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One Thing Marketing: Pieces of a Marketing Plan Part 2

By on February 18, 2014 in Melissa Tagg, One Thing Marketing, Platform-building

We’re taking a look at the various pieces to include in the marketing portion of your novel proposal. Last time we talked about including a brief intro to your marketing plan and then a list of publications. If you missed it, you can check it out here.

Today, we’ll cover two more sections: Media Appearances and Networks.

Media Appearances

Following the Publications section of my proposal’s marketing plan, I included a list of all the local TV and radio stations at which I’d seek out coverage. I had a little bit of an advantage here because in my day job I work with the media quite a bit. But simply showing your potential agent or publisher you’re informed about your local media and willing to make an effort at grassroots is just plain smart.

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One Thing Marketing: Pieces of a Marketing Plan – Part 1

By on February 4, 2014 in Melissa Tagg, One Thing Marketing, Platform-building

It’s time to talk marketing plans!

And specifically, the marketing plan you’ll need to include in your proposal when you get ready to submit it to an agent or editor. I’ve seen marketing plans anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages. I tend to be in the two-page range myself. I think it’s important that we show agents and editors we understand the importance of building a platform and marketing our books.

For the next couple months in these “One Thing Marketing” posts, we’re going to look at the components of a marketing plan. By the time we’re done, if you follow along you should have a good start on your own marketing plan. Let’s get started…

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One Thing Marketing: A different sort of marketing post

By on January 21, 2014 in Melissa Tagg, One Thing Marketing, Platform-building, Writing Life

Usually this bi-weekly One Thing Marketing “column” is meant to give small, practical tips for marketing you and your writing. But I’ve kept having the same niggling marketing thoughts in the back of my head for a couple weeks now and I decided I’d finally let them out. Next time we’ll go back to the usual content as I begin a series on the components of a marketing plan. But for today, like I said, a little something different…

So, there’s something I’m realizing more and more when it comes to marketing: If you talk about it long enough, some wrong mentality can creep in pretty easily. And that wrong mentality basically boils down to thinking we control our book sales. And it usually brings along with it a pesky dose of stress about how the book is doing and worry that we aren’t doing enough marketing work on our end.

Which is kind of funny, really, because you’ll always hear the stat that 80% of book sales still happen due to word of mouth. So unless we’re actually consistently putting words in other people’s mouths (and then hey, while we’re at it, pulling out their wallets and guiding them through the process of buying our books), we simply can’t control what happens on the buyer’s end.

And it’s these thoughts that have had me pondering lately how, really, the most important piece of any marketing plan isn’t social media wizadry or that awesome idea no one else has thought up or the best-looking newsletter on the block or a slew of book-signings. No. It’s this:

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One Thing Marketing: Should I do a book trailer?

By on January 7, 2014 in Melissa Tagg, One Thing Marketing, Platform-building

I was recently part of a Facebook group discussion on book trailers. The conversation included pre-pubbed, published and multi-published authors and opinions varied. Here’s where I landed:
If your publisher is going to pay to create a book trailer for you…awesome.

If you have video editing know-how and time and think it’d be fun to create your own cool, non-cheesy trailer…awesome.

If you have to use your own money to pay someone else to create a trailer…well, that’s where I waffle a bit. But not because I have anything against book trailers. I think they can be a pretty smart move and I’ll tell you why in a second. The only reason I’d waffle is if paying for a book trailer takes away resources from other, possibly better marketing efforts.

For instance, if your choice is between a book trailer and a well-placed ad on an incredibly well-read, reader-oriented website (note “reader-oriented”–placing ads on websites designed for writers probably isn’t as effective), then go with the ad.
But here’s why I think book trailers can still be a good idea and aren’t just a passing fad:

They give you AND your fans something to do and something to share before your book releases.

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