Marketing Your Book from Pre-Publication and Beyond

                            “How do I launch a marketing campaign for my book?”

                          “When do I start marketing my new book?” 

“I don’t have a lot of money. What are the must-dos of marketing my book?”

“What’s the difference between traditional publicity and marketing?”

 Marketing Your Book from Pre-publication and Beyond

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about marketing.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text: 330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Best,

Bethany Brown
Amy MacGregor

The Cadence Group

Where Did All the Reviewers Go? - This Week's Free Advice Friday

Why Do I Need Reviews?

What Are The Reviewers Looking For?

Where Did They All Go?

How Do I Get Reviews?

What Do I Do WITH The Reviews Once I Have Them?

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about getting and using reviews.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Taking a Breather....

Several of our clients have asked that we repeat some of our Free Advice Friday topics. The world goes on vacation and takes 3-day weekends in July and August and a lot of you are missing a chance to pick our brains at the appointed time.

So, we are going to take a 2-week hiatus from Free Advice Friday and start up again on Sept 10th.  Starting in September, we are going to repeat some of our more popular topics and launch into a whole new set.

Looking forward to seeing you then.  Have a wonderful few weeks!

Amy and Bethany

Free Advice Friday - How do I market and sell an older book?

My local bookstores says they only take new books.

Reviewers websites say that they won’t review older books

My book is a few years old
What do I do?
Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about marketing your older book.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Sample Questions for todays Free Advice Friday

We are really looking forward to answering your questions today on

Free Advice Friday.

Here are the questions we have been asked over the last few weeks that we thought might be of interest to a lot of you.  Remember, we welcome your questions and input and will be posting a recording of this question and answer session on our blog after the session is completed.

How do books get on Amazon?


How does the information get on the page?

What is ranking and how important is it?

How do I improve my search ranking?

How to reviews happen?
         Do they help?

How does Search Inside Work?

What is Author Connect?

How do I get a book off of Amazon?

Where do all the “new and used” books come from?

Free Advice Friday - July 23 12:00 EST

How Do I get my Book on Amazon?  BN.com? Borders.com?
How do I sell more copies on-line?

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 445118

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from the Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about Amazon.com and on-line bookselling.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.

Please email or text at any time before or during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Best,

Bethany Brown
Amy MacGregor

Dos and Don't When Asking for a Review

Do:

Address your request in a professional fashion - Your email should be short and well written.

Make sure the reviewer is interested in your book category - Read their site and take a few days to really familiarize yourself with the types of books they review.

Mention why you chose a specific reviewer - No one likes to be "played".  Make a point to find something about the reviewer that you like. There should be a REASON you approach one reviewer instead of another. Research the reviewer and be prepared to mention a specific review or blog post on the reviewer’s site that appealed to you

Let them know what materials you have available.  - Don't make them guess or have to ask you if you have hard copies of the book, ARCs, pdfs, ebooks, an electronic cover.... etc.

Mention your marketing campaign. Reviewers will want to know your plans and dates so that they can schedule accordingly.

Provide a brief description of your book. - 75 words TOPS!

Follow the reviewer’s guidelines…exactly. - They are approached by hundreds of publishers and authors a week.  Make sure you don't give them a reason to not pick your book.

Thank the reviewer for his/her time. - Even considering your book for a review takes time. 

Recognize the reviewer might be too busy to review your book. - Over a million books were published last year.  Even if there are THOUSANDS of reviewers, the math is staggering

Stop back by the reviewer’s site on the day a review posts and thank them, again, for their time and review. - Common courtesy is not so common nowadays.  A thank you from the author and publisher is a MUST.

Before, during and after you send your book out for review, comment on other book reviews on review sites. - The book community is not there just for authors to stop in and get reviews.  This is a vital, vibrant community that should be supported.  Authors and publishers wanting to participate in this world need to get in there and really participate before they ask for reviews.

Don’t:

Spam. Ever. - Sending out mass emails with no personalization will be ineffective at best. Sending a generic request to a large group of reviewers will not get you the results you are looking for. The same goes for mass mailing your book to a mailing list without discrimination.

