My Preliminary Marketing Plan

[BWFoster78]

I’m an engineer, not a marketing guy. That being said, I understand that, as a future self-published author, I am responsible for my success and that marketing is a huge part of the equation to becoming a professional writer. I’m treating my first release as an experiment.

The following is my preliminary marketing plan. I welcome critiques and comments.

Things to do continuously:

Write — The most important thing I can do to become successful is to continue to roll out new products. Each release will sell backlist and give me a new revenue stream.

Produce quality product — I think some high profile successes prove that a quality product isn’t necessarily crucial for success. I do think that an emotionally engaging story is a necessity, but good technique is no surefire path to stardom. That being said, I can’t stomach the thought of putting complete dreck out there. I will also hire professional editing services and a graphic artist.

Things to do far in advance of my release date:

Develop my platform — I’m targeting a June 1, 2013 release date. Sometime near the end of February, I plan to covert my blog (brianwfoster.com | a blog about fiction writing featuring tips, reviews, and critiques) into a better platform that just links to the blog. I do not intend to do much else. I’m just not sure that Twitter is worth the effort. I’m still on the fence about Facebook. On one hand, I don’t think it will be that successful in generating new sales. On the other, I think there’s an expectation that a professional writer has a Facebook page. I can see someone who buys my book looking to Facebook as a way to follow future releases.

Research categories — Power of the Mages belongs in epic fantasy. Epic fantasy is dominated by the big names in fantasy. Does it make sense, then, for me to put my book in that category if I have no chance of getting a decently high ranking? I haven’t researched this yet, but my understanding is that fantasy has few subcategories and that all those are somewhat clogged by heavy weights. Does there exist non-fantasy categories where my book might fit? I think it’s worth at least investigating.

SEO — I will research phrases readers might use to search for my book. I’ll then incorporate those phrases into my Amazon book page in the hopes of making my book appear high on the list when that phrase is typed into the Amazon search box.

Publish my novelette — My plan is to make Abuse of Power available for free on my website and encourage anyone downloading it to sign up for my newsletter. I want to explore the effectiveness of Craigslist ads by using postings in 10 test markets. If I can’t get people to download a free book, I’ll know it’s not worth the time advertising my real book there. I also plan to contact book bloggers to try to get them to post a link to it. If nothing else, it will be a start in building my master blog list for future marketing.

Things to do in the month before release:

Contact 250 bloggers and Amazon reviewers — It’s tough to get reviews nowadays. Your only shot is a) quantity and b) a professional yet personal approach.

Get 20 commitments from select friends and fellow authors for reviews — I’m going to use the personal connections I’ve made to try to get 20 people to post reviews on my Amazon book page on May 31, 2013. The hope is that at least half will follow through.

Things to do near the release date:

Send personal emails or Facebook messages to all my friends — Let’s face it, most of the initial surge that a book a first time author releases is due to friends and family buying it. A Facebook post simply is not guaranteed to reach all of them. Personal emails will. In the email, I’ll list all the ways they can help me: buy the book, tell friends, like the Amazon book page, like good reviews of the book on Amazon, and post a review (with guidelines) on Amazon.

Ad Blitz — The more books you sell, the more books Amazon helps you sell. I want to take advantage of the initial surge from friends and family by using paid advertisements on Adwords and Goodreads, in targeted ezines, etc.

Announce the release on internet forums — There are several forums where I contribute regularly. It shouldn’t hurt to do a quick announcement on them.

Press releases — I’m not sure of the effectiveness. It can’t hurt, though, and shouldn’t take a lot of time.

Things to do after release:

Keep contacting book bloggers — A few emails sent a day isn’t going to eat too much into my productivity, and volume is the only way to ensure a lot of exposure.

Experiment with paid advertisements — Once my sales level out, I’ll post an ad with a site and measure the response. It will be good information for the future.

 

[JCFarnham]

Publish my novelette – My plan is to make Abuse of Power available for free on my website and encourage anyone downloading it to sign up for my newsletter. I want to explore the effectiveness of Craigslist ads by using postings in 10 test markets. If I can’t get people to download a free book, I’ll know it’s not worth the time advertising my real book there. I also plan to contact book bloggers to try to get them to post a link to it. If nothing else, it will be a start in building my master blog list for future marketing.

