Taking a Different Approach

Since I started this blog a couple of years ago, things have changed! In the publishing industry, more and more book publishers are taking submissions only from agents. More authors are self-publishing than ever before. And---new self-publishing and subsidy publishing companies are springing up.

Because the market is changing, your marketing approach should also change. I've decided to move this blog to www.grmarketing@wordpress.com, where I have changed the title to Golden Rule Marketing for Writers. Still, I'll concentrate on the Christian market, but the principles and methods that will be presented on the new blog will be useful for writers in other markets, too. If you follow the new blog, you can follow my revision of my marketing e-book as I re-tool it for the changing times. Posts on the new blog will update some of what you've followed on this one.

I invite you to visit the new blog and subscribe, either by RSS feed or my e-mail. If you subscribe to the new blog, you will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of my e-book, A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work. Go to Golden Rule Marketing for details on how to enter.

Golden Rule Marketing

Recently, I discovered a great Web site for writers at WritingtoServe.net. I submitted an article entitled "Golden Rule Marketing for Writers," and it is online now.

http://writingtoserve.net/?p=920

If you comment on that article, you will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of my e-book, A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work.

Word of Mouth Marketing Revisited

Last year, I posted a brief article about word of mouth marketing. See it here. Recently, I read a book entitled Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz. It's the best comprehensive treatment of the subject I've seen.

The best way to sell your product or service is to get people talking about it. It's nothing new. It's just that there are new ways to generate word of mouth "advertisement" for your business. Visit the Word of Mouth Marketing site for a summary of what's in the book.

Once you've reviewed the main points in the book, you might think, "Why do I have to know about this? I'm a writer, not a business person." If you write books, word of mouth can sell books for you. Fiction writers use blogs, Twitter, and Facebook to generate buzz about their books. It works for writers of non-fiction books as well. Article writers need to be known by the editors to whom they want to submit work.

How can word of mouth marketing help you in your writing career? Get the book if you think you need it. This is a prime example of how a business marketing technique can be adapted to marketing your writing.

Networking through Social Media

In past posts, we've explored networking as a component of marketing for writers. All posts containing references to networking can be found here. Most people prefer networking in person, but online networking has become popular because of its convenience and affordability. Since this blog deals with marketing for writers, I'll share some of the information I've found on how social media are used as a marketing tool for writers.

What are "social media?" “Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. These sites typically use technologies such as blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs to allow users to interact”. Read this entire article here.

The more familiar SM tools are Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube. Christian writers might want to check out ShoutLife. I have Shoutlife, Facebook, and Twitter accounts myself, and I'm still trying to figure out how I want to use them, so I'll share my thoughts and some links to further information on each.

Facebook: Once you set up your profile, you can search for friends through your e-mail account's address book or search by a person's name. Once you invite someone to be your friend, he or she must accept your invitation before you have access to their information. I've found several old friends on Facebook, and I've been able to keep up with what's going on with them. It's fun, but it doesn't help me with marketing my writing unless my old friends buy my books or provide leads to writing jobs.

The best thing to do is check it out for yourself. Spend a little time learning about it, and then you can decide if Facebook fits into your marketing plan. Here are some useful links about Facebook.

• Videos on how to use Facebook
• Facebook for Writers

Twitter: If you haven't tried Twitter, at least you've probably heard about it. Many TV news personalities are announcing that they are on Twitter. Twitter posts, called tweets, answer the question, "What are you doing?" People who use Twitter for business promotion will say something like, "I'm putting the finishing touches on my new novel." Others will tell you that they're out the door to get a pedicure. My gripe with Twitter is that you are supposed to try to "follow" a lot of people so that they will follow you. However, I've found that some people tweet constantly while they really don't have much to say. For example, I'm trying to follow other writers, literary agents, bloggers, and Christian groups. I've had to stop following some people because they tweet about their personal life and don't provide much industry information that I'm looking for.

Again, you need to try it and see. I've found these sites useful in my quest to learn Twitter.