Ask for a good review - A reviewer is being asked for their opinion.  Do not make the cardinal mistake of trying to tell the reviewer what their opinion should be.

Send your book or request to an outlet whose guidelines your book does not meet - Ever heard of the farmer who tried to teach a pig to sing?  It wasted his time and annoyed the pig.  There are enough reviewers out there with whom your book is a good fit, don't waste time going after the ones that aren't.

Call to follow up if they ask for email or snail mail only - Please give them the courtesy of following their requests.

Argue with or challenge bad reviews - While you may not agree with their review, it is their honest opinion, and challenging it is just tacky. No one wants to hear your negative comments about a reviewer if they decline to give a review or give a bad review.  It will only make you look bad.

Send a book unless specifically requested - If you don't hear back from a reviewer... that is your answer.

Send attachments unless requested - In this world of viruses it is common for book reviewers to block any and all unsolicited emails with attachments.

 

Book Distributors to check out - Free Advice Fridays

Hi all!  We had a great time on Free Advice Friday today.  Everyone was a little quiet, but I think it was the sunny weather calling to us all!

Here is a list of links to book distributors that we like:

IPG   http://www.ipgbook.com/getpage.cfm?file=contact.html&userid=9F0DA4A9-3048-6445-430A6737959C31B6

Greenleaf   http://www.greenleafbookgroup.com/submissions.cfm


NBN   http://www.nbnbooks.com/ProspectivePublisher/


PGW   http://www.pgw.com/home/publishers.aspx


New Shelves   http://www.newshelvesdistribution.com/about_us  (disclaimer - this one is us!)


Book-Hub   http://www.book-hub.com/info.html

Getting Fed by Twitter

This weekend I went looking for Eddie Izzard on Twitter.  I like his world and political ideas and thought his tweets would be a good addition to my feed.  I found that Mr. Izzard has over a million followers and yet only follows 71 people. 

I have had WAY too many conversations with authors and publishers about their "Twitter marketing work" and how they are "putting it out there" on Twitter and Facebook.  I have never thought of Twitter as a way to push myself out there.  I have always seen it as an amazing learning bank. 

There are agents, publishers and industry insiders who generously share their wisdom, pass on news and tidbits and forward fantastic articles that I never would have seen otherwise.  Because of them (and Twitter), I am a more educated, informed person. I would not have ever have gotten the benefit of their wisdom without twitter and I am grateful for their generousity.

There are also a number of industry folks who use my twitter page as a place to promote (read: spew) their latest review, minor triumph or self-serving mention. For them, Twitter is a marketplace, not a place of learning and community.  Okay, I can see that; I can let Twitter be a marketplace on THEIR computer, but not mine.

For me, Twitter is an exchange of information, not a place to sell yourself.  It is a forum where I get to give and take with no expectations.  It is like any other relationship... Those who enter into it wondering what they can get out of it are not good relationship prospects.  The next time an author asks me about the return on my Twitter time investment, I am going to hit him/her over the head with a piece of Church of England cake.

So that leads me to my post next time...  Should I be more selective about who I follow?  Shall I unfollow those who have not turned out to be good relationship prospects?

Basic Rules for a Successful Author Event

One of the best ways for an author to get their message out to their community and region is to do author signings. Booking a signing does take a bit of finesse. To start, know that bookstores need ninety days advance notice to properly book and promote a signing. Do yourself a favor and do not call your local bookstore asking to do a signing in three weeks. They have calendars and newsletters printed each month, and you need to respect their deadlines.

Next, most bookstores will not be able to book you for an event unless your books are available to order from a wholesaler such as Ingram or Baker & Taylor.  The book must show up in the bookstore's computer as available for order and returnable or you will have trouble getting a booking. So, don’t call to ask to do an event until you know that your books are available to order from a wholesaler or you are prepared to bring the books yourself and sell on consignment.

