Does it sometimes seems that you are out there all alone with your book\u2014that no one else really cares about it? You\u2019re partly right. No one cares about it as much as you do. And that\u2019s why you are the best and most effective person to promote it.<\/p>\n
But doesn\u2019t it sometimes seem as though you spend a lot of time for little return? You promote, promote, promote and your effort doesn\u2019t compute into the return you expect. Making a sale is like pulling a tooth from an angry lion or gorilla. Sure, I sometimes question the effort I put in. We all do.<\/p>\n
But I have to tell you that, if you are effectively promoting your book, if you are constantly spreading the word and getting tons of publicity, you are making an impression. And I can tell you this\u2014if you stop promoting, your book will die.<\/p>\n
Often, we don\u2019t know which publicity tactics are working for us. It used to be that you could provide a code in your return address when advertising or promoting and, when you got a book order, you could tell from the code how the customer heard about your book. Today, it seems that most people order their books from Amazon or another favorite online or downtown bookstore and there is no way to know which of your publicity efforts are most effective.<\/p>\n
Most of you know that I am the executive director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). While I\u2019m out promoting my books, I also promote SPAWN at my presentations\/workshops, at book festivals, in my blog, in my bio when I\u2019m guest blogger and at the end of my articles. We have a section on our membership form asking \u201cHow did you hear about us?\u201d And we\u2019ve learned that our promotion is effective. People do hold onto the promo material we hand out at events. They follow recommendations in the books they read (generally my books). They pay attention to my bio. <\/p>\n
While some new members find us by doing an Internet search, it seems that the majority are responding to our strategic publicity.<\/p>\n
Remember this message. If you want to connect with and attract your audience, you must go where they are, interact with them, make sure they walk away with something either through an article, book or blog or, when in person, a handout. If you are addressing your true audience with your promotional material, publicity, spiel, they will respond. If not now, later. <\/p>\n
Learn more about using your personality to promote your book by reading my latest book, \u201cTalk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.\u201d It\u2019s at amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. In print, on kindle and now audio. Planning a road trip? Buy the audio version and learn as you drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Does it sometimes seems that you are out there all alone with your book\u2014that no one else really cares about it? You\u2019re partly right. No one cares about it as much as you do. And that\u2019s why you are the best and most effective person to promote it. But doesn\u2019t it sometimes seem as though […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t