OK, so I'm trying to really crack open this marketing thing. I think I'm getting closer and closer to having a finished novel that I want to shop around or self-publish, and I'm trying to figure out how to market it without:
a. Spending every waking hour promoting it
b. Spending tons of money buying up ads (although some ads aren't out of the question)
c. Spamming the hell out of people
I'd like to:
a. Reach a modest audience
b. Keep that modest audience
c. Grow the audience over time
So with my limited amount of knowledge on marketing, I hear the best thing to do is keep writing. As long as you keep putting work out there, you will (hopefully) have a better chance of finding an audience. Another good thing I hear is engage with readers. But that's one of those chicken before the egg kind of deals. How do you engage readers if you don't have any?
Hmm...
So what I'm wondering, is what are some strategies that you use or plan to use that won't make people ignore you or shut you out for annoying them? The "screaming into the void" method doesn't work for me. I've found that slowly getting to know people through social media is really the best option to find people with similar tastes and interests (and also find other cool writers). Getting 10,000 followers in a week is not feasible. I guess some people do it, but they're good at those kind of things. I get the feeling not all writers are marketing wizards. I'm certainly not...but I'd like to be!
I have no idea what I'm talking about, so if someone wants me to clarify anything I posted above, please feel free to ask.
a. Spending every waking hour promoting it
b. Spending tons of money buying up ads (although some ads aren't out of the question)
c. Spamming the hell out of people
I'd like to:
a. Reach a modest audience
b. Keep that modest audience
c. Grow the audience over time
So with my limited amount of knowledge on marketing, I hear the best thing to do is keep writing. As long as you keep putting work out there, you will (hopefully) have a better chance of finding an audience. Another good thing I hear is engage with readers. But that's one of those chicken before the egg kind of deals. How do you engage readers if you don't have any?
Hmm...
So what I'm wondering, is what are some strategies that you use or plan to use that won't make people ignore you or shut you out for annoying them? The "screaming into the void" method doesn't work for me. I've found that slowly getting to know people through social media is really the best option to find people with similar tastes and interests (and also find other cool writers). Getting 10,000 followers in a week is not feasible. I guess some people do it, but they're good at those kind of things. I get the feeling not all writers are marketing wizards. I'm certainly not...but I'd like to be!
I have no idea what I'm talking about, so if someone wants me to clarify anything I posted above, please feel free to ask.