Finally, to better increase your chance of selling books, don’t just do a signing; plan an event. Sitting at a table for two hours can be a tad disheartening. Draw a crowd by reading, speaking, or giving a workshop. Invite everyone you know.  Get listed in all your local community calendars.  Reach out and advertise your event.

You might also want to plan a launch party on the publication month at a local store. Most bookstores would be thrilled to host an event for a local author because they often invite a large group of friends and family to attend. For a launch party to be successful, you need to send out invitations three weeks in advance, plan the evening around a reading or talk, and make sure you have someone there to take pictures!

Good pictures of happy people milling around a signing are an invaluable tool for your next event booking. Store managers want to know that you can draw an audience, work a room and, in general, make your event “worth their time.” Make sure you have a few pictures as proof that your events are fun, crowded, and profitable.

What if it doesn't work?

I make a living at being helpful.  I am incredibly lucky...  my day to day duties center around showing authors and publishers how they can achieve their goals.  Talking to authors and publishers is not actually part of my job description, but it takes up most of my day.  I love helping people figure out how to best focus their efforts and balance their expectations with the realities of the book world. 

Being of service to clients and non-clients alike is actually written into our mission statement.  Most of these conversations do not result in new business for The Cadence Group, but it does result in the feeling that we are helping others, steering authors away from being taken advantage of and doing some good for our industry.  And during those early conversations, I look like a real hero.  People LOVE me...

But sometimes I spend my day having to tell people that their book is not selling. They did everything right, but it is not working. That all the expense and time invested so far is not resulting in actual sales.  I look less like a hero then.

Once a book is launched, the stores notified of it's existence, the reviews written and the marketing done... what happens if the book does not sell?

The hard truth is most books do not sell well.  It takes a mixture of time, money, marketing savvy, good word of mouth and, most of all, luck to start a book on an upward trajectory that results in sales. 

What can we do to maximize a book's chances:

1. Start with a tried and true, modern, marketing campaign (reviews, online, bookstores, libraries, media)
2. But not rely on a marketing plan if the plan is clearly not working
3. Pull back the scope and focus on regional and author-based sales
4. Send out copies of the books to those who can make a difference (booksellers, freelance writers, bloggers)
5. But above all else, keep pushing.  Don't give up.  Keep participating in discussion groups, keep calling book clubs and volunteering to speak to the group, keep contacting local stores and libraries, keep pushing.

Very often authors get discouraged at the first round of disappointing sales.  They see all the money and time spent as wasted and give up or lash out at the bookstores/media.  It is easy to blame a short-sighted media or stubborn book buyer when a book does not get the exposure we feel it deserves, but often we are just being impatient.  Small presses cannot launch in the same explosive way a large book does.  Small presses can't spend that kind of money and can't rely on years of good-will from book buyers and the media.

But what can a small do that a big publisher can't?  Be patient, grow a book organically, give a book a long time to find it's market... give a book the time to succeed slowly.

Time + Dedication + Luck = Success. 

It is our job to supply the first two... let's not be short sighted.  But let's start from the expectation that every book will need a different set of activities to find it's prime market.  It is with time and dedication that we have the best shot of hitting upon those successful activities.  Authors at small presses have it harder.  It is tougher to launch a book from a small press, but giving things time and constantly trying new things gives a small press book advantages that big house authors only dream of.

The Cadence Group Announces New Shelves Distribution Program

The Cadence Group (TCG) is thrilled to announce the launch of New Shelves Distribution—a new and better method for fulfillment, sales and marketing. The program, which is now available, combines warehousing and fulfillment services with sales and marketing. 

“TCG has offered sales and marketing services since we opened in 2006,” says Vice President Bethany Brown. “This new program now adds a full service fulfillment option to the smaller and mid sized publisher. We provide warehousing and fulfillment to all the major wholesalers and retailers and then national, regional and/or on-line sales programs are created and executed for each title. This program is being offered as a less expensive and less constricting way to distribute books.”

“We wanted to do this right,” says TCG President, Amy Collins MacGregor. “We saw the need for an alternative to the traditional distribution options available for small presses today, but wanted to make sure we could launch this program properly. The New Shelves program provides publishers with a wide range of options. We can offer stand-alone fulfillment or we can combine fulfillment with a cost-effective sales and marketing program to all publishers.”

