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Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Uncategorized

Marketing BASICS : Ascertaining Your Ideal Reader

Welcome back to Wednesdays on Self Publishing Advisor, where we tackle the intricacies of marketing each and every week in the hopes of making your life as an indie, hybrid, or self-publishing author just a little bit easier.  This is actually the third post in a series examining marketing B.A.S.I.C.S.––yes, that’s an acronym! but more on that later––with a particular emphasis on marketing for new or first-time authors.  It all began two weeks ago with this introductory post, and continued last week with an in-depth look at the “B” in B.A.S.I.C.S.: “Building an Online Presence.”  This week, we’re ready for a new letter and a new sub-topic.  What does the letter “A” stand for, then?  Simple: “Ascertaining Your Ideal Reader.”  This is one of the most important and foundational of steps to crafting a successful marketing strategy.

What is this “Ideal Reader” business??

Your ideal reader is not simply the person who buys your book; he or she is the person who falls in love with the world your book creates and actively looks for ways to participate in that world, whether by following you (the author) on social media or sharing your book with others.  They’re not invested solely out of obligation––which is to say, they’re most likely not members of your immediate family or friend circle.  As wonderful as your existing network of relationships is, and as useful as your friends and family can be––as cheerleaders and amplifiers in your marketing campaign––they first fell in love with you and not your book, and that is always going to be a complicated tightrope to walk.

Your ideal reader, on the other hand, is a fan; but more than this, he or she is engaged with your book outside of the text as defined by letters inked on a page or pixels shadowing a screen.  Your ideal reader will slide your book into a back pocket while walking the dog or slip it into the diaper bag when taking the kids to story hour at the library; she’ll talk about it over the headset while duking it out with her friends on the Xbox or he’ll pass his dog-eared battered copy on to a friend or someone will drop it reluctantly by a Little Free Library––not giving it up because they didn’t have a use for it anymore, but rather giving it up because they’re fairly certain someone else might need it very much indeed.  These people are your mediators, your access, and your ambassadors to the world.

What does an ideal reader have to do with marketing, anyway?

As with any product, your book needs someone to buy it.  You can try to move copies by being absurdly wealthy and getting your superPAC to buy and then distribute thousands of volumes to local libraries in the vague hope that people will discover it while browsing and magically translate that discovery into a sudden impulse to buy more copies and distribute them to friends and family––but I’d be lying if I told you this is a time-honored or even remotely effective strategy.  Time and again, authors who meet their own personal benchmarks for “success” (and the word means something different to everyone) point to these sudden spikes or “strategic bulk” purchases as unethical, while grassroots support from middle or low-income readers who actually love your book enough to buy it despite limited resources tends to lead to long-term sustainable sales.  It goes without saying that people who have a personal, political, or financial stake in promoting your book are useful … but they can also unintentionally sabotage your success if they make your book about themselves, or about anything other than untrammeled storytelling.  And in order to find your grassroots supporters, you have to know where they live (so to speak), and the language they use (literally but also figuratively) to share what they love.

How do I track down my ideal reader, then?

Your ideal reader, if you’re an author of nonfiction, can be identified according to what problem he or she is trying to solve––whether that problem is the reader’s dependency on sugar for energy (a dietary self-help book, perhaps) or the upcoming dinner he’s throwing for the in-laws (a Mediterranean cookbook, perhaps) or her desire to fill a gap in her understanding (of particle physics, or a history of bipartisan politics in America, or the internal hierarchy of multinational corporations).  If you’re an author of fiction, your ideal reader is defined as someone who, when looking for new material to read, is drawn to the type of content or genre or characterization or form which you like to write––in other words, your ideal reader is someone whose tastes in consumption corresponds directly with your tastes in production.  There are many other people who might read your book and enjoy it or benefit from it, but they are baptized into the fold rather than the founders of it.

ideal readers self-publishing

Now, your book many bend genre traditions.  It may be so utterly innovative that the usual metrics of comparison––genre, plotting, etc––break down entirely.  And that’s entirely wonderful, even if it makes identifying your ideal reader just a touch more difficult.  If this is the case for you, instead of trying to jam your book into the confines of a neat description, ask yourself: What do I like to read?  What works of art and music and film move me?  Where do I like to go to discover new reading material?  These make for the simplest and most effective path to finding your readers.

