You’ll Need More than the Luck ‘O the Irish!

Though we wish each of you the “luck ‘o the Irish” this St. Paddy’s Day, you’re going to need more than luck to reach your goals as an author. To reach readers who will buy your books and help you spread the word, you’ll need a plan—nothing fancy, just a plan to get you from where you are now to where you want to be. Here are three areas that are important to include in your plan:

• Content—Do you have a plan for your blog and social posts? Or do you pull together content at the last minute? A content plan (with a content calendar) ensures that your content is helping you achieve specific goals. Maybe you need more reviews. That requires a specific type of content placed where reviewers hang out. Maybe you’re getting ready to launch the second book in a series. This requires a completely different type of content that’s designed to interest readers in your story. If you start with clear goals and develop a plan to achieve them, you’ll create more effective content. Take some time this week to write down your goals for the rest of 2018. Then, create a list of the types of content you’ll need to help you reach those goals. Finally, schedule out your content on a calendar and plot out time in your schedule to prepare that content in advance. Over time, you’ll see stronger results from the content you create.
• Promotion & Advertising—There are many sites that make it affordable to promote and advertise your books. If you’re not taking advantage of these opportunities, you’re missing a chance to vastly increase your exposure and make some money. Price promotions through places like Book Gorilla and Bargain Booksy—to name just two—offer an affordable way to get you books in front of thousands of targeted readers in your genre. Amazon ads are another great tool to use on the book world’s largest retailer. Visit Amazon Marketing Services to learn more.
• PR & Publicity—Start local and get creative. What are some tie-ins you could use to make your book interesting to local radio, tv or newspaper editors and journalists? Are there events that will be covered by the local press in which you could participate? Farmer’s Markets, festival, fairs, etc.? Perhaps you can pair up with other authors to pitch a story. If one story idea doesn’t seem to capture interest, try another. Success with publicity is often found in the follow up, so open a spreadsheet and make a list of local and regional editors and journalists you could contact. Include their name, contact info, where they work, what media they work in (tv, radio, print, online, etc.) and make notes about when and how you initially contacted them. Then, put follow up reminders on your calendar. Having this simple system in place to track your efforts will keep you organized and on top of potential media opportunities.