November is one of those months that sneak up on you. One day it’s Halloween; the next, you’re in the throws of the holiday shopping season. Though you might resent the reality of “Christmas Creep,” it makes November a critical month for your publishing business. Here are three reasons why:
1. Holiday Sales. By some estimates, a quarter of all personal spending takes place during the holiday shopping season, and three of the most important holiday shopping days occur in November: Black Friday (11/27), Small Business Saturday (11/28), and Cyber Monday (11/30). Do you have a strategy in place to take advantage of the consumer buying frenzy that occurs on these days? If not, early November is your last chance to get a plan in place.
The good news for authors this holiday season is that, according to the National Retail Federation, “Americans plan to do almost half of their holiday shopping online this year, and one in five of those who own smartphones will use them to purchase holiday merchandise.” To an extent, this trend levels the playing field for independent authors, many of whom don’t have access to physical bookstores. Take the first two weeks of November to:
- Finalize holiday discount and giveaway offers
- Learn the hashtags associated with key holiday shopping days
- Schedule a holiday content calendar
2. National Novel Writing Month. Whether you’re an aspiring author or a veteran novelist, National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is an annual November event worthy of your attention. The event offers daily writing goals, the support of an active global writing community, and provides an enormous platform to build awareness of your work. If you are part of Bublish, you can write your manuscript in our eBook Creator and share “rough-cut” book bubbles on social media while you’re writing. We’ll promote your work to our audience throughout NaNoWriMo, and when you’re book is ready, you can download a beautifully formatted ePub with one click. Now you’re ready to start selling. It’s that easy!
3. Strategic Planning. If you think November snuck up on you, 2016 is right around the corner. With holiday travel and festivities posing major distractions in December, November is the time to set your creative and business goals for next year. After you finalize your 2015 holiday promotion plans in the first week of November, take the second week to create a plan for the upcoming year. Additionally, readers often fill up their new eReaders, tablets and smart phone with book content in January, so put a plan in place to capture those sales.
Related Posts