The Cadence Group has partnered with Pathway Book Services, an established and respected book fulfillment agency located in New Hampshire. Pathway will handle all warehousing, ordering and shipping for New Shelves. 

“Returns, consumer and website retail options and billing will also be offered by Pathway.” says MacGregor.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Pathway Book Services on this program,” adds Brown. “They have a long and distinguished history of working with small presses, great relationships with many of the accounts like Ingram and Barnes & Noble, and they have a commitment to helping small presses get their books out in to the marketplace.”

The Cadence Group has hired a full-time National Sales Manager to handle their new program and added a Customer Service Department to better serve their publisher clients. All inquires regarding the new shelves program can go to services@newshelvesdistribution.com or 518.391.2300.

About The Cadence Group: The Cadence Group is a professional design, editorial, sales and marketing, and project management provider for the book and publishing industry. They provide authors, publishers, and small presses with the guidance necessary to create market-ready, professionally designed books. Their goal is to help others realize their full potential in the retail and wholesale marketplace.            

###

"But how many books will I SELL?" - Author Events Part Two

One of the first things a publisher or author will ask of any marketing plan is "what is the return on my investment going to be?" The person with the checkbook wants to know that if they write out the zeros, they can plan on a significant return on their investment.

I hate to tell give them the only answer that anyone can give... "It depends."

Carol Zelaya, author of the Emily the Chickadee series, published by Richlee Publishing, launched her first children’s book in April 2008. She hired a fantastic PR firm to set up the launch, complete with a book signing tour covering four states that she expected would stimulate sales. Her expectations were quickly dashed.

“I mistakenly thought that once you were invited to do a book signing, you had really made it." says Zelaya "I was so wrong. Even when the stores did tons of publicity and put up big posters, no one came.”

But are sales the only purpose of an author tour? What results and returns can authors expect when the people don't show up at the event? Why do an author event if no one can guarantee sales?

“The thing you have to remember is the benefits outside of the event.” Says David Brody, author of several novels, including Cabal of the Westford Knight, published last February by Martin & Lawrence.

If you go into a tour looking at it strictly in terms of sales during events, it will not work, Brody says. “I may sell only 5 or 10 books at an event, but that is not the point. I have to take into consideration that the store orders the books a few weeks ahead of time, makes a display, puts up a poster; plus, the manager and employees get to know my book. At the event, who knows who will hear me and what they might tell other people? And after the signing, I will leave a few signed copies and those might get displayed for a few weeks. I can often attribute 50 or 60 sales to an event that drew only 10 sales that day. If you look at it that way, the economics make sense.”

So the question I put out there is this... "What is the REAL return on your author tour investment?" I'd love to hear from authors who have recently toured to see if they think touring is worth their time and money.

Everyone Will Want to Read My Book…

No they won't.

The first rule in publishing is to know your audience. For authors and publishers, this means know your reader (the end consumer) and your business partners (retailers).

While you may believe that you’ve found the “perfect” book that is uniquely qualified to be all things to all people, it’s important to really know your audience.

Let’s look at this through the eyes of a potential publisher:

The Retailer—While the publishing business is moving more and more to online sales and marketing and finding a solid audience, it’s still important to ensure your book is “shelved” in the right place. While you may have written a novel for 8 year old girls that can have a positive impact on her 12 year old brother with special advice for mom and dad, that particular shelf doesn’t exist in the bookstore. Your book will be shelved in one category. This is important to know before you ever write your book proposal. You need to identify where it goes in the book store so you can determine what editor or publisher to send it to. They know their retail market, do you?

The Consumer—The consumer is the end audience for your book. This is the person that will pick it up, skim a few pages, and ultimately make a purchase. Whether it be for themselves, as a gift, or required reading for their occupation, that consumer is your audience. That means you need to know: Who they are? What they buy? How they shop? What the competition for their business is? Does your book “fit” your consumer? Do you have the right cover design, price, trim size? Are you shelved in the appropriate category?

