How to Create Your Best Book Marketing Strategy

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

Free Workshop in Progress: This summer on our ACFW-SC chapter blog we are happy to welcome one of our members, Misty M. Beller, for a special 12-week workshop on Marketing. Misty has experienced great success marketing her first novel and later ones, consistently selling 10,000 books a month. Join this free workshop and be blessed. Be sure to leave a comment and tweet the blogs to your friends. 

Elva Cobb Martin, President, ACFW-SC Chapter  www.elvamartin.com

"I hate marketing!" 

If I had a nickel for every time a writer said that, I would be living debt-free on a 2000 acre ranch in the Montana mountains. :) 

The fact is...book marketing doesn't have to be hard. Yet many writers hate it for one (or both) of two reasons. 

1. They don't know exactly what to do. I'm hoping to help you take the sting out of this obstacle as we proceed through this 12-week workshop. You may not be an expert when we're done, but I want you to at least have an understanding of the options available to you.
2. They try to force an uncomfortable marketing strategy to fit them and their book. There is not a single marketing approach that's right for every book. 

Coming from the corporate world, I'm an avid proponent of the "low-hanging fruit" strategy. 

In other words, find the tasks that will be easiest to start with while yielding good results. Accomplish those, then move on to marketing tasks that are a little more challenging. 

How to determine which marketing strategy is right for you and your book?

To find your best marketing approach, you'll need to accomplish three basic tasks:

1. Determine your goals for your book sales. (can be monetary, quantity of sales, or a tangible achievement)
2. Determine which resources (time and/or money) you have most available and are willing to invest in your marketing efforts.
3. Identify the low-hanging fruits and go after them. In other words, pick the marketing methods and tasks that best fit with your available resources and comfort zone, then accomplish them first. As you develop your efforts, you can branch out to other tasks.

Sounds simple, right? 

I know, I'm chuckling along with you. But it really isn't that hard. 

Before we continue through the remaining five weeks of the workshop, take a moment to identify your goals. If you're traditionally published, maybe this is a conversation you have your publisher, so you know you're on the same page regarding sales numbers. 

Also, take stock of the resources you're willing to invest in marketing, both time and money. I think you'll find you have more of both than you first consider, but it's helpful to put some thought into it. 

Next week, we'll return to specific marketing options, but until then, take the opportunity to review the previous posts on advertising and make a list of which

options are low-hanging fruits for you! 

The Scoop on Advertising, Part One 

The Scoop on Advertising, Part Two

The Scoop on Advertising, Part Three

The Scoop on Advertising, Part Four

The Scoop on Advertising, Part Five

Now, I'd love to hear your favorite options! Leave a comment with your low-hanging fruits!

Misty M. Beller writes Christian historical romance, and is author of the bestselling novels The Lady and the Mountain Man and The Lady and the Mountain Doctor.

Misty was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. About ten years ago, she made a career change from farm life into the business world, where she now works as a Senior Manager and Director of Process & Training. Her husband and two daughters are gifts from God, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

You can find her on her website, reader blog, marketing blog for authors, Goodreads,Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. Or check out her latest book, The Rancher Takes a Cook from Prism Book Group.