Your Book Marketing Plan - Winning Strategies and Tips

Many authors hit a roadblock when it comes to putting together and implementing a book marketing plan. You know you need to have one, you have a vague idea of what it needs to include, but pulling it all together into a step-by-step plan of attack is not nearly as easy as it sounds.

A good starting point is to break your plan up into major categories. From there, you can further define and set up strategies for each area of your book marketing plan.

The first thing that comes to mind for most authors and self publishers is book store sales. Makes sense doesn't it? That's where people buy books don't they? It's true that making your book available to the general public through bookstores is a very vital component of your marketing plan.

However, it is just that -- one single component of your plan. There are many elements that will make up your book marketing plan and arranging to have your book available in bookstores is just one of them. Let's call that component #1:

Book Marketing Plan Component #1

Making Books Available in Bookstores

Now, it's one thing to secure placement for your book on the bookstore shelves, but now how are people going to know it's there? Customers can't (and won't) buy something they've never heard of. This is where the publicity component of your Book Marketing Plan comes into play. Setting up and ongoing publicity campaign is the number one way to drive customers to the bookstore to buy your book. We'll call this component #2:

Book Marketing Plan Component #2

Setting up and Implementing a Successful Publicity Campaign

Besides book stores, you can also sell your books to nontraditional book buyers like display retailers, book clubs, catalogs, gift retailers, volume buyers (think Costco and Price Club), corporations, foundations and foreign markets. We sell thousands of self published books to buyers like these all the time and targeting these buyers should make up a good portion of your book marketing plan. This will be component #3:

Book Marketing Plan Component #3

Non-traditional Markets

In this day and age, you would be making a big mistake if you didn't include the internet as a vital component of your Book Marketing Plan. The internet is the best way to directly reach your target customers. It is also the best way to sell to them since you cut out any third parties and retain 100% of the profits. There are many ways to research the internet to ensure that there is a demand for your book and the best ways to fill that demand.

Book Marketing Plan Component #4

The Internet - Your Book Website

These are the four most important components of your Book Marketing Plan. Now you must research each component individually to customize the approach you take for your book.

© Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd.

Ink Tree Ltd. helps authors publish, market and sell books. We have all the tools you need to succeed in book marketing and book promotion. Let us help you make your book a success. http://www.inktreemarketing.com/BookMarketingKit.htm

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Book Marketing Information:

Related Articles

How to Make Money With Your Short Stories, Poems, Essays, and Novels
Recently, someone rated my "Online Book Marketing" article a 2 out of 5. That person apparently didn't like the article.
Titles (and Subtitles) Sell Books!
Does a title really sell a book? The short answer is, yes. If a book does not attract a reader initially, it will be overlooked and not purchased.
Book Signings Are Pure Gold
So you've written a book, had it published by a publishing company and you are now facing the dreaded book signing or book launch. Your palms sweat at the thought of facing droves of people and actually having to talk to them.
Speaking for a Publication
Why write a book and get attention and loads of contacts?Expertise can sometimes be defined by the articles, columns, responses and books you write. It does not take a lot of effort to write the articles and columns but it does take effort to write a book.
Publishing Your Book-What Way is Best For You? - Part 2
Your print or ebook is nearly finished. You wonder if you should try to get an agent to represent you to the publisher.
Five Secrets of Winning Book Proposals
Working in the publishing industry comes with a high expectation, especially from complete strangers. After the causal 'hello' progresses to 'what do you do,' and my answer is 'I am a publisher,' the words, like fairy dust, work magic; and in the eyes of my conversation partner, I'm transformed into a glamorous Advice Goddess-would I mind reading this stranger's book proposal?Cornered in frozen foods at the grocery, black-tie events or at the bus stop, I've been 'pitched' as we say in the business, with such book proposals as: A Cat's Tale of Christmas; Old Testament Aphrodisiacs; Break Out (after being committed to a mental institution by jealous relatives, the story of one man's quest for revenge); and Suck it and See: A Guide to Tropical Fruits.
Increase Book Sales: When a Sale Is No Longer Just a Sale
Do you have books sitting in your garage that you haven'tsold yet and looking for ways to move them? Then you willwant to know about these five outrageous ideas that aren'tdifficult and can be just plain out fun. Dede Hall, author of The Starving Student's Cookbook hadvery poor sales for her books.
How Many Ways Can You License Your Tips Booklet?
You've been thinking about writing a tips booklet. After all, it's shorter, faster, and easier than writing an entire book.
Book Club Sales -- Increasing the Odds
What is a book club sale? It is actually a rights sale or a licensing agreement: you are granting permission to a book club the right to "borrow" your work. You have written a book, and now you are allowing a book club to print and distribute your book to its members.
Increase Book Sales: When a Book is No Longer Just a Book for Sale
Do you have books sitting in your garage that you haven't sold yet and looking for ways to move them? Then you will want to know about these five outrageous ideas that aren't difficult and can be just plain out fun. Dede Hall, author of The Starving Student's Cookbook had very poor sales for her books.
Book Marketing 101
Francine Silverman. Book Marketing from A-Z (InfinityPublishing.
How To Get The Most From Your Free eBooks Marketing Campaign
First, your ebook needs to have an attractive title.The title should grab the attention of your intendedtarget audience.
Attract More Buyers to Your Book: Use Metaphors
Surprise your potential buyers. Give them chocolate frosting!After we entered school we had a lot to learn.
Discover 3 Easy Ways to Promote Your Articles
Are you using these methods to promote your articles?If not, you are missing out on some easy ways to get more traffic. Ways that require no additional work on your part once they are set up.
Sell More Books With an E-mail Newsletter
NOTE: Because many words in this article are likely to trigger sp^m filters, we've disguised them with symbols (e.g.
Dont Clone your Book or Business Marketing
Remember that the miracle of cloning sheep has its drawbacks. The main one--dying young.
Poetry Chapbooks: Ten Tips for Promotion
There are several ways of publishing your chapbook. You can do it yourself with a printer and a heavy duty stapler; you can submit a manuscript to a literary entitiy that publishes chapbooks; or you can try a self publishing company.
Why Write Articles to Promote your Book?
Reach 15,000 to 100,000 targeted buyers every week Online. That's the best reason I know to write and submit how-to articles to opt-in ezines and top web sites.
Online Book Promotion Beats Traditional Seven to One - Part 2
Think of Your Promotion Time and BudgetMost one or two-book authors don't have a large marketing budget. Marketing their speaking leaves them little time to write and promote their books.
How to Create an Amazing Author Website
Without a website, an author is unknown. Without a website, an author sells fewer books.