How to Build an Audience for Your Book – or at least trying too!

Hey Joy, Good to hear from you. I’m going to blame this entry on you because you asked about marketing plan for my book.

I think a lot of my problem was I didn’t have a marketing plan. Then one day, in the middle of listening to a sermon from my Pastor, it occurred to me. One of the reasons I didn’t have a marketing plan wasn’t that I didn’t have one. My Marketing plan was conquer the world all at once. And I just didn’t have that kind of money. Not to mention that’s a little ambitious.

I’d used two books to arrive here. First, Guerrilla Marketing for Writers. I also used Joanna Penn’s “How to Market a Book.” The former was almost useless. I’ve seen and read numerous books in the Guerrilla Marketing series, and it seemed to me all they did was add the word “Writers” to the cover title.

But Joanna has some good ideas. Now, here’s the problem, some of it involves money. But there’s a lot of good stuff you can apply almost right away. You just have to do the work. Joanna has been doing this for a while, and a lot of the advice she gives is won in the trenches. I go through her book constantly, trying to improve my site. Doing this. doing that.

And that’s all good.

But, there is no magic formula. No do this, do that, or do the other thing.

Most everything is suggestions to try.

There’s that word. Try.

Part of my problem like I said, I really didn’t have a starting point. I was trying to take on the world and had no idea where to start.

Well, I got it.

Anyway, the topic was Acts 1:8 where Jesus say, “. . . you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

I couldn’t do it all. So, start locally (Weld and Larimar counties). This means building relationships. I created bookmarks and I hand them out constantly. They have an encouraging saying on the front, and a QR code on back that goes to my books. Most everyone I meet gets them to include bank tellers, people at church, barista’s, you name it. I’ve always got a couple stashed in my coat pocket.

And I made a nice little flyer that holds the bookmarks as well. Those go to coffee shops, library’s, restaurants, if they’ll let me put it up, they’ll get one.

One of the things I’m working on is with our local VA outreach. We’re setting something up called “Warrior’s Voices.” It will showcase local writers and help market books we’ll do readings and etc.. Some of the guys and gals in my VA group do open mike nights and I’ve thought of it. Issue is, they’re poets and I’m not.

But it’s something for me to think about.

Competitions is new thing to me. Last year, I entered the American Legion competition thinking I’d be lucky if I even made it to finals. I was totally surprised when I took second nationally. so, this year, I entered two pieces.

I also entered Writer’s Digest yearly competition and winning that involves winning some money and an interview in their magazine.

In short, it means getting your name out there.

I’m going to continue blogging.

I’m going to do my promo’s.

Do anything to get the word out.

And I’m redoing the covers for the books. With the possible exception of the covers for Event Horizon and broken people, they aren’t the kind that just grab you. Here, for example is a couple of cover possibilities for the next book, My Brother’s Keeper:

As I’ve said so many times, if you hope to catch lightning, you have to be in the storm.