You really need to take into account the large amount of people out there who think free fiction = terrible poor quality fiction. You might be better off using your favoured platform to ensure some one reads your prose before they make a commitment (Amazon samples spring to mind but there's no good way to get feedback on that). You'll want to some how by pass the free = terrible falacy. It sounds stupid to treat people as though they're idiots but I know perfectly intelligent people who won't bother with a free book just because...

You have a decent plan though Brian.

I can't see anything else to comment on, as to be honest feedback would be a must before judging the effectiveness of any of this. Are there any Scribes who'd be will to act as a control in this? (ie, an example of what the norm is in order to sell well enough, in opposition to your moderately intense marketing work load.)

 

[BWFoster78]

You really need to take into account the large amount of people out there who think free fiction = terrible poor quality fiction.

JC,

I hear you and appreciate the comment. There's some information that I didn't include above that informs the decision, however.

I'm submitting the novelette for publication in an ezine. Obviously, there's no guarantee that it will be accepted, but, if it is, that does two things: a) it makes it available for free on the internet which means that I wouldn't feel right about then selling it and b) it gives me a little more credibility when offering it (The novelette, which was published in...).

Given those constraints, I think my plan is okay for it. Do you see other options for me?

Thanks again for the comment.

 

[Steerpike]

BWFoster:

If the ezine is a known quantity that pays professional rates, I think that association can be helpful. If not, I honestly doubt it will have much of an impact on the minds of a buyer in terms of credibility. Anyone can throw up an ezine in a couple of hours, and people know it. People who read short fiction in the genre are familiar with the professional-rate, respected publications and maybe a few of the semi-pros that have gained a reputation for quality.

I was once told by an editor of the top-paying online market at the time (Baen's) that if I had something published in anything other than a professional-rate paying market, don't even bother mentioning when making submissions because it makes it look like you can't command a pro rate (the assumption being that you don't have a professional product). In fact, his recommendation was to never even publish your work anywhere but in professional markets. While I think that's overstating the case and I wouldn't go quite so far as that, I do know that when I see people making reference to ezines where they've had other work published it only takes me a second to see if that ezine is really a feather in their cap or just one of many publications that will publish just about anything.

TL;DR version: make sure the associations you create are associations you want.

 

[BWFoster78]

BWFoster:

If the ezine is a known quantity that pays professional rates, I think that association can be helpful. If not, I honestly doubt it will have much of an impact on the minds of a buyer in terms of credibility. Anyone can throw up an ezine in a couple of hours, and people know it. People who read short fiction in the genre are familiar with the professional-rate, respected publications and maybe a few of the semi-pros that have gained a reputation for quality.

I was once told by an editor of the top-paying online market at the time (Baen's) that if I had something published in anything other than a professional-rate paying market, don't even bother mentioning when making submissions because it makes it look like you can't command a pro rate (the assumption being that you don't have a professional product). In fact, his recommendation was to never even publish your work anywhere but in professional markets. While I think that's overstating the case and I wouldn't go quite so far as that, I do know that when I see people making reference to ezines where they've had other work published it only takes me a second to see if that ezine is really a feather in their cap or just one of many publications that will publish just about anything.

TL;DR version: make sure the associations you create are associations you want.

Good point. Thanks for the advice.

EDIT: Hmmm. Did a little thinking about this.

The concept of mentioning the ezine is about trying to get the blogger to recommend a free story. To do that, I need them to read the story. My thinking was: if I tell them it was published, this means that they'll be more likely to read it since it indicates "someone" thought it was good enough to publish.

If that blogger is willing to go through the effort of looking up the ezine, they're probably willing to go through the effort of reading the story, which is what I want. The story then should speak to the quality of my writing.

Thoughts?

 

[Kim]

I like your plan, Brian. I think I am going to try a few things myself. Thanks for posting it.

 

[BWFoster78]

I like your plan, Brian. I think I am going to try a few things myself. Thanks for posting it.

Kim,

Thanks for the comment.

I've noticed that posts like this in the marketing section get a lot of views but not many replies. I'm hoping that some of this stuff is helping someone. I know that when I started researching this stuff, I was lost as a goose. I finally feel like I'm starting to get some kind of handle on it, though I still have a lot of questions and items to research.

