Welcome To Marketing Tips For Authors

Welcome to the first post of Marketing Tips for Authors. I am excited about this blog, which is turning into one of many blogs I am starting to create. Over the months, I am learning more and more about blogging and how it can help me market my book and get it in front of new readers.

I have spoken at the Writer's Guild of Texas, of which I am a member, and the Dallas Self Publishing Support Group about guerrilla marketing for authors. I was a Marketing Director for a local company and took that experience to help me get the word out about my new novel. But I didn't have the mega budget from a doting publisher that authors dream of, so I decided to work smart to get the biggest bang for my buck.

There are a lot of people out there who will sell their services to help you market your book. My belief is, if you have the money, the right one can help you tremendously. But if you don't have the money, there are some simple things you can do to help you get your book and your name in front of potential readers.

That's what this blog is about. It's a series of tips that I have learned which can help the author, who may not know where to start, find their place in the online marketing world. It is not meant to be a 5 star marketing plan to ultimately get you on Oprah, but it can help you get your book in front of many readers who probably never would have heard of your or your book had you not followed these tips.

It will be geared toward the novice, so admittedly, it will be presented in the simplest of terms. If you are an experienced author/marketer, then I invite you to leave comments to document your experiences. In fact, if you feel you have something valuable to share with authors who are struggling with marketing their book, then feel free to contact me about being a guest blogger. While I wholeheartedly support people offering their services for a fee, these guest spots must offer practical advice for anyone reading. In return for that content, I will happily let you mention your services and contact info for authors who may be interested.

Remember, there are usually a dozen ways to accomplish something and the same is true for marketing your book. I may touch on one or two of my favorite; that doesn't mean that there are not other ways out there with no merit. I will fight to not be guilty of data-dumping but I will also try to present options when I see them.

So, here's where we are. I am forwarding this blog to the members of the two groups I mentioned earlier. For those who are interested, please add a comment with any questions you may wish me to address in this blog. And you can help me by forwarding this to other authors you know. The more people we have commenting, asking and answering questions, the more valuable and rich this blog can be.

And for those in the Dallas area, I will be conducting a workshop at the Richardson Public Library on Saturday March 28th, free of charge, from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm on this very topic. This is sponsored by the Writer's Guild of Texas as part of their educational programs for local writers. I will paste the blurb I wrote for the workshop/seminar at the end of this post.

Thank you for taking the first steps of this journey with me. Together, I believe we can learn better, cost effect ways to do the dirty side of writing: marketing. Hopefully, it won't take too long before you come to learn that it's not as hard as it may sound. And you may even find it rather enjoyable. But ultimately, it will lead to new people who find your book and become your fan, eagerly awaiting you next book to come out.

Let me hear your questions and what you are looking for. My goal is to post daily tips on this site, so check back often. Some may be short and sweet; others will be what they call "Pillar Post." Pillar Post are longer, more in-depth posts that you can sink your teeth into.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Expect this blog to get rolling at full speed by the beginning of next week.

Tony

--Blurb for the upcoming marketing workshop/seminar in Richardson, TX. on March 28th--

Whether you are a seasoned writer or a novice writer with your first book in hand, one of the toughest things you may find yourself doing is getting your book in front of readers. Unless you are fortunate enough to have an agent secure a marketing budget from the publisher when you sign, you will find that most of the marketing work is up to you.

The Samson Effect author, Tony Eldridge, shares his ideas and experiences about his journey of marketing The Samson Effect. He put his experience as a Marketing Director for a growing company to use to help promote his book. Now, he will share that knowledge with you. Here is a taste of the topics he will cover:

How to create a growing mailing list
How to find other mailing lists worth thousands of dollars that you can send your message to for free
How to recruit an army of soldiers to go forth and spread the message about your book (and not have to pay them a dime)
Ideas for getting in the newspapers without buying an ad
Navigating the currents of the Social Media (MySpace, Facebook, and a few more you may not have heard of before)
Blogging—finding readers and keeping them coming back for more
and much more….

This self-proclaimed frugal writer will show you ways you can create impactful marketing plans without breaking your budget. If you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves and applying a little elbow grease, then you may pick up a tip or two that just may help you find a whole new readership dying to read your work.