 

Once you find your ideal reader, what next?  Well, you make it worth their while to buy your book.  And that’s where next week’s blog post comes in.  Make sure to check back here next Wednesday!  There’s so much more to come.

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. ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
ebooks, Elise Speaks, from the archives, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

From the Archives: “Top 5 Considerations for Effectively Pricing Your Self-Published Book”

Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

∗∗∗∗∗

[ Originally posted: February 3rd, 2011 ]

“Is my book too expensive?”

“Am I selling myself short?”

Traditionally-published authors usually don’t have any control over the price of their book. As a self-published author, though, how can you make sure you have priced your book appropriately? There is no hard and fast rule, unfortunately. However, here are a few things to consider while coming up with a pricing strategy for self-publishing a book:

  1. How much royalty will you earn from every book sale? If you’re planning on writing full-time, you want to make sure you’re making a sustainable amount per book ($1.50 – $2.75 is reasonable).
  2. What is your target market? Is your intended reader a teenager or an affluent attorney? You want to keep your audience in mind so that you don’t price yourself out of the market. You won’t be very successful if your ideal reader can’t afford to buy your book.
  3. Where do you want to sell your book? Trade discounts often determine where a book is sold. Most online retailers are fine with a short trade discount (less than 40%). However, big box stores, such as Borders, Barnes&Noble, etc. require at least a 50% discount (in addition to a solid marketing plan and full return-ability) to consider carrying your book. If you can’t imagine self-publishing your book without it being stocked on the shelves of your nearest B&N, you should consider going with 50% (though it will cut down on your royalties).
  4. How has your competition priced their books? Research books similar to yours. Make sure the page count is similar, it was published recently, and hopefully self-published. You don’t want to price your book too high above (or too low beneath) these books.
  5. Have you asked an expert? Now is not the time to guess. This is your livelihood. Your best bet is to employ the services of someone who is already familiar with the self-publishing industry, like a Publishing Consultant. These people know the book business, and they can help you with questions like these.

DISCUSSION: How did you decide on a price for your book?

– by Elise L. Connors

I absolutely love Elise’s post on ebook pricing, especially since most of the points hold steady in the face of a rapidly changing market.  There’s very little that’s the same in 2016 as it used to be in 2012 when it comes to the world of self-publishing in digital formats––except for this!  And while some figures may require updating––and Borders has gone altogether out of business––I cannot think of better advice than what Elise gave us in these five simple points.

online shopping

One recent event has, of course, dramatically altered the parameters by which you should set your ebook’s price: Hachette won its suit against Amazon.  What does this mean?  Why should indie authors care about a battle between an online retailer and a traditional publishing company?  I can think of several reasons.

One: Amazon is far and away the largest online retailer of ebooks, outpacing Barnes & Noble by leaps and bounds and leaving Apple’s iBook store and the Google Play store to contend for the last percentages of the market with their book subscription services and bundles.

And two: Hachette’s win means that Amazon no longer gets to keep ebook prices artificially low––justifiably low, in Amazon’s opinion––as the prices of ebooks put out by the Big Five traditional publishing houses cannot be reduced by the third party online seller.  As a consequence, ebook prices have been soaring––as the Big Five set higher prices to rake in more profit, many self-publishing authors are following suit because of the luxury principle; they don’t want their books to be assumed inferior in quality just because they’re less expensive.