Glad to hear that you got benefit out of it.

Brian

 

[Zero Angel]

Research categories – Power of the Mages belongs in epic fantasy. Epic fantasy is dominated by the big names in fantasy. Does it make sense, then, for me to put my book in that category if I have no chance of getting a decently high ranking? I haven’t researched this yet, but my understanding is that fantasy has few subcategories and that all those are somewhat clogged by heavy weights. Does there exist non-fantasy categories where my book might fit? I think it’s worth at least investigating.

I'm sure there are some non-fantasy categories for you! Although bear in mind that you only get to pick a couple of these. I think it helps. For instance, over the last week my best author rank in Kindle Action-Adventure is #1,437, but Kindle Fantasy's best is #2,297. Obviously this doesn't really matter until I break into the top hundreds list, but it's still somewhat gratifying and much nicer to think about then not being in the top 100K authors. Wish they had data for when my book first released!

Also, I've had limited success with Craigslist--but it's so easy and doesn't take up much time so I keep doing it. Once a month I log on to the two Craigslist markets closest to my habitation and post a "local author's book" ad. I save the HTML to OneNote so all I have to do is copy and paste and include a couple of pictures like my book cover, a press release and a flyer.

There is also a "Weekly Bargain Bulletin" in my region that does free ads and I log onto that every two weeks to post a quick 3-line blurb advertising my book.

Are you doing a print version? I highly recommend it as a way to open doors. Libraries, stores, book fairs, flea markets and more all want authors that can actually sign their books and have something physical to hawk. This recommendation comes from someone that has those doors closed to them (although I occasionally wiggle through).

 

[Devor]

I was once told by an editor of the top-paying online market at the time (Baen's) that if I had something published in anything other than a professional-rate paying market, don't even bother mentioning when making submissions because it makes it look like you can't command a pro rate (the assumption being that you don't have a professional product).

I've been given very similar advice about a wide range of topics when I was in college, from business credentials to actors and screenwriters. I've absolutely come to believe that's the way to shoot for the top. The word is qualify. You're building a brand for yourself, and it's better to have minor credits in a place that pushes for excellence than minor credentials in a place that doesn't. Set yourself a bar and find some way to crack into it.

 

[BWFoster78]

I'm sure there are some non-fantasy categories for you! Although bear in mind that you only get to pick a couple of these. I think it helps. For instance, over the last week my best author rank in Kindle Action-Adventure is #1,437, but Kindle Fantasy's best is #2,297. Obviously this doesn't really matter until I break into the top hundreds list, but it's still somewhat gratifying and much nicer to think about then not being in the top 100K authors. Wish they had data for when my book first released!

Books can fit in any number of categories. I think Power of the Mages has the following elements: fantasy, romance, coming of age, action/adventure, YA characters, war, and political thriller.

Of course, it's really an epic fantasy, so I don't know how much it will work in those other categories. It's worth a little bit of research, though.

Also, I've had limited success with Craigslist--but it's so easy and doesn't take up much time so I keep doing it. Once a month I log on to the two Craigslist markets closest to my habitation and post a "local author's book" ad. I save the HTML to OneNote so all I have to do is copy and paste and include a couple of pictures like my book cover, a press release and a flyer.

I don't hold out a lot of hope, but it's really easy. Why only the market near where you live, though?

If I get any kind of positive response at all, I'm considering paying my niece $10 to post on a hundred markets at once.

Are you doing a print version? I highly recommend it as a way to open doors. Libraries, stores, book fairs, flea markets and more all want authors that can actually sign their books and have something physical to hawk. This recommendation comes from someone that has those doors closed to them (although I occasionally wiggle through).

I'm definitely doing POD. I have a lot of questions about book signings and the like.

Will bookstores order your book for a signing or do I have to purchase a bunch? I'm thinking the latter, and don't know if the risk is worth any potential gain. What kind of pricepoint do you have on your physical copy and what's your profit margin? The great thing about POD and ebooks is not having to deal with stock.

 

[BWFoster78]

I've been given very similar advice about a wide range of topics when I was in college, from business credentials to actors and screenwriters. I've absolutely come to believe that's the way to shoot for the top. The word is qualify. You're building a brand for yourself, and it's better to have minor credits in a place that pushes for excellence than minor credentials in a place that doesn't. Set yourself a bar and find some way to crack into it.

