Marketing, Marketing, Marketing...

​Marketing.  This post is all about marketing.  First things first, I’m going to put my cards on the table here, I know sweet FA about marketing.  Or I did, until recently.  And now I know sweet FA plus some tiny snippets that are so small you could fit them in a teaspoon.
 
At first, back in the summer when I had delusions that some agents might actually bother to read my queries, let alone give me a positive response, I thought that marketing was something I couldn’t do, and I also didn’t really want to do.  Wouldn’t it be lovely if a major publisher did all that stuff for me?  I thought.
 
I’ve said in previous posts how I gave up on querying pretty quickly.  The more I learned about the world of publishing, the more I realised that getting a traditional publishing deal was a bit like winning the lottery, only to discover that your jackpot is just a few hundred pounds.  Sure, some people get six figure advances.  But they’re like the people who win millions in the lottery – very, very, rare.
 
I’ve never won the lottery, hell, I’ve never even won a raffle.  Other than the odd lottery ticket, I don’t really gamble.  Primarily because I concluded that the only winners in gambling are the bookies or the casinos.  I concluded trying to get a publishing deal was probably in the same boat.
 
So, like most endeavours I commit myself to, I’ve grasped the whole self-publishing thing by the proverbial balls and thrown myself into learning a whole new skill. 
 
Marketing.  It’s somewhat essential to getting your book read.  As far as I can tell, you could write the best book in the world but if no one knows about it, it will sell the square root of zero copies.  So marketing it is.  Marketing, marketing and more marketing.
 
Right, enough waffle, I assume you’re reading this because you want to hear a bit about an amateur’s approach to marketing?  Well here’s what I’ve done so far:

• Twitter – I Started using it (I’ve posted previously about that one).  I now have over 12,000 followers.  Great!  Sounds like a lot, but in reality, whenever I put self-promo posts up, they flop.  I get perhaps a few hundred hits at best.  Which is bugger all compared to the tens of thousands I get for many of my non-self-promo posts.
• Website - I built this one.  It’s been evolving over the months.  I keep adding to it and updating it and I have plans to put loads more stuff on it too - like some short stories and maps and character profiles and stuff.  If you’re interested in knowing when I do, by all means, sign up to my newsletter.
• Newsletter – sign up, you know you want to!  I have managed to get a bunch of subscribers to my newsletter.  I have just under 100 subscribers at present.  They get advance reader copes of my books and updates on my route to publishing and so on.
• YouTube – I made videos, lots of them.  I’ve been recording myself reading my book and have uploaded them to my channel: Gallantrian Legacy.  I’ve made a book trailer too and have recorded some extracts from key parts of my book.  I have almost 200 views in total and 22 subscribers now.  It's not millions but it’s a start!
• Instagram and TikTok.  I’ve got accounts on these, but I’m not making much headway yet.  They probably need a little bit more work to get them going.

 
When I write it all out in a list like that it actually sounds like quite a lot.  And all this for a grand total of 6 pre-orders!  Woop!  You might be thinking at this point that so far, my marketing efforts have been for very little.  I however I have a different view.  From my perspective I’ve been laying the foundations for my proper marketing campaign when it really gets underway.  I figure its pretty hard to sell a book people can’t even buy yet.  Few people will be prepared to pre-order an e-book of a debut novel written by an unknown author which has no available reviews.  That I have any orders at all, could be considered a significant success.
 
So what next?
 
Well, there are a few things to consider.  My book is not out yet.  When it is, I will up the ante a little.  I’ll push it a little harder on all my various platforms.  But to be honest, that’s about it.  I know that doesn’t sound exactly like an extract from Marketing 101, does it?  But bear with me here, I have a plan…
 
I’m a debut author who is releasing a series.  People like a series, or so I’m told.  I certainly do.  By the time late May comes I’ll have three books out.  That is the time to push things, in my humble opinion (formed from reading lots on the subject).  That’s when I’ll pay for ads and generate offers.  It’s when I’ll kick the arse out of all the social media platforms I’m building a presence on.  Its when I’ll send off free copies to publications, when I’ll write to every organisation I have dubious links to and try to get them to push my book.  It’s when I’ll try every trick I can think of to get people to buy my work.  It’s when I might even take up religion just so I can pray my work will be a success.
 
That’s my plan.  It might work, it might not.  If you keep reading my blog, I’m sure you’ll get the answer in the not-too-distant future…

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