All book marketing is not created equal — nor should it be, particularly when it comes to nonfiction books written to serve your business. (Note I’m talking specifically about business and personal development books in this post, not creative nonfiction and memoirs. There is more overlap with fiction in those genres.) I’ve had clients tell me they tried a book marketing technique they read about but did not have success with it, and often the reason is that the tip was a general marketing technique, versus something targeted to business owners writing a book to serve their business. Let’s look at three key differences.

Book MarketingAllieDanae WalkerApril 7, 2021Book Marketing, Author PlatformComment

My Book Is on Amazon. Now What?

You’ve likely heard me say that your work as an author-entrepreneur is far from over when you finish writing your book. In fact, that’s just the beginning. You might also mistakenly think that you can sit back and relax once your book is uploaded to and available for purchase on Amazon. If only that were true! Here are five ways to maximize book marketing as soon as your book is available.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonJuly 4, 2019Author Platform, The Business of Publishing, Self-PublishingComment

Your Book Time Line

Some of the hesitation I hear regarding a plan for book writing comes with the unknown. As a business owner, you've planned a launch or two (or 10), but you've never spent months writing and then publishing a book. Whom do you need to hire? What steps come first? Here’s what you need to know to plan your book writing and publishing for best results.

To allow plenty of time for schedule mishaps, breaks, and, you know, life and business, author-entrepreneurs should allow six to nine months for this process. (More wiggle room in the schedule never hurt anyone, did it?) Sure, you could do it quicker than that, but putting together a high-quality book takes time.

Ready to dig in?

Organizing Your Content Archive into a Book

Repurposing comes up a lot when it comes to content. I'm not suggesting that you can cut and paste a bunch of blog posts together, slap on a book cover, and consider yourself an author-entrepreneur (PLEASE don't do that). You probably have a lot more content than you think that is appropriate for a book, with some tweaking. One of the first exercises we do when I work with book coaching clients is to look at their content archive compared to their book brain dump.

PublishingJodi BrandonFebruary 19, 2019book writing, Writing Process, Author Platform Comment

The Power of a Published Book

PublishingJodi BrandonJanuary 24, 2019Publication Plan, Author Platform, The Business of PublishingComment

What’s an Author Platform?

The term author platform gained traction in the book publishing world alongside the rise of self-publishing. Essentially, it refers to your ability as an author to sell books based on your audience — who you can reach and convert into paying customers. Traditional book publishers were looking for authors with a large platform to help with marketing efforts. Nonfiction writers with a built-in author platform had a greater chance of getting a book deal, especially with larger book publishers. An author platform offers influence, which gives authors a leg up when it comes to book marketing efforts.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonOctober 23, 2018The Business of Publishing, Author Platform, Self-PublishingComment

The Author-Entrepreneur's Guide to Holiday Book Sales

Beginning on Black Friday and continuing through the beginning of the new year, the holiday season marks the busiest shopping season of the year. This is great news for author-entrepreneurs, whether your book is new or not. Why? Books make a great holiday gift!

Actually waiting until Black Friday to start thinking about holiday book sales is too late, though. You need to be ready well in advance, so start thinking about your plan now.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonOctober 16, 2018Author Platform, The Business of PublishingComment

Launching Your Book: Launch Emails

PublishingJodi BrandonOctober 9, 2018Author Platform, The Business of Publishing, Self-PublishingComment

The 3 Phases of Your Book Launch

If you have followed me for a while, you know that I regularly talk about the long game of book marketing. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I have seen so many authors treat it like a sprint and burn out — quickly. The investment of time, energy, and money can be overwhelming, and it is ongoing, so pacing yourself is critical. Book marketing experts talk about multiple phases of marketing, and most agree that there are three (called by different names, of course): pre-launch, launch, and post-launch.

Don’t Make These 5 Book Marketing Mistakes

With about a million books published each year in the United States, book marketing is absolutely critical. Much of book marketing is trial and error, since every book is unique. That said, here are some common book marketing mistakes I see. Learn from others’ mistakes and avoid these, and you’ll already have a leg up in the book marketing game.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonSeptember 11, 2018Publishing Plan, Author Platform, Self-PublishingComment

3 Tips to Get Your Book into Bookstores

One of the common misconceptions about self-publishing is that you can’t get a self-published book into bookstores. False!

It is absolutely possible to get a self-published book into a bookstore. That said, there are a few things you need to do as an entrepreneur to make sure your book is available to sell in bookstores.