• Twitter for writers
• How to Twitter
• Twitter and the Christian writer

Shoutlife: This site is for networking between Christian authors, musicians, and organizations. I set my account up last year, and, after setting up information on how to buy my e-books, I lost interest. You can find and invite friends to your list and join groups just as you can on other social networking sites. Your personal profile page can substitute for a Web site if you're just starting out with promoting your writing. There's also a blog option.

What's best for you? For readers who already use these sites, I welcome your comments on how you've used them to promote your writing career. If you have never tried any of these, choose one and give it a try. It will take some time, and you're the only person who can decide if it's worth the time invested.

Revisiting the Marketing Mix - Chance to Win Free E-book

The BAMW in this blog's name stands for A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work (for Writers and Editors), the title of my e-book on applying the Four P's marketing model to writers and their efforts to market their work. See my Web site for more information.

Periodically, I think it helps new subscribers if I revisit this marketing concept. Let's start with my initial post for a complete explanation of the purpose of this blog:
http://bamw.blogspot.com/2007/02/bamw-blog-launch.html.

For a sample Four P's analysis for beginning writers, go here.

For a series of links to Web sites offering marketing information for writers, link here.

Finally, if you subscribe to this blog via e-mail subscription, you might win a free copy of the e-book version of A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work. Each person who subscribes between now and 12:00 noon on May 1, 2009, will be entered in a drawing for a free e-book. Your subscription notice provides me with your e-mail address, so I will contact you if you are the winner. The e-book will be sent to you as an e-mail attachment.

Blogging-Marketing for Writers

I have so many blogs, and all the writing I do on them is for free. So---why do I bother with blogs if I'm spending a lot of time and not getting paid for it?

• I am building an online portfolio of writing samples for those who might consider buying my work.
• I am showing my expertise in the subject matter that is contained in my blogs.
• I hope to attract subscribers who may buy my work, read my work, or be interested in my editing/mentoring services.
  

If you happened upon this blog, I invite you to subscribe. I post about once a month. You can subscribe by e-mail or RSS feed. If you have any difficulty with that, make a comment below, and I will respond to your request.

I also invite you to take a look at my other blogs and subscribe to them if you like what you see. In Tennessee Christian Reader, you'll find book reviews, most by me, but some by other authors. In my devotional blog, I'm publishing some previously written devotionals so that I will have online samples if I ask for a work-for-hire assignment. On my Blogger version of Wired to Write, I provide first-hand information and links to other sites providing resources for writers.

I use Blogger most of the time, because I've found it very user-friendly. However, since many writers sing the praises of Wordpress, I've also set up a couple of blogs there. I started the Wired to Write blog on Wordpress and the content is still there. However, since I found Blogger easier to use, I transferred to Blogger for regular posts. Wordpress does have one feature that I really like. You can do a blog post which will appear in chronological order, or you can set up a static page like my Online Resources for Christian Writers page.

If you're a writer seeking publication, you need to have a blog and post regularly. If you have a Web site, you may have the option of setting up a blog on it. Check it out. If you don't have a Web site, go to www.webs.com and set up a free site. There's a blog option in their Web design package. Once you get your site and blog up and running, you may decide that you need to upgrade to a paid version, but the free version is enough to get you started.

I invite you to comment on this blog or any of the others listed here. When you do that, other subscribers become familiar with you, and you're on the way to establishing a networking relationship with other writers.

Do You Have a Platform for Selling Your Writing?

Marketing is a bad word for many writers. For writers who are newly interested in getting their work published, marketing is an unwelcome surprise. The writing is what the writer is interested in, and selling it is not even on the radar screen.

If you go to a workshop on book publishing, you are sure to hear the word "platform." Every writer should have one, they say. Just today, I read two excellent blog posts on the subject, and I want to share them with you rather than writing my own treatise on the subject.

First, Rachelle Gardner, literary agent, has provided an excellent definition of what a platform is. She also offers separate articles on fiction and nonfiction platforms. Read every word. You will get quite an education.

Second, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, discusses platforms on his blog, From Where I Sit.

If you read all of these posts, you will know everything that's important to know about platforms for writers for the foreseeable future.