Stop the Madness! Let's Put an End to Self-Published Author Overwhelm

When I read blogs about book promotion and the promises of most marketing "gurus" my head literally feels heavy. And I'm not the only one. I spend hours on the phone talking new authors off the proverbial ledge because they feel as if they are "falling behind." Over the phone I can often hear them growing more fatigued by the minute--even before taking much action--because they've enrolled themselves in uber complicated schemes or because they interpret the word "marketing" to mean "get busy" or "act like a nuisance/irritant/jackass." The tears (yes, tears) come at the thought of too much to do.

This way sounds like no fun. Fortunately I'm not sure such fears are ever realized in quite the way authors worry about them. But it's easy to understand why it would stop a well-meaning person in his or her tracks. No one wants to be hawking a book like a used car salesman, especially when love has gone into it. No one wants to feel the paralysis that comes from confusion.

Being an author can be FUN. Publishing your book should be a delicious moment when you celebrate finally putting your love and inspiration into the hands of the people you created it for. Really, efforts made on the launch day are merely the opening volley in a multi-round exchange between you and your readers. It should enrich your life to give from the heart and provide the answer to someone's question, the solution to a problem, the insight that's been lacking, the entertainment, and so forth. That's the real dream behind it all that motivates, isn't it?

Self-published authors always have a mission--often a noble one: In my experience this is to heal, awaken, support, teach, and transform your readers in some manner or through some method. It's good to tap into this deeper purpose. Once your book is on sale, your mission is already being fulfilled--partly. That's exciting! But remember, the mission stands outside the book. You cannot fail--with or without selling books--as long as you continue to deliver (in every way you can dream of) the value that the book contains. The message matters more than the delivery mechanism. It helps to be committed to both your ideas and your audience.

I'm going to speak a good bit about this perspective in the upcoming Book Marketing Training for Self-Published Authors, which begins on February 2nd and runs through March 5th. In addition, I'll be putting you right into action, specific action, if you take the course. In five weeks, you can get a lot done. If you do the work piece by piece, it's entirely manageable. The idea is to create a system that you can operate routinely.

The beauty of continuous marketing, or more specifically, of engagement marketing, is that persistence is key. In the old days, with traditional mainstream publishing, books were dumped on store shelves on the same date everywhere. In the relatively new paradigm of print-on-demand publishing the "drop date" is less relevant: Since there is less physical inventory, what you're aiming to do is spread word through as many avenues as possible. The more highly targeted these inroads are, the easier it is for the people who want what you offer to find you online. Your print sales are supplementary.

The idea alone of forming relationships with carefully targeted readers should feed the flames of your human spirit, rather than put out your light or drag down your energy. Seriously, why else are you writing other than to be read by them? (If not, perhaps you are publishing for the wrong reasons . . . cynical or self-important reasons . . . reasons that don't inspire and uplift you?) If you don't feel grateful enough that someone "out there" cares to read your words or genuinely motivated to connect, the process is more difficult. Not impossible, just harder.

My 5-week Book Marketing Training for Self-Published Authors begins with a session on positioning. From there we shall build our efforts in parallel layers that radiate outwards like the circles on a tree stump or the sticky latticework of a spider's web, looking at optimizing your website and social network presence. None of what I'm going to suggest you do is hard to implement; it just requires clarity of thought and purpose.

At the point when your book is newly available or publishing imminently you really need to develop a grounded action plan, one your energy can sustain, to broadcast your message for months to come and keep open the lines of communication with your readers (and colleagues, mind you, that's important, too). You will get better and better at it the more you participate. There is definitely a learning curve to being in any relationship, and author-reader relationships are no different.

The very things that make you special are going to be the strongest playing cards you could place on the table. It's your trump suit that you need to follow to win in this little game.

COURSE CONTENTS

 

5 Sessions of Live Instruction

(one-hour webinars with slides, Thursdays at 3 PM Eastern,

recorded for replay):

• Target Audience Research/Timetable (February 2)
• Author Website Optimization (February 9)
• Social Media Optimization (February 16)
• Publicity: Radio/TV/Blog Tours (February 23)
• Speaking & Events (March 1)

5 Sessions of Live Q&A

(one-hour open calls/web simulcasts, Mondays at 3 PM Eastern, recorded for replay):

Each instructional segment is followed with an open question and answer session where you can get specific insights into the module we're on. Q&A Calls will take place at on February 6, February 13, February 20, February 27, and March 5.

Half hour private coaching with Stephanie Gunning:

When you sign up, you'll be booked for a private, confidential laser strategy session to hone your key concept and marketing, so you can gain clarity on your unique hook. These will be booked for the first two weeks of the course on a first-come, first served basis.

You'll also get weekly PDF handouts.

Price $697

Register here

Visit the Course Website