A lot of factors go into your price-setting decision.  Are you looking mostly for exposure?  If you are, then selling your book at a dramatically reduced price (say, a $0.99 deal) may well get your book in front of more pairs of eyes than if you price it higher (say, around $9.99).  A low price might also help lure in readers who are itching to try a new book but only have a little free cash to risk.  But a low price cuts into your royalties, and for Amazon especially the highest royalties (around 70%) come when you price your book around the $2.99 sweet spot.  You may lose a few risk-conscious readers, but you only need one reader to purchase your book to every two who turn away in order to break even in your royalties when you boost your price to $2.99.

Your book’s genre and length can also play a role.  Remember Elise’s fourth point, above?  If you’ve written a book that falls neatly to a particular genre (or perhaps, relates un-neatly to several) then you should take a long look at how similar novels of a similar length and style are being priced.  All books are wonderful things and no genre is inherently more “literary” than another, but a pragmatic author must recognize that human perception is flawed and nowhere near as egalitarian as we’d like.  This is to say, romances, Westerns, science fiction, and fantasy tend to be priced more cheaply than, say, a travelogue or political exposé.  You don’t want to price your book outside of your ideal reader’s expected range.

In a lot of ways, it’s easy to lose sight of your vision for your book when the price dominates conversation.  Here’s my advice for pricing an ebook in 2016: Do your research, consult an expert, and make the call.  Don’t spend too much time deliberating, or you’re missing out on the most important thing that you as an author can be doing: writing another book!  ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
amazon reviews, Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized, weekly self published book review

Saturday Book Review: “I Love Grass”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of the Midwest Book Review:

I Love Grass by Maria Boston

I Love Grass

by Maria Boston

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781478725688

Synopsis:

Do you love grass?

There are so many things to love about grass. We can love the way it looks, the way it smells – even the way it changes its green from season to season! Read on to add to your experiences with grass.

Maria Boston has always written children’s stories. She pulls on her rich experiences from her own and her daughters’ childhoods. “I Love Grass” is her first published book. She lives in Virginia with her two daughters and their dog.

Critique:

I Love Grass is a textured, craft-filled, illustrated essay on grass for children age 6 and up. Carefully photographed works of textured needlecraft and carpet samples present colored illustrations of a gentle narrative description of grass, progressing through the seasons, exploring the rich colors, different flowers and plants that grow in grass, and living inhabitants of the grass such as bugs, insects, or even humans. I Love Grass is a multimedia celebration of grass, presented in fastidious portraits of creative craft and yarn needlework, incorporating joyous observations of each vision of all the different shades and kinds of grass.

[ reviewed on the Easy Reader Shelf at MBR ]

Here’s what some other reviewers are saying:

I just received this book and had to review it right away. I absolutely loved it. I review a lot of children books, so I think I know when I see a good one, and I have to say, this is a good one.

First, I have to say I really love the art work in this book. All the pictures are out of yarn. The houses, bench, grass, sky, ground, flowers, etc. It really adds to the creativity of I Love Grass. Each time the “grass” changes, you get to see from the different colors of yarn. I believe this will really hold a child’s attention when they see it. There is also a little grass design on all the pages with words. It is just a beautiful book.

Second, the story. It is just as cute as the book. You can really tell how passionately the author feels about grass and how much she really wants one to love it just the same. Her words are simple, so a younger reader can read it to themselves. One can also learn from it as the author explains the different changes and seasons and shows it along with the pictures in the book. The book isn’t very long so young children’s attention won’t be lost.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I think everyone should get I Love Grass for their kids. They will love it and want to read it over and over again.

– Amazon Reviewer Allergykidmom

I don’t have young children but saw this book on a friend’s coffee table and after reading it, I wanted a copy for myself. What caught my attention was the amazing imagery. It is absolutely beautiful!!! The author created all the images out of yarn. How creative! I couldn’t put it down.

So I read it to my cousin, who is more than 40 years younger than me (see how I didn’t give my age away?) She loved it! She asked me to read it a few more times that night so I’m thinking children really like this children’s book as much as I do.

If you are a fan of table books and or have young children, I don’t think you can go wrong with this book. As an adult, it inspired me to get my creativity on! (I hide it when my young cousins visit though. Don’t want icky, sticky children’s fingerprints all over it!)

