How to be an Indie Author 7: 44 Marketing Tactics

This is the seventh post in a series about self-publishing from ideation through sales. To check out other posts in this series, click here.

Last time I finished up publishing by going over the special considerations of print-on-demand. This time, I'm going to talk about selling books, specifically, techniques indie authors can use to market their books.

[insert noun here] sells books.

First let me start out by saying, I have no goddamn clue what I am doing. None. I devour EVERYTHING on marketing I can find. I subscribe to a variety of newsletters for just this purpose. I ask everyone I know for advice and suggestions. So far, it remains a mystery to me.

That said, I recently decided to make some major changes to my marketing efforts and while on that journey have had some failures and made other mistakes. And I have so much more to do. One thing, which comes up again and again in marketing articles and blogs I read is know your target audience. This will make everything else either worth it or a waste of time. This is not a simple thing. You should create basically a character - as if you were writing about them. You should know everything about this person. Where do they live? Where do they hang out? Who are their friends? Gender? Age? Education? Socio-economic status? Religion? Everything.

I have been, historically, terrible at connecting with the demographics who would be interested in my books (I think). As part of my new marketing efforts, I'm going to revisit these questions and re-evaluate my current efforts. It's okay. I know I've made mistakes in every aspect of the publishing process and I've made the most in marketing.  I also have a lot of things left to try (So many options for awesome!).

Now you're wondering, why would you read about marketing from someone who has no idea what they are doing and hasn't tried just as many things?

*Smirks*

Because then you know what didn't work for me (or what I have yet to do - which is honestly a lot) and maybe you can do it better. When you go through this stuff, write to me, and tell me what worked for you. Seriously!

Please note, I am listing all these things because they DID work for some authors. They may work for you (especially if you're dialed into your target audience). You may have a better handle on things than I do or did. You may understand social media better, or have more evangelizing friends than I do, or have books in an easier to sell niche. Also, it should be stated that I am incredibly, notoriously, impatient. I may not have given enough time for things to work. Maybe I could have tweaked one thing and it would have been enough. I don't know. Regardless, in no particular order, here is the list of things you can do or places where you can go to market your book as an indie:

