How should YOU market?- Jeremy Robinson

I am thrilled to introduce you to one of the best thriller authors today. Jeremy Robinson has done what few people have done. He self published a novel that became Lulu's best selling fiction of all time; he's written non-fiction; he's started his own publishing company; and he has inked 2--count them--2 three book deals from traditional publishing companies (Variance Publishing and Thomas Dunne Books); and he has a film company working on bringing his characters to life on the silver screen. But what I'm excited about is his incredible book marketing ability. You only have to check out his book trailers to see the thrilling drama and the hilarious antics that work viral magic at promoting his books. Jeremy has mastered the art and science of book marketing and he has graciously agreed to speak to Marketing Tips For Authors readers about this very topic.

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How should YOU market?
By Jeremy Robinson

People often ask me about my marketing techniques. What works best? What do I do the most? How often do I do it? The answer is: everything and all the time. When I'm in the middle of writing a novel I tend to spend three hours of of every day on marketing. When I'm not writing a novel, I spend 80% of my time, every day marketing. And I try everything. That has been the secret to my marketing success. There isn't anything I'm unwilling to try and I pursue it with the same determination that I put into my novels. That is what makes marketing successful.

This is something that I learned the hard way and most new writers don't even think about. True, I started out as a self-publisher, then moved up to a small press owner, and now have a three book deal with Thomas Dunne Books. But guess what? I'm spending even more time (and more money) on marketing than I ever have before. Pulse, the first of my Chess Team series, comes out on May 26th. I began actively promoting the book at the end of March, two months before its release and will continue to market it actively up through December, at which time I'll switch gears to marketing the second book in the series, due out in February.

But still, you're wondering what do you do? Here's the vague short list:

1.Website,
2. Facebook
3. Myspace
4. Twitter
5. Youtube vlog (video blog)
6. Blog
7. Viral videos
8. Book trailers
9. Amazon Blog
10. Other Amazon tricks
11. Radio interviews
12. Blog interviews
13. Reach out to reviewers
14. Contests
15. Podcast
16. Press releases
17. A few other things I consider top secret.

Now you can see why it takes so much time! I am actively doing all of those things. It's often monotonous. Tedious. Exhausting. I loath doing the majority of it. I would much rather be writing. But until a large publisher starts hiring people to do most of that for me, it's all on me (and you). And believe me, that won't happen until I'm selling copious amounts of books.

So for anyone aspiring to be an author, become and expert on these things. Better yet, come up with some tricks of your own. And one final piece of advice, don't ask how to do these things well. Dive in. Fight in the trenches. Figure things out. The best way to learn what works best for you isn't to emulate or ask how other authors market. It's to get your hands dirty and do it yourself. It's taken me the last four years to get good at marketing and I still have a lot to learn.

To visit my website and see a lot of what I do in action, visit: www.jeremyrobinsononline.com and don't forget to pick up Pulse this summer!