– Amazon Reviewer Miss G

There are so many things to love about grass. We can love the way it looks, the way it smells – even the way it changes its green from season to season! Read on to add to your experiences with grass.  I Love Grass is a refreshing return to life’s simple pleasures. The book brings out the nature-lover in every child by calling their attention to this, and other, wonders of Earth.

I Love Grass returns young readers to a simpler time of wonderment over the marvels of the natural world. The newly released book by children’s author Maria Boston is published by Outskirts Press.

The first in a new series of children’s books, I Love Grass offers an alternative focus to today’s juvenile reader. The book draws their attention from the mind-numbing stimuli of electronics and computer-generated graphics back to organic things of beauty. It’s the story of one child’s excitement over something so simply ethereal – an oft-unnoticed and unappreciated patch of grass. Through this overlooked foliage, the young girl learns to appreciate the beauty of Earth’s abundance, and revels in the quiet presence of nature.

Parents will appreciate the lessons in I Love Grass, a book that inspires quiet introspection and helps lay the foundation necessary to build future generations of environmentally conscious adults.

– Blogger Apple Blossom of The Blended Blog

Book Trailer:

saturday self-published book review

Thanks for reading!  Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space every Saturday!

Self Publishing Advisor

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Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Holidays, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 1/15/2016

IT’S A NEW DAY! NEW MONTH! NEW YEAR!

Audience Expectations Are Running HIGH

 

Lots of authors I know expound on the concept that there is a “very thin line” between writing for yourself and writing for your audience. Every time I hear this I challenge that thinking. I’ve come to understand that there is NO LINE AT ALL and I suggest to my writing students (and clients) that they constantly weave the two perspectives together. This allows for authenticity to resonate within lives of every character no matter how many developing stages they pass through. It also sets the stage for writers to add the intrigue of unexpected reactions when the plot turns against a favorite character. C. S. Lewis wrote: “When we lose one blessing another one is often most unexpectedly given in its place.” This is an excellent writing perspective that enhances both Reader and Author expectations of exceptional writing.

cs lewis

Have you ever heard of an old theater drama called the Saturday Afternoon Serial? They were designed to leave their audience “dangling off a cliff” of excitement at the end of that Saturday film segment so they’d come again the next Saturday to discover what happened next. Often the writers themselves had no idea what might happen next—which is the perfect picture of writer/audience expectations woven tightly together. How did they do it?

FIRST—they had to know their characters inside and out—especially the odd, quirky things each character might do in a crisis. Wikipedia gives excellent definitions of the consistent characters audiences could expect to find in these mini-stories and if they weren’t there, the theater lost patrons. These character types exist in every book and film in existence. It is up to each writer to make them into unique individuals that today’s audience will love.

  • “The saddle pal or sidekick was the helper or assistant of the hero or heroine. That person was most often a bumbling comic or a more serious, steady assistant.
  • The brains heavy was the man (or, on occasion, woman) who issued the orders to his henchmen. He often wears a suit, and pretends to be an upright, lawful member of the community. He usually has little to actually DO until the last chapter except talk, snarl, grind his teeth in anger or grimace.
  • The action heavy is the assistant or second-in-command to the brains heavy who usually wore workmanlike duds, did the physical labor, and often had more brawn than brains. He went from one chapter to the next trying desperately to kill the hero with fists, knives, guns, bombs, or whatever else was handy at the time.
  • The oldtimer was the man that (a) owned the ranch, (b) was the father of the hero (or heroine) and often had a short film lifespan, as well (3) those who wore the badge of a Sheriff, Marshall, or Ranger.
  • The middle-aged and older performers who were judges, lawyers, storeowners, wardens, owners of the local newspaper, attorneys, judges, scientists, executives, or professors.”