1. Blog - not sure how many sales I've gotten through my blogs - I think they don't really reach the same demographics as my books. I'm not sure how I feel about that...one way or another. I think this works best if you have a devout fanbase or write specifically for your demographic/brand.
2. Tweet (has been a mixed bag for me). It's fun, and if done well, can generate interest, or at least buzz.
3. Instagram (haven't done this) - this is a good place if you take a lot of pictures and are trying to reach female millennials.
4. Tumblr (haven't done this) - some people have turned their tumblrs into book deals. Not sure exactly how this works, but tumblr has a book liaison person so, it happens regularly.
5. Google + - I get a lot of profile views and infrequently get +1s for my blog posts, but I don't know how helpful it has been as far as sales.
6. Facebook - I think this is more for people who are committed fans as opposed to recruiting new ones. Because of the way FB pushes page statuses v individual statuses, I've read it's better to go with FB ads, but that requires money, which I don't have to allocate to this right now. 
7. Podcasting (haven't done this yet but want to, especially do a series from certain character perspectives)
8. Build a quiz based on your books (just did this, not a lot of info yet). I think it's a fun idea, and it takes very little time. So, there you go.
9. Word of mouth - i.e. get a few friends who LOVE YOU and LOVE YOUR WORK to sell FOR YOU. When I find a few myself, I'll let you know how it works out.
10. Reviews - ONE OF THE SINGLE BEST WAYS TO SELL and also, one of the hardest things to get. I've heard PR reps say, give out 50 copies, get 10 reviews back. These you really need to track down - which has worked for me to get a few, but I don't have a lot of data yet on how this plays out.
11. Write reviews for similar work - haven't done this because honestly, I'm not altogether sure how I would set it up. The plus here is people funneled to your blog or post who are primed for that type of content. The downside is, well, you need to have time to read books.
12. Write guest posts and articles on related content - this is something I just started doing since May. I've been doing about a guest post every two weeks. I'm not sure how that will impact sales, but I'll let you know once I have more data.
13. Have a game or app based on your book - haven't done this yet, but I want to. It sounds fun and could definitely create some income streams depending on how you package it.
14. Blog tour - this is another one that tends not to lead to direct sales, but it does get the word out a bit more and opens you up to more guest posting opportunities. So it might not spike sales, but it tends to help in the long run...however I've never done it because most blogs in my niche do not like indie authors and or won't do ebooks. If you have paperback copies, they are more likely to review.
15. Speaking tours - this is something I'm working on for THRIVE especially, so I can't give any feedback about how it pans out because I haven't started yet. That said, I expect this to be a good way to sell books and collect email addresses. Plus, you know, you get paid after six months to a year of paying dues.
16. Newsletter - I've read this is a huge thing that you need to have, and I'm just starting now, so again, I can't say how this works. The plus to this is you can send out updates when you'll be in town or when books are on preorder making it more likely for people to purchase books.
17. Vlogging - again, something I want to do, but haven't been able to because of time commitment. I think pretty faces and funny expressions go a long way to selling books.
18. Amazon Author page - I just fixed this myself, so again, not sure how this will pan out. I think indie authors need to be on Amazon because it is such a major retailer. Whether you choose to be on KDP Select is another question (I'm not, but I'm adamant about having my work on multiple platforms). I think having this will make a big difference, but I need more data.
19. Website - This is a recent addition because until May 2015, I didn't have the funds to make this happen. If you don't have a website, you should at least have a free blog. However, there are cheap WYSIWYG HTML hosting services, like Wix, so really, even if you're tech challenged, you can have a nice site. Again, I don't really have enough data on this to make a pronouncement one way or another, but I think it is a good thing to have a central location where readers can find you online.
20. Ecourses - I am IN LOVE with this idea. I have no idea how it will impact my book sales, or anything, but I want to do this SO BAD it hurts. Especially for THRIVE and SIX DEGREES. Maybe even a writing workshop. There are a lot of platforms out there on how to do this, and honestly, I think there are so many options for format, there's no excuse not to do this *if it works with your content.*
21. Streaming video - haven't done this, but I hear it's the next big thing. Periscope seems to be winning the platform war in this, but Meerkat is another option.
22. Make art - seriously. Visual interpretations of your work, especially in sci-fi and fantasy are great sales tools. I think DeviantArt is probably the place to make this happen and or disseminate. It's something I want to do, but haven't had time.
23. Bublish - haven't been able to do this because you need to fit certain criteria, but it seems to work for a lot of people.
24. Wattpad - hasn't led to many sales for me, but I do have several first chapters up (of older editions). Some authors swear by this, however, so you may as well try it.
25. Patreon - I want this work so bad, but I'm not sure how long it takes to get anything going. I think the biggest thing for this to work is to have some seeders to give you a little social capital. Also, I think being clear about branding is important for this to be successful.
26. Serialization - I have a LOT of work in the works. *Sigh* So again, this is one thing I want to do, that has worked for a lot of authors, but I haven't tried it yet (maybe on Patreon?).
27. Giveaways - I've done a lot of different giveaways at different times. It hasn't led to many sales or reviews thus far. In fact, I'm not sure what the point is of giveaways, unless it is the first book in a series of pageturners. Use at your discretion.
28. Contests - this is different than giveaways. Contests might involve winners pitching you a story they want you to write or getting a main character named after them in the next book. I think this is a good idea, but I'm not sure how much of a fan base you need initially to make the buzz spread. This might be for people with a second or third book, or it could be for someone who has a good set of evangelist friends.
29. Fan fiction - I've been told this is a REALLY good way to go. Pay homage to a series or a genre fav, and you're golden. I think this only works if you are actually a big fan and or you're trailblazing with the book in question (see: Wicked). Personally, I'm not sure I qualify in either of those categories....
30. Book launches - this works if you have your book set on preorder like 12 months out, and you have a team of people who are committed to selling you. I didn't have either of those things, so it didn't really work out for me. Note: The biggest mystery to me is finding true believers and or evangelists. If you have that on lock down, MESSAGE ME IMMEDIATELY! We need to talk!
31. Trailers - I've heard from multiple sources this is a waste of time and money....but...some people are determined to do it. I never have because of the former.
32. Advertising - I've read this is essential. I've also read it is a waste of time and money. I have no idea who is right. Some people this works for, others it doesn't. If you have the resources to commit to this, go ahead and try it. Facebook retargeting ads are supposed to have a super high conversion rate. Do a test run and let me know how it goes.
33. Free - give out some content for free. Some people swear by this, others are adamantly opposed. I haven't had very much luck when I've done this, so I can't say it was particularly worth it. I think the goal with free is to get reviews. If you don't get those, then....that sucks (unless it's the first book in a series, but that has been overdone).
34. Author/influencer blurbs - I've read of people having some serious success with this. If you know a famous author in your genre, or have a connection or whatever, try and get a blurb for your book and PROMOTE THE HELL OUT OF THAT SHIT. Ahem. I haven't done this, but there are a couple of authors/influencers I would die to have quotes from.
35. Get in a magazine - an essay, a short story, whatever.  I haven't been able to break into this yet, and it supposedly takes a lot of effort to convince the first magazine to take a risk on you (even if you follow all the advice columns). I have gotten a lot of kind rejections. That said, I think I'm closer now than before, mostly because of the guest posting I've been doing. I'm going to cross my fingers on this one and hopefully something hits me on the head.
36. Send press kits - if you live in a place where media outlets might actually publish your press release, do this. Even if you're not sure they will, do this. I haven't had any luck with this so far, but it's worth a try.
37. Hand sell - I've heard this works really well. If you have a stack of your paperbacks in your car, and have a good pitch or charisma out the butt, this will probably work for you (Shit, I really need to get a stack of my books in my car!).
38. More books - I've read it's good to have an entire library of books available for readers. I have a ton of books published, and many more planned. I don't know how well this works if you don't have a few beloved fans in your arsenal.
39. Coverart - if your books aren't selling, redo it. I just did this, and I'll let you know how it works out.
40. Categories - if your books aren't selling, redo them. I just did this, so I'll let you know what happens.
41. Jacket summaries - if your books aren't selling, redo them. I did this a little bit, but I think other things need to be at work for this to help sales along.
42. 2nd Editions - if your books aren't selling, rewrite them. I just did this with KHLOE ALWELL and when I'm finished editing ANDREW, I'll do it for the entire ROLLINS PACK.
43. Sell your soul - write a sellout book. I think there is something to this, but I still think you need other things in place for this to be successful. I'll let you know when I finally get BELOW THE BELT onto Amazon.
44. Stop worrying about it and just write - I've read this works for some people. I'm personally unable to do this...though I've tried.

