More and more I see authors frustrated with their marketing efforts. I've had many claim they are "just bad marketers". It breaks my heart. I too struggle with marketing--I struggle with what to do, how much to spend, how much time I can afford, how to measure the results and how to balance my time. It is a balancing act, but I don't give up on it because I come back to my self proclaimed definition of marketing. mar·ket·ing märkitiNG/ verb: marketing
Marketing is never a noun to me because you are always practicing your marketing. From here I'm going to give you some options. If you need: 1. A pick-me up: go HERE. 2. Inspiration: go HERE. 3. How to balance your time: see below. 4. What the hell to do: go HERE. One of the complaints I see is: "I spend so much time on marketing that I don't get writing done." I'm going to be harsh here so weak-minded please turn around and pick a link above. Yes, you have no time for writing because YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. Yes, that needed a meme.
If you're complaining that you're not writing, spending all your time on Facebook, then why are you not making writing the first priority? Why are you not timing yourself, making word count goals and setting reasonable time limits? Why are you not doing something fun when marketing? By all means--go write. Now I wrote about balancing your time and here's my secret. It's called--self control. I have a stop watch on my phone set to 90 minutes and every time that sucker counts down to zero, I get up, walk around, get water, walk the dog, do yoga and go back for another 90 minutes. It's so easy nobody does it. Except me. Because I'm all for easy. Easy is my middle name. Just ask my boyfriend. Wait...that sounded better in my...never you mind. I think one of the real problems is writers don't think about writing as a priority. Yes, marketing is a priority. Talking to fans is a priority. You also have to think about how much time you can afford and also, you need to think about where your marketing efforts should be spent. Five hours on Facebook isn't necessarily marketing time. Retweeting on twitter isn't marketing--it's promotion. Which is a whole other post you can find HERE. (The difference between marketing and promotions) ACTION ITEM: Really you should have it all. Promotions, writing, spending time with family. Cruise through my marketing and promotions lessons by using the Marketing and Monday Marketing and Promotion categories to get some ideas.
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My efforts are to make this a learning blog where writers can see the flip side of publishing. If you have comments that will improve your experience or have a certain topic you'd like discussed, please contact me through email - HERE. ~ Sincerley, Your Editor Stephanie McKibben Head Troll Troll River Publications Books on Kindle
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