By Shanea Patterson

6/1/09

            Somebody once said, writing the book is the easy part; the hardest part of becoming a best-selling author is the marketing part. Even if you’ve signed a publishing deal with a major book publisher, you’ve still got to market, market, market. Hit areas that publishers won’t even touch. Your local library, your local market, anything local that will get you recognized as “the guy that wrote that great book!”

            You’ve got to think of a creative way to stand out. Seeing every minute of every day as a potential opportunity to get your book noticed is key. Even if it’s just by one person, you must seek to sell to even them. If they end up reading your book, they’ll tell someone about it.

When someone gets a good piece of information, they don’t keep it to themselves. Right? It’s just like gossip. It spreads like wildfire. Word-of-mouth is the quickest and most cost-efficient way to market your book. It’s also one of the most effective. For example, if your best friend tells you about a great book, you’re more likely to believe it and read that book than if you were to walk into Barnes and Noble and see a big billboard advertising that book. It may look interesting, but you might not go over to that shelf, pick it up and start reading it based on just seeing it advertised in a bookstore.

So, where do I even begin? You ask. Well, the first and most obvious way to begin marketing is to:

1. That’s right. Tell everyone you know that you wrote a book. Tell your mother, your sisters, your friends, your cousins, aunts, uncles and eventually, they will tell other people. And friends of the family are not excluded, either. Tell them. Spread the news around as much as possible. Because your mother’s boss could end up picking up this book and then spread the word. As I’ve mentioned above, word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool.
2. Order or make up some business cards. Looking like a professional writer is important. If someone asks to call you and you hand them a piece of loose leaf paper with your phone number written on it, you’re going to look like a joke. Always strive for professionalism.
3. Get a separate cell phone just for the business of your writing. Having a business line can increase sales, believe it or not. As I’ve mentioned before, it will add to your professionalism.
4. Create a professional-looking website. No writer has ever gone without creating a website. That is, no successful writer. A website will allow others to contact you, mainly potential buyers. Sell copies of your book on your website. A simple website design that includes the option of selling merchandise is Homestead.com.        
5. Attend writer’s workshops. Attending writer’s meet-ups and workshops allows you to connect with other writers, stay connected and also the chance to market your book some more. Writers will often agree to buy a copy of your book and maybe write up a review and post it on their website for other to see if you’ll return the favor. This is a great way to get cheap publicity for the price of simply reading a book, writing a stunning review and then posting it on your website.
6. Join professional organizations and develop relationships with the members. Every person you meet is a potential sale. You must use every encounter with every one you meet as a potential sale. Network your buns off!
7. Carry around at least three to five copies of your book and business card. Even if you have to give a couple of copies of your book away for free, it will be worth it. Every free copy is marketing itself to other potential buyers. Slip a business card into the book before you give it to its intended recipient. This will give them a way to contact you and let you know what they thought of the book.
8. Throw a book release party. Like album release parties, book release parties offer the opportunity for book sales. Included in the invitation is the option to buy a book. After receiving all of your RSVPs, order the amount of books you’ll need for the party. Invite family and friends, family friends, close and distant relatives. They’ll appreciate being one of the first to buy your books.
9. Sell books at the Fair. I know this one might be a little outrageous, but you’d be surprised how many people will pick up a book, while walking around with their children from ride to ride, game to game. I once saw a woman selling home-made Italian Ice cones for 50 cents outside the public swimming pool area on a hot summer day. And I actually bought one from her!
10. Market hard and frequently. Use the tactics mentioned above and try to think of at least one way to market your book everyday. But try to cover other territories. If you continue to market in your hometown, people may easily get sick of you and you may lose a lot of potential buyers, just based on them seeing your publicity in too many places, which is a huge turnoff!