 

Does any of this sound familiar in the books and films your reading/watching today? This is how Charles Dickens wrote the famous novel/film OLIVER. This is how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle developed the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is how the TV “serial” LOST was written by J.J. Abrams. They are cliffhanger authors whose work has withstood the test of time—AS yours’ will—while you enjoy the process of weaving audience expectations together with your own. And, as you fall in love with writing like this, publishers and readers will fall in love with you! ⚓︎

 

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, search engine optimization, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

Marketing BASICS : Building an Online Presence

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m taking Wednesdays back to the B.A.S.I.C.S. of marketing for your self-published book.  And step one of every really effective marketing strategy in the silicon age requires us to tackle the “B” in B.A.S.I.C.S.: Building an Online Presence.  Given that you’re reading this blog post on the web, I’m going to assume you have already been initiated into the manifold wonders of the internet age, but I’m also going to assume that you’re starting your latest book marketing campaign from the ground up––which is to say, you’re looking to begin with that all-important keystone of any such strategy: motivation.

SIDE NOTE

I’m not going to lie: marketing your self-published book is hard.  Really hard.  It will requires a lot of time, energy, and trust––trust in yourself and your own capacity to make wise choices that fit your own project.  Without this trust, authors risk losing focus as they get sucked into a whirlpool of self-doubt and second-guessing.  I recommend skipping this arduous process entirely by embracing your own insight and the sometimes radical notion that you really can make good choices.  I know that you can, and I’m a perfect stranger!  Just think: you may be fixating at present on some of your own limitations, but you also have a front-row seat to your personal portfolio of strengths and skills!  Let’s put them to work in marketing.

BACK TO THE PROGRAM

The real reason to begin your book marketing campaign with a strong web presence is the simple fact that a comprehensive bundle of platforms––such as an author website, a blog site, as well as accounts on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and even Instagram or Snapchat––is both an effective and inexpensive way to reach new readers.  We’ve written about many of these platforms before here on Self Publishing Advisor, in last year’s Social Media Primer and as far back as 2013 with Wendy’s discourse on improving blogs, but the fact remains that authors are presented with something of a moving target.

New platforms are becoming available all of the time, while less popular ones or ones that have outlived their usefulness are archived or excised from the web altogether.  This is why I used the key phrase “comprehensive bundle of platforms” above: to indicate that an effective presence requires a flexible, adaptable set of options––and above all, the freedom to experiment with emerging technologies as well as the courage to abandon unhelpful ones.  My own recent experiences with Twitter and Snapchat make for a good illustration; I’ve found a healthy and important niche for my Twitter use in broadcasting updates and news about my current work and upcoming publications, but I haven’t quite found a marketable use for Snapchat.  I tried, enjoyed it for a spell, and could even see quite a lot of potential there … but I could never quite invest in it the creative energy required to make it a success.  So I shut my account down in order to spend that time more effectively on platforms that better fit with my personality and web usage.

TWO TIPS

  • Your websites and blogs should be streamlined and easy to navigate; they must both catch a visitor’s eye and capture a visitor’s interest in regards to content, as well as make it easy for even the most unfamiliar of visitors to learn about and buy your book.  In building your websites, you can choose from among a whole host of free services, including WordPress (which is what we use), or Blogspot, or Tumblr, but whatever route you take you ought to consider purchasing your own domain name.  Make it something intuitive and easy to remember; many authors choose to use either their pen-names or the titles of their books as domain name inspiration.
  • Consistency is key.  Whether we’re talking about blog posts or social media updates, creating a sense of routine and reliability is important.  It both makes you more findable (especially if you integrate the tricks of SEO or Search Engine Optimization into your postings) and more trustworthy.  You  might even work up a schedule of what sorts of materials to post on which days of the week, as we do here at Self Publishing Advisor.  You know from following this blog in the past that every Monday we run through the major self-publishing related news items of the week, and every Saturday we run a book review compendium of a self-published book.  Because you know this, you already know that a) you can trust us to post new material on a regular basis, and b) which days of the week you’re most interested in spending some quality time on our website.

So that’s the “B” in B.A.S.I.C.S. … or at least, that’s a place to start!  There’s so much more to come.

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. ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.