This kind of has the feel of: the big publishers are still the gatekeepers. Get your work approved by them to be validated.

Does this go against the spirit of self publishing?

 

[Zero Angel]

I don't hold out a lot of hope, but it's really easy. Why only the market near where you live, though?

If I get any kind of positive response at all, I'm considering paying my niece $10 to post on a hundred markets at once.

I just find it easier to bank on the "local author" base and haven't considered branching out farther. This sounds like a good thing for me to have my fiancee do for me though. Definitely use HTML to make your advertisement pretty though! (or at least prettier).

Will bookstores order your book for a signing or do I have to purchase a bunch? I'm thinking the latter, and don't know if the risk is worth any potential gain. What kind of pricepoint do you have on your physical copy and what's your profit margin? The great thing about POD and ebooks is not having to deal with stock.

Most of this is based on research (both reading/looking up and talking to booksellers/authors/etc).
My answer to bookstores ordering or purchasing yourself is: both. It really depends on their policies and if you are a good salesman. For corporate bookstores, if you have a book available through an "acceptable" distribution channel (one that does consignment and offers the appropriate discounts), then remind them to order a few extra copies for your author appearance (but have a few extra just in case--remember that you make more profit selling your book yourself than through a store).

If your distributor doesn't do consignment (if it's POD then probably not), then consider offering them on consignment yourself even if it is just for the time period directly around the author signing with the understanding that you will take any unsold copies.

BTW If you ever wondered how flea markets will get books without a cover to sell, it's because bookstores rip off the covers and "throw away" the books--it would be too expensive to return the books to the publisher. This is why I recommend specifying what to do with unsold books.

One worry I have is that now even indie bookstores are jumping on the no-CreateSpace books (luckily I will have other options, but others should consider the pros and cons).

There's a couple byproducts to purchasing your books yourself to sell, and one is that your sales rank goes up. Depending on the kind of crowds you are expecting to get, I would anticipate always having at least 5-10 books handy to sell yourself. And by always, I mean always--keep them in your trunk (UK English: boot?), have one in your briefcase/book bag (preferably protected from bends and folds).
If you start getting speaking events or ever go to a book fair or convention, then expect a lot more if you have the art and sales experience to back up your writing.

As far as price point goes, it depends on the size of your book and how much investment you've put into it. My view is that your eBook is the work horse and your dead tree book is your show horse. Use your dead tree book for marketing, appearances and the like, but if someone is up in the air between buying your eBook and buying your dead tree book, encourage the eBook (all other considerations being equal of course--don't encourage someone to do something that is a bad choice for their situation). My novel will be offered at $12.95 and at this price point, I am making less than half the profit I do off a single eBook.

I got a lot of information from Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual. Although I read the 2003 edition, not the current. I would expect the current hopefully takes into account the recent changes with eBooks and all, but even if not, it still has a lot of information on dead tree books.

This kind of has the feel of: the big publishers are still the gatekeepers. Get your work approved by them to be validated.

Does this go against the spirit of self publishing?

Except they're not as big as the Big 6. What I recommend is start with the venues listed here: www.sfwa.org/join-us/sfwa-membership-requirements/#shortfiction and then move on to the venues gotten by going to https://duotrope.com/search.aspx and clicking on "Genre: Fantasy" and "Payment: Pro".

Also cross-reference these lists with (at least) the 25 fastest responding markets on duotrope and (if desired) rank all of the venues above by response time so you have an idea of who is going to respond the fastest. I always send a story to Clarkesworld Magazine first because they respond within a couple of days, are a qualifying venue for SFWA membership and are also on the top 25 most challenging markets to boot!

 

[Devor]

This kind of has the feel of: the big publishers are still the gatekeepers. Get your work approved by them to be validated.

You're reading too much into it.

 

[BWFoster78]

Zero,

Thanks for the good information.

I'm leaning toward not making physical book copies a major part of my effort. I'll definitely make POD available, and I'll make pre-ordering available on my website because I know some friends/family are going to want hardcopies. Otherwise, I don't think that, at this point, trying to hawk my books at book signings or conventions is a productive use of my time.