Marketing Guide for Indies

“I can tell you that for me, just writing a good book is not enough.  I’d heard time and time again that cream will rise and good books will be found, but I don’t think that’s true.  There are too many books in general to be found without doing something.  Marketing must be done.”
—Sariah Wilson

It’s tempting to say that your work is done when you hit a button and upload your book onto Amazon, B&N, Itunes, Kobo, Smashwords, etc.—but as we all know, getting to this point is only half the battle. Now, you need to get your book to the readers who will most appreciate it. It takes a lot of work for authors to get their books into readers’ hands. And as an Indie author, the advertising lies solely with you. This can be a daunting, though also an exciting prospect.

My hope is that by including this portion on marketing in my blog that Indie authors won’t have to do this blindly. I’ve included the following Indie authors’ experiences—both good and bad—to help you make educated decisions on your own marketing. You will also find that what works for one author, doesn’t work for another. But the goal is finding what works for you.

Before I begin, let me start out by thanking the Indie authors who donated their time to answer my questions on marketing. Thank you: Cindy C Bennett, Sariah Wilson, Cami Checketts, Rachel Ann Nunes, Cindy Hogan, Heather Justesen, Rachael Anderson, and Rebecca Talley.

So after that fine introduction, let’s start with the basics: The 4 P’s

Besides winning a lot of Burger King hats in my marketing classes at good ol’ BYU, I’ve learned the 4 P’s in marketing. They are:
Product—that’s your book
Price—we’ve discussed this in the Indie Guide
And yet to be discussed in the marketing guide:
People (also very important)—figuring out your target audience and their demographics, understanding what they are looking for, knowing where they are.
Placement—finding out how to reach your readers, knowing where your audience will find your book, where to place your advertisements, how to make your book accessible, etc.

So to make this easier, here are the topics of discussions. Feel free to skip to the topics that most interest you, but remember; if you’re serious about selling your book, be sure to browse through the other topics as well. There is a lot of good information to be found here.

1-PEOPLE: FIND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
2-PLACEMENT: REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
3-BUILD YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
4-BLOG TOURS, KDP SELECT, FREE GIVEAWAYS. OH MY!
5-PLETHORA OF PROMO IDEAS