Post #69 – Women’s Memoirs, Book Business – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
So here’s Carmen’s question that’s got people talking (and sharing): “What types of author promotional events have been most successful for you? I’ve scheduled a local library and a retail store appearance. Also, has anyone done a virtual book tour? Thanks.”
First, let me say to Carmen, congratulations for thinking outside the box. Taking your book to a library (rather than a bookstore) and to a retailer are great ideas. Second, we our members have shared lots of other good ideas. But this isn’t what struck me most. Intermingled among the many suggestions and encouragements is an air of frustration and even resentment that authors today need to devote so much time to marketing.
Welcome to the world of publishing in the 21st century. And it’s not going to change. If you want to sell your memoir to more than your mother, sister and four closest friends, YOU need to promote it. And the Internet and social media are great ways to reach readers. I know you already know this. But what to do? How much? Which online tools and services to use? Twitter. YouTube. Facebook. LinkedIn. She Writes. Goodreads. Etc. The list goes on and on.
I want to suggest a strategy that might make your task a little easier because let’s face it…social networking can drive you to drink, ruin your social life and seriously cut into your sleep.
Listen to people talk about their social networking. “I have 3,000 followers!” “I’m sending my message out to 5,000 fans every day.” “I have a ton of friends.”
You know what I say?
So what!
Well, that’s the short form. Let me share some inside baseball. It’s not about racking up big numbers of fan, friends and followers. It’s about connection, interaction, having an impact, making an impression and building your list. You want to be top of mind with prospective readers and engage them to want to know more. You want to participate in conversations, intrigue people with your ideas and make them WANT to come back to your website. Scratch that…your blogsite (I don’t think anyone should be using a static site these days; you need to be blogging).
Memoir Marketing is a Case of Quality Over Quantity
Now don’t get me wrong, you want a small horde following you and waiting breathlessly for your memoir to come out. But to truly engage these potential readers, you need to spend some time connecting. So start small and keep the process sane.
First, put your blogsite in place. Start blogging. Build up some content. And get the search engine optimization process under way.
Second, pick one or two (no more) social sites that attract people whom you believe would like your book. Start connecting with people. Share your ideas, thoughts, experiences. Make friends, and be a good friend. Be active. Little by little, you’ll make solid connections, and people will want to come to your website to learn more about you.
Third, as you feel you have a social site working well for you, you can cut back a little and put that extra time and energy into engaging people on a new site. And so on.
You can’t conquer social networking in a long weekend. Not even in a month. You need time. And this is why I always recommend you start marketing when you first start writing your memoir. So start by putting up a WordPress site. You’ll need a theme, and we recommend Thesis. You’ll find a link to Thesis in our far right-hand column. Then pick two social sites. LinkedIn or Facebook and book or writer’s site like Goodreads or She Writes. Give it at least two months before you add another. Now get to marketing.
book business
social networking
marketing