These are just some of the questions that agents, publishers—and retailers—ask when they are pitched your book alongside thousands of other books. If you want to stand out in a crowded marketplace, it’s important to know your audience.

Book Marketing

Book Marketing is the act of letting the end user, the reader, know that your book is available and where to find it. Successful books are marketed in a manner that results in a reader purchasing your book and taking it home. A well-marketed book starts with a well-written marketing statement

Starting with the Basics:

To create a truly effective marketing statement, start with the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.

1. Who will actually shell out the money to buy your book? Outline their age, finances, gender, and circumstances.
2. What makes your book worth the consumer’s dollars?
3. Where will your readers find your book?
4. When will your readers need your book? At what point in their lives will they need your book?
5. Why is your book more appealing than others in the same category are? (Be brutally honest here. Do you compete on price? Is your information more up to date?)
   How will your potential readers find out about your book?
   

Your Positioning Statement

Get all this down on paper and look at it. You are now prepared to write your book’s positioning statement. When you are ready to present your book to the world (readers, bookstores, publicists, buyers, etc.), the most important tool in your arsenal will be the positioning statement. This statement is 100 words that outline for a potential buyer the reasons why your book will be of interest to their clients.

These 100 words should not outline what your book is about. This statement exists to talk about the potential market for your book and how you, as the publisher, plan to reach that market.

For example, if you have identified your core readership as business executives looking for a new job, your positioning statement could look something like this:

Shut Up and Hire Me is a step-by-step program designed for the busy business executive. Each chapter was written and designed to be read in less than ten minutes. Unlike other career guides on the shelf today, Shut Up and Hire Me draws from the wisdom and experience of CEOs from more than thirty Fortune 500 companies. Interviews, combined with proven techniques, are provided to help executives find and land their next position. Author Bill Billiam has hired top New York PR firm, Blown Out of Proportion, and is the author of such previous works as: Better Dead than Unemployed and More Money for Less Work.

Try it and see what you can come up with!

Creating Your Sales Schedule

So many publishers and authors call me wanting to get into stores right away. I get calls in March from hopeful authors wanting to get onto Mother's Day table displays. I hate disappointing people, but I have to tell them that stores choose displayed titles 5-6 months before hand. Stores buy books with a set monthly budget that is used up many months before hand. If you want to successfully launch your books into the retail marketplace, let’s take a look at the items you will want to cover in the months leading up to your publication:

Eight months before your book’s pub date:
Send your book’s data to the wholesalers, retailers, Internet companies, and industry databases.
Hire publicity and marketing firms or create publicity and marketing plans on your own.

Seven months before your book’s pub date:
Contact all database departments and confirm that your book is in their systems correctly
Create sales packages containing sample chapters, table of contents, a color cover, sales information sheet, and a marketing plan.

Six months before your book’s pub date:
Send sales packets to the wholesale and retail buyers.
Write cover copy and marketing plan for back of the Advance Reader’s Copy
Design ARC.
Send ARC files to printer.
Send ARCs to buyers.
Call buyers to follow up and present book information. Request promotion and placement for your book.

Five months before your book’s pub date:
Research potential promotion and placement opportunities appropriate for your book (front-of-store tables, postcard mailings, Internet ads …).
Check again to see that all databases have your book information and have it correctly.

Four months before your book’s pub date:
Send ARCs to reviewers.

Three months before your book’s pub date:
Call reviewers to follow up on review packages.
Buy ads and initiate marketing for launch during pub month.

Two months before your book’s pub date:
Send finished books to buyers with request for orders and updates on your marketing buys.
Participate in a library outreach campaign through your distributor or find a service that allows publishers to announce books to librarians.
Send copies of your finished book to companies, corporations, and catalogs that you feel best represent your book’s audience.

One month before your book’s pub date:
Call all key buyers and confirm orders are in place

This is by no means a complete list, but it will give you an idea of what successful publishers plan for and the schedules they keep.