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Did I miss anything? Let me know if you have any special techniques or strategies that worked for you. Also, when you try the above, TELL ME WHAT WORKED! I want all the juicy details!

My Cell Phone Changed My Life

I'm a little bit of a gadget person - just a little bit. Still I never expected I would be so shaken by a change in my cell phone.

Remember how I wanted to wait for Blackberry to get their act together? Well, I couldn't. I couldn't because my battery was expanding and not holding a charge. In short, if I waited until a company decided to release their latest and greatest, I could have had acid burns on my cheek from my phone exploding.

Not ideal.

It helped that my husband's phone was some crazy Chinese knock-off that refused to stand up to his regular abuse (His pants and his phones last half as long as other people's - I swear!). So we both got new phones.

Because I have crazy personal goals that require a revamp of my social media presence, I started downloading apps that I hadn't even dreamed of.

I finally committed to Hootesuite, which has been somewhat of an improvement, though if I had the money to pay for the service, I think it would be better. But beyond the expected, I also downloaded Sparksfly, Konnect Social, and ShoutOMatic.

So far, Sparksfly has upped the ease of engaging with my Tweeps (though not as much with Facebook...). I've done more retweeting in the last few days than I have done in a 48 hour period EVER. I started to fool around with Konnect Social, but I have yet to really dive into the possibilities with this app. The possibilities do appeal, especially because I want to engage more with people who will be interested in my content (duh! Who doesn't?!). ShoutOMatic seems really cool and would help me put up greater variety of content, but again, I have yet to use it. Often times I have a sleeping baby around when I have time (like right now) and trying to fool with extra sounds doesn't seem like a good idea.

This is just the beginning.

I've started taking videos of related things and am looking forward to revisiting my YouTube account and creating a few channels (one per blog?). This is in part because of some super easy video editing apps that I can put on my phone, as well as the GoPro and my husband's amazing tech skills. I'm both anxious and excited about these prospects.