The "Right" Time to Write a Book

Entrepreneurs often ask me, “When is the perfect time to write a book to serve your business?” This isn’t a cop-out answer, but truly, there isn’t one. Lots of factors play into when the “right” time is for people, but here are three guidelines that I discuss with author-entrepreneurs to gauge whether it’s the right time for them. (Note that these will look different for every entrepreneur.)

WritingJodi BrandonMay 29, 2018book writing, Author Platform Comment

Audio Books: Yes or No?

Audiobooks have been on the rise for the last few years. As a book lover, you probably know that. What does this mean for you as an author-entrepreneur? Does this mean you need to find a production studio, hire a professional narrator, and shell out a few thousand bucks to produce an audiobook in addition to your print version? Nope. But you shouldn’t immediately write off the idea of an audiobook, either.

PublishingJodi BrandonApril 24, 2018Author Platform, Publication Plan Comments

Book Trailers: Optional?

Technically speaking, a book trailer IS optional. But given the explosive growth of video in today’s marketing world, you’d be silly NOT to take advantage of it when marketing your book. According to ComScore, readers are 64 percent more likely to buy your book if they see a trailer that promotes your book effectively. 64 PERCENT. That’s just about two out of three people. Creating a book trailer and including it on your book’s sales page as well as in your marketing efforts in general, then, is a no-brainer.

Here are a few pointers to keep the process manageable.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonApril 17, 2018Publication Plan, Author PlatformComment

3 Tips for Successful Book Marketing

With so many possibilities — unlimited possibilities, really — it can be hard to know where to focus your book marketing efforts. That includes both time and money. Whether you DIY your book marketing or hire a book marketing/publicity firm, these three tips work for just about every author-entrepreneur

Why You Need A Book Positioning Study

With thousands of books published every day (yes, you read that correctly), you need to give your book the best chance to succeed. One of the smartest ways to do just that is to conduct a book positioning study. (You might also see this called a competitive analysis or a book marketing study.) Of course book success relies on writing a great book that has a great cover. But there’s SO MUCH more you can do.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonFebruary 27, 2018Author Platform, Publication Plan, The Business of Publishing, Self-PublishingComment

Beta Feedback: What, When, and Why

As an entrepreneur, validating an idea isn’t a new concept to you. Surely you’ve gone through a validating process when you’ve launched other things (courses, products, services). The concept is the same when it comes to a book: Ask the people who are your ideal clients (and thus likely your ideal readers) for feedback.

With a book, though, you might complete the validation process a few times: with your book idea/topic, with your cover, and then with your actual text. The text is our focus today, and in book publishing, we call this process “gathering beta feedback.”

PublishingJodi BrandonFebruary 6, 2018Self-Publishing, Author Platform, book writingComment

Your Book Sales Page

Regardless of the format your sales page takes (whether you have a separate website for your book or it’s a page on your current site), it’s critical that you have one. You must have a way to capture emails to stay in touch with your readers, and Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers are under no obligation to (nor do they) share customer information with you. Think of your book sales page as a “one-stop shop” for anything and everything a potential reader would want to know about your book.

Whoever manages your website should be able to add a page or create a new site for you. If you want a simple option, check out booklaunch.io. There are paid and free versions to set up a sales page for your book if you aren’t technically inclined and don’t have an entire new site in your budget.

Keep in mind that this page isn’t taking the place of your book sales page on Amazon, but Amazon should be people’s second stop, not first. If you send them to Amazon first, they may never make it to your website, they may never sign up for a freebie you’re offering, and they may never check out your other offers and services. So where do you begin?

Book MarketingJodi BrandonNovember 17, 2017Author Platform Comment

Email Marketing for Book Authors

As entrepreneurs and business owners, we know the importance of our email list. We don’t “own” our social media followers. This can take on a whole new level of importance when it comes to book publishing. Why? The almighty Amazon. Amazon doesn’t share customer information with authors, so unless someone who purchases your book is on your list, you may never have an interaction with them, That is NOT ideal, obviously. (I don’t mean to pick on Amazon, because obviously this is true of Barnes & Noble and other booksellers, of course, but let’s face it: Most book sales these days are coming from Amazon.)

Book MarketingJodi BrandonNovember 14, 2017Author Platform, The Business of Publishing Comment

5 Tips for Getting Book Reviews

You’ve likely heard (correctly, I might add) that obtaining book reviews is one of the most stressful parts of the book publishing process. It’s a catch-22 when your book is first released: You need reviews to sell the book, but you need people to read the book in order to get reviews.

Reviews are different from beta feedback, in which you’re guiding a reader through the book in order to get feedback. With a review, anything goes.

Book MarketingJodi BrandonNovember 10, 2017Author PlatformComment

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