If video killed the radio star, did social media kill email? Um, no. Social media might be the cool kid on the block, but email is the reliable neighbor on the other side of the fence. Think Wilson in Home Improvement. (Did I just date myself? Does JTT mean anything to anyone else?) As a writer, one of the best early marketing strategies you can jump on is creating—or at least prepping for—an author newsletter. Why you need an author newsletter: Facebook and other social media platforms are consistently making changes that effect how many people see your updates. With email, you have the control. Other social media platforms require the reader to “go” somewhere, click on a link, etc. Email comes straight to a person’s inbox. Marketing professionals say […]
Read the Rest
About Melissa Tagg
Melissa Tagg is the Marketing & Events Coordinator for My Book Therapy. She's a former reporter turned nonprofit communications coordinator. Her first book, Made to Last, released from Bethany House in September 2013, and her second book, Here to Stay, comes out next spring. Connect with Melissa at www.melissatagg.com.Author Archive | Melissa Tagg
Marketing Via Video Part 2: Video Ideas & Tips
Interest piqued by last week’s post on why you should consider adding videos to your author marketing strategy? Suh-weet. Today’s post is for you! (For the video-phobes, it’s okay. Simply put, not every marketing strategy is for everybody. In which case, see you next week!) Today I’d like to offer some ideas for videos you might create to support your author platform. And I’m sure I’m just barely touching the tip of the proverbial ice berg, so if you have more ideas to add, throw ‘em at me in the comments! Welcome video: This is something I’ve seen on a lot of author websites. Consider creating a welcome video for your home page or your “About Me” page with a brief intro of yourself. Be witty, be fun, be you. […]
Read the Rest
One Thing Marketing: Marketing Before You’re Published Part 3
In the past couple weeks, we’ve talked about practical steps you can take to begin marketing you and your book even before you’re published. Read the first six steps here. 2/12 post Read the next seven steps here. 2/19 post Here are seven more! 14) Start building a newsletter list. Even if you don’t feel you’re ready to start a newsletter yet, it’s never too early to begin building a contact list. But note: You should NEVER add someone to an email list if they haven’t opted in. Simply let people know you’re planning to begin a newsletter in the future and give them the option to subscribe. 15) Enter contests. One of the best reasons to enter a contest is feedback, but let’s say you do well in a […]
Read the RestOne Thing Marketing: Marketing Before You’re Published Part 2
Today we’re continuing our discussion on practical steps you can take to start marketing you and your book before you’re contracted. Last week we covered the first six tips. Here are the next seven: 7) Keep a list of research contacts. Anytime you contact someone for research help—or really anything book-related—add his contact information to your ongoing list. These are people who are guaranteed to be interested in your project because they played a part in it! Thus, they will be great word-of-mouth marketers in the future. 8) Business cards—have them, use them! The young’uns among us may feel business cards are old school. But when you’re serious about marketing and building a network of professional contacts, business cards are incredibly handy. Let’s say you meet a Lifeway Store buyer […]
Read the Rest
