Together, we conquer, divided we fall. This is true is many aspects of life, and it is especially true in business. With that thought in mind, I wanted to discuss how joining forces with another business is a great way to grow and promote your company (and hopefully theirs too!).
Networking is crucial in the book marketing and writing world. Through networking, you can make important connections with other authors that can lead to new insights for marketing strategies that the two authors, before meeting, may never have considered. Sharing ideas is the first way to join forces with another “business”/author. Talk about what has worked best for you on your website and social media pages and ask how another author runs a successful marketing campaign for their books.
If, through sharing ideas, you decide that you could benefit one another’s business, start strategizing with them. Two heads are always better than one, and it always takes an army just to get a book in published form in the first place. Working with someone else can open up possibilities that might seem too daunting to take on alone.
For example, if you want to host an event but don’t want to do so alone, joining up with another local author who will help with the logistics, social outreach and hosting of the event, it becomes a much more reasonable task. This benefits both of your businesses (if the event is a success), because both of your names will be attached to it and you can both promote your work during and after the event as well.
Another key way to utilize another business is to team up when creating discounts and/or giveaways. Strategically place your books on sale and promote one another’s at the same time during the holiday season and beyond! You scratch my authorial back…kind of thing. You then both gain access to one another’s clientele that you would not have had otherwise.
Utilize the online sphere and host one another on each of your blogs and/or websites, social media pages, etc. You can do this by featuring a review of that author’s book on your blog and then asking them to do the same for you in exchange. Or simply write up a bio of them with a link to their website page as an equally effective means of promoting them (and in turn, yourself). You could also promote a vlog style interview of that author and vice versa, featuring them as an author in general or asking them specifically about their latest or greatest release.
Whatever you do, always make sure that the joining of forces is mutually beneficial and not parasitic on one end or the other. It is equally as important to make sure you hold true to your end of the plan as it is to hold the other person accountable for them. Being taking advantage of, or taking advantage of another person is unacceptable and a great way to burn bridges and leave you swimming in high tide with no life vest…at peak runoff…in a lightning storm. Or something like that.
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 