Continuing in the vein of growing your business or brand as an author, I want to talk about how you can hone in on what product or service it is you provide. As an author, your product is probably books, right? You might also offer other services though, such as freelance writing, editing, illustrating etc. Make a list of the products or services you supply and pick the most important item from each. It’s important to focus on the most important “thing” you want your business to be known for. Having too many options or services to market and sell will be overwhelming not only for you, but also for your customers.
The first step to ensuring you can expose your product or service to the marketplace is to, of course, market them. Marketing is definitely the dead horse we beat on this blog, but it is a crucial piece of being a self-published author. Here are some easy ways to market your book or writing services:
- Social media! Use relevant hashtags (if you’re stumped, google relevant hashtags for ideas). Add and follow people and actively comment on their posts to get your name out there and encourage them to look on your page. Be active on forums, blogs, your website, etc.
- Local events. Host local readings, poetry slams, etc. to network with other local authors.
- Engage with those who already consume your products to ensure a good business/customer relation that will continue on in the future.
The next step is selling your product. Do you have a website where people can easily purchase your books or contact you for your services? Do your social media pages have links to your website? Do you have business cards to hand out at events?
You want there to be a certain ease of purchasing products for your customers. There’s nothing more annoying than a broken “purchase” link, or a giant “out of stock” next to your item. Make sure you have product to sell and make sure you have a means for people to buy it. If you go on tour, think about investing in a “square reader” for your iPhone so that if someone wants to buy your book and they don’t have cash you don’t lose that sale. Often someone will want to buy something on the spot, but if the opportunity passes, they will talk themselves out of it later or forget about it entirely, losing you a sale. Always be prepared to sell. This could be as simple as keeping books in your car or bag so that if you strike up a conversation with someone on the subway you have the opportunity to show them your work, or maybe even sell it.
Ultimately, once you’ve identified what you’re in the “business” of selling, it should be relatively easy to figure out how it is you can grow your business. Once you’ve nailed down who your customer base is and figured out how best to market to them, it’s time to streamline a way to sell your products and services to them.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com. And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠
Self Publishing Advisor 