V. Michael Santoro

Book Marketing Landmines and How to Avoid Them

In order to conduct a successful book marketing campaign as a POD published author, you will need to understand the challenges that can hinder your success.  If you are not aware of these challenges and try to blindly market your book, you will find yourself caught in the middle of a book marketing minefield...

... surrounded by landmines that can seriously limit your career as a published author. Once your book is released and you begin to market it, you will discover:

1. “Being available” means being buried among the thousands of books posted on the online bookstores and computer book ordering systems.
2. You are expected to be an expert on your topic and market your book without any help.
3. Hiring a book publicist is expensive and probably outside of your budget.
4. Your book will not be stocked in traditional bookstores due to your publisher’s no return and/or non-standard discount policies.
5. Many mainstream book reviewers have a policy against reviewing self-published or POD books, regardless of quality.
6. Your family and friends are your best customers when your book is released – then you struggle to sell additional copies.
7. If you do invest in a public relations campaign, you don’t sell many copies because:
1. Your book is “available” to be ordered but not in stock, or
2. You have to buy the books and offer them on consignment. There is little profit and you get stuck with the non-returnable unsold books.
8. You have little PR experience and are scared to death of calling the press to try and get coverage. You are also either a full-time parent or working a full-time job which hinders your ability to market your book – even if you knew how.
9. You build a free Website and try the free Internet marketing options. Your Website receives little, if any, traffic and you feel like your Website is about as effective as being buried in a dense rain forest.
10. You buy a few “Secrets” type books but the only ones making money are those that sold you the books.
11. You realize that there are no “secrets,” just skills that need to be learned and techniques that must be mastered. You are totally overwhelmed and feel that book marketing is a complex jigsaw puzzle.
12. You try talking to other authors in forums and groups and they’re equally confused, frustrated and demoralized.

Is there a way out of this book marketing minefield?

Now that your enthusiasm has been doused with cold water, you have two choices. You can continue to do more of the same and hope for a better outcome, or you can become an Authorpreneur.

What is an Authorpreneur?

Authorpreneurs do not compete using the traditional book marketing model. Instead, they view their books as products and effectively combine their writing skills with proven Internet Marketing techniques to accomplish better results. This allows them to become an expert within a niche, based upon their book's theme. An Authorpreneur understands HOW to write effective Web content and use technology to generate:

• A consistent amount of laser targeted traffic
• The right kind of links to their Website to increase their search engine ranking
• A large worldwide subscriber list to brand themselves as experts
• Consistent book and niche product sales from their list

What about book promotion?

Authorpreneurs also use technology to level the playing field and gain a competitive advantage in gaining PR. They understand that:

• 98% of journalists go online daily
• 92% do it for article research
• 76% to find new sources and experts
• 73% to find press releases

By building a content-rich professional Website that achieves “top ten” search engine placement, Authorpreneur Websites are easily found by journalists and producers researching niche topics for their articles and programs. This leads to interviews and media exposure for Authorpreneurs.

Additionally, Authorpreneurs know where to find online media databases to quickly research a list of media contacts interested in their niche topics. Then by conducting targeted e-mail campaigns, they get added to many “expert contact lists” that gain them future interviews.

Additional benefits

Once Authorpreneurs establish an expert status with their subscriber list and generate steady sales, they use this track record to rise above the clutter to attract literary agents and mainstream publishers with a “ready to buy” market for their books. Their book proposals are also more credible because they are based upon the actual “wants” of their niche audience which substantiates the “need” for their book.

Conclusion

Most POD authors learn book marketing as they go and do not understand the power of leveraging technology to brand themselves as experts. This is usually a painful experience. However, by becoming an Authorpreneur, writers can gain a competitive advantage by combining their writing skills with sound Internet Marketing techniques to avoid the book marketing landmines that can seriously limit their writing careers.

Article Tags: Book Marketing Landmines, Book Marketing, Marketing Landmines, Internet Marketing

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