advanced video course at the moment that I suspect he will charge for. You can also join his Self-Publishing Formula Private Facebook Group. And he’s a lovely man in person.
2. Changing my focus with regards to engaging with readers and other authors. I’m getting Mallory Rock to redo my social media branding in June. I also did a survey with my newsletter subscribers using Typeform (great free tool to use) to engage them in what they want to see in future newsletters. This is a link to the report in case you’re interested in seeing it https://adstarrling.typeform.com/report/XYm3mp/oKMq
I’m doing more personal stuff on my social media platforms now rather than just writing and publishing industry based shares.
3. Creating two boxsets. One of the first three novels and one of the first three short stories in the series. The short story boxset will become the new free download offer and I will be using this for Facebook ads to increase email subscription. So, yes, reformatting all my books again to include this. The other boxset will be used in sales-orientated Facebook ads.
Re: keywords and categories, I recommend Mary Louisa Locke’s blog posts as well as Nick Stephenson’s books and course. Tools I recommend are Kindle Spy, Kindle Samurai (PC only), and Kadaxis. Kadaxis is beta only at the moment but sign up for it. I’ve seen the tool in action as I was invited to give them feedback end of last year, so I got to use it plenty. It’s cool.
I’m leaving translations until end of year, next year.
My next 6-month production schedule includes writing Book 5 in the series, very likely writing a Kindle Worlds novella/novel, starting another series of short stories since my assistant, my editor, and fans love them so much. My assistant wanted me to do serials but I don’t like the concept and would rather do a series of interlinked short stories.
Oh, and I’ve scheduled time for a small nervous breakdown in December if I need one :)
Oh my gosh!!! AD, I feel like such a slacker now. :)
Wow, that’s a TON of stuff to be taking on at once. Are you giving yourself breaks? Or are you lucky enough not to need them?
I’m just such a lousy short story writer–wish I could take advantage of the tactic you’re on, which is a smart one. I do a nice short novel of 55000, but a short story? I’m fairly hopeless. Love reading them. Not so good at turning them out. I should practice.
I looked into Kindle Spy, too. Didn’t get too far with it. Automation is nice, though.
Maybe I should do *two* boxsets and have one as a FB deal. I know Mark D was talking about boxsets for FB, too.
Yes, a nervous breakdown in December! I may be joining you. :)
Wow, that was a long post…
Finally, somebody writes a longer one than I do! ;) Honestly, though, it was super-informative, even if there’s no way I could summon the energy to duplicate it. Thanks for sharing!
Right now I’m figuring out how to do a newsletter, so I see several links here that I’m going to check out. Also the Amazon links … that’s an ongoing project because they like to change it up. Balance? Yeah, I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen :)
Carol–Right, this is something that will not be a meaningful post in several years. :) Or earlier! Things move so fast in this business.
Thank you for your post on the topic of Juggling Time. One thing that helps me juggle time is remembering to keep records of everything that I have written to other people (comments) who write blog posts. I know this seems simple, but keeping information in one place or close by does save time.
Ellen–I think you’re right! Keep records/research handy and know how to quickly put our hands on it. I think digital copies help.
As a writer who is just now dipping her toes into the marketing world, this was very helpful! It all feels so overwhelming and there’s a definite sense of pressure to set up everything at once–the blog, the website, the Facebook page, the Twitter, etc. Your links and tips were helpful and reminded me that even published authors sometimes run into roadblocks. Thank you!
Lincoln–I think we all want to do the *right* things for our books. It’s just sorting through that and trying to keep our heads above water while we’re doing it! And being understanding with ourselves and not demanding too much. Pacing it all. Camille was right (first comment on this post)…maybe just try 5 marketing things each day. It moves us forward, but helps keep us focused on our writing, too.
Pacing is absolutely right! And I’ll take a look at that first comment. Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth – after the A-Z .. balance is needed, and I’m struggling to get back there! This is such a great post .. lots of useful idea …. I have to step off the band-wagon, catch up and then re-hit the start button …. Cheers Hilary
Hilary–Totally understandable…that’s a huge project for a month! Good luck with the resetting.