Tim Grahl, author of Your First 1000 Copies and founder of booklaunch.com believes that Marketing doesn’t need to be a ‘eew’ prospect.
So, I’ve read over a few of his techniques and decided to break-it down into a Plan of Action.
New Year . . . New Goals . . . and all that.
More importantly, it’s about finding a way to market that doesn’t make the author in me cringe at the idea.
READ ALONG & SEE IF YOU AGREE
According to Tim, MARKETING is about creating long-lasting connections. I’d say this is sound business whether you’re selling books, artwork or cars off the used lot. None of us want just the ONE-AND-DONE customer. We want repeat business. We want to develop long-lasting connections/relationships that will keep folks coming back because they’re pleased with their purchase.
Tim breaks it down into three categories for connection.

1) Outreach – The act of moving people from not knowing I exist to knowing that I DO exist.
Here are my ideas:
- Facebook,
- Twitter,
- Pinterest,
- Blog,
- Book-signings,
- Public readings,
- Carrying a business card with my books/blog listed AND handed those out,
- Get some print copies of books and carry them on vacation,
- Look for independent book stores and ask if I can donate a few copies,
- Find ‘Interview’ sources either through Podcasts, newsletter, or eblasts,
- Solicit & offer book reviews,
- Post to Reddit,
- Post to LinkedIn.
Where can I leave my business cards?
- With every receipt/tip I leave on a table
- Any bulletin board
- Any clerk that I speak with and mention I’m a writer
Where do I order my business cards?
Vista Print was the easiest solution for me, although I know many prefer to work through a brick-N-mortar store. I personally like all the different options available online and the luxury of changing backgrounds & fonts with the click of my mouse. However, if you prefer brick-N-mortar, work out your own design first. Canva.com has an actual ‘business card’ selection in the Business category, and you can set your final design to printer standards with the ‘crop & bled’ button. I have designed several business cards through Canva.com for my consulting business. The actual printer (yep, a shop I can walk into) has never had any problems with the design. Do save to a .pdf format for the printer.

2) Content: Providing a way for people to get to know me and my writing.
Brain-storming for content is a valuable expenditure of a writer’s time.
- Blog writing,
- Book teasers,
- Samples listed on Amazon,
- Samples listed on my blog.

3) Permission: A way to stay in contact with people long-term.
- Build an email list – remember that I’m looking for a way to stay in long-term contact with these folks so that every time I release a book they’ll know about it.
- Gain readers for the blog – this is interactive: if readers come back to the blog and see the new releases, they’ll be more likely to purchase. Readers can’t buy what they don’t know about.
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