And I wouldn't have ventured down this crazy path without my new phone. While it's not the new hotness, it is enough of a change from my previous phone that the improvement is marked. The possibilities have grown exponentially. Doors have opened.

I'm a kid in a candy shop.

Come stuff your face with me. It's amazing.

What are some social media apps that have changed your online life? What are some tech gadgets that opened doors for you? Leave a comment below!

The 2014 Master Writer Plan Part 1: Process & Publication

By divine intervention I came across an action plan for promoting indie books and developing a platform. It was a hallelujah moment for me. This was the thing I've been looking for! These were the questions I needed to ask myself! Finally! Someone had put together some actionable steps for me to pursue one by one in order to get the word out about my beloved creations!

As you may have guessed, my strong suit is promotion. :-D

So of course I devoured the information and quickly realized it raised more questions than it answered.

Not only did I realize how lacking my knowledge was of social media campaigns, I also realized how incredibly scatter-shot and scatterbrained my attempts had been. I was operating with the whole, "throw everything at it and something will stick" mentality. I've known I needed to change my approach, but I just wasn't sure how to go about doing it.

Well, I started going through the questions this site asked. Then I asked more questions of myself. Then I brainstormed. Then I asked other people these questions. Then I brainstormed some more. Then I prioritized based on expected ease and projected impact of these various actions. Then I made a list.

All along I said I wanted to publish 7 more books this year (and pretty much every year after as long as I am writing) but I wasn't sure how I could do it. While there are specific actionable parts of promotion that need to be thought through, I also needed to get clear about how I could break down my word counts in the time left of this year in order to reach my goal.

As my husband says, each new book promotes every previous book. That's the beauty of having a collection published.

In an effort to ensure my success with my publishing goal (and subsequent promo overhaul) I needed to make sure my word counts were reasonable and that I was giving myself enough time to edit, proof, format, and publish each manuscript.

I needed to not only break down things into daily goals, but also weekly and monthly across the different aspects of publishing (cover design etc).

The result is the following:

• Monthly word count goal: 31,000 words
• Weekly word count goal: 7350 words
• Daily word count goal: 1050 words
• Monthly editing goal: 1 book
• Monthly publishing goal: 1 book
• Monthly cover goal: 1 cover

There will likely be a lag at the beginning which will stretch through the year because of the process of writing and publishing (i.e. March will not have a publishing goal and December won't have a word count goal).

These are separate from any promotion work I do - including blog posts, Twitter, Facebook, videos, podcasts, etc. I'm not exactly sure how the promotion goals are going to fit into my days because I'm not exactly sure how much time I want to devote to each thing and what those things will be. I think initially there's going to be a lot of time spent on cleaning things up (which will be a real pain and may take the place of some of the other writing/publishing goals in various months).

I plan to detail my efforts in my publishing goal for 2014 as well as my promotional goals. I hope others will find the process enlightening and helpful, especially for those who were/are as clueless as I have been. That said, I'd better get writing!

Am I Wrong? - Belief and the Twitter Feed

I recently got the first rejection in my third batch of query letters for JEREMIAH.

Being pregnant and trying to sell a book might not be the best idea. It's so easy to feel discouraged after receiving so many rejection letters and not getting responses at all from so many other agents. It makes me question if I'm on the right track at all - like maybe I should try something else.

Then, in a bout of ill-conceived masochistic midnight boredom, I looked at my Twitter feed. I follow a lot of writers. They post about their books. They post good reviews and about their successes. It makes me feel stupid, pointless - small. I read quotes about their books that are the exact opposite thing of what I want to read. The more I read of YA generally, the more disgusted I become.

And I wonder...am I wrong?

Am I ahead of the curve?

Am I just plain wrong?

People don't seem interested in whole families that care for one another or deal with real issues. They want pulpy, fluffy twaddle that makes them feel like shit.

Who are these people and why are they so stupid??

I know I'm a good writer. I know I'm on to something in my books. I need someone else in a position of advocacy to know this too.

Where are you friend and confidante? Where are you champion of value and morality? Find me! My voice echoes in empty darkness leaving me dejected and doubting.

The universe conspires to bring us together, groping, and stumbling. I think we all need to pick up the pace.