New year, new calendar. I love the potential of a brand new calendar, don’t you? All those pristine pages with their empty little boxes…well, they started out pristine when I unwrapped the cellophane. But they’re filling up quickly!
As I look back on the past year, I had so many thoughts about how to market my book. I had planned certain tasks monthly, weekly, daily…you get the idea. Unfortunately, the calendar got away from me, and many of those ideas remained unfulfilled. I began to view the dwindling 2015 calendar as my enemy.
New calendar, new resolutions. Okay, maybe not new resolutions. It’s probably more accurate to say same resolutions, but new determination. Instead of the 2016 calendar being my enemy, I will ensure it becomes my friend. Here’s how I plan to do it…I will commit to do something every day, no matter how small. For example:
Use of Social Media
Very little time or effort is required to tweet or post something on Facebook on a daily basis. The content doesn’t always have to be about my book. You’ve heard it before: social media is just that – social! I need to spend time nurturing relationships with friends and readers instead of constantly trumpeting a marketing message.
Update profiles
Those profile boxes on Amazon’s Author Page, Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, and all the other social media sites are there for a reason. Others read these profiles to determine whether to follow me. If I don’t keep them updated, I’m overlooking an effective way to market my book.
Effective use of email…and e-newsletters
Update my email signature to include information about the book that’s out AND the next book that’s in the pipeline. And of course, include links to my website, Facebook Author Page, and Twitter account.
I will start a quarterly e-newsletter this year. E-newsletters are an effective way to communicate with those interested in my writing. Some social media platforms control the number of people who see my posts. But with an e-newsletter I don’t have to worry about a third-party blocking my communications.
Blog
Commit to a weekly blog schedule. I know there are bloggers who post five days a week and some who blog three days weekly. If I tried either of those schedules, I’d be setting myself up for failure. But I can blog weekly. That’s a reasonable commitment for me. I’d rather blog consistently on a once-a-week basis than to attempt blogging more frequently and be inconsistent.
Comment on other people’s blogs
I subscribe to several blogs and often read them without commenting. This year I commit to commenting on at least one blog each day. By comments, I don’t mean “great blog.” I mean a comment that adds to the discussion.
Five Alive
I will apply the “Five Alive” rule to:
– pitching magazine articles related to the subject of my book.
– contacting a church or other organization about being a speaker
– contacting a bookstore about a book-signing
For each declination I receive, I will send out another query, keeping five requests active at any given time.
Of course, there are many other things I will do to market my book, but that’s for another post. Still, if I can faithfully do the little things I’ve just listed, that’s a great start!
What bite-sized marketing activities will you commit to doing this new year?
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Ava Pennington is a writer, Bible teacher, and speaker. Her newest book, Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, is endorsed by Precepts founder Kay Arthur. Additionally, Ava is co-author of Faith Basics for Kids, including Do You Love Me More? and Will I See You Today? She has also written numerous articles for magazines such as Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse, Today’s Christian Woman, Power for Living, and Called.
In addition to her writing, Ava also teaches a weekly, Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class. She is a passionate speaker and teacher, and delights in challenging audiences with the truth of God’s word in relevant, enjoyable presentations. For more information, visit her at www.AvaWrites.com.