Are You Taking Advantage Of Unplanned Marketing Opportunities?

A marketing plan is a vital part of your success when it comes to promoting your book. It gives you guidance, keeps you moving forward in your promotion activities, and helps you prioritize your time, money and efforts. But sometimes activities come along that can be wonderful marketing opportunities if you have an eye for them. When those opportunities come, are your ready to take advantage of them? Here are some unplanned marketing opportunities to keep your eye out for:

1. Current Events Tie-Ins- One thing you cannot plan for is breaking news. But when breaking news happens and it relates to your book, you need to be ready to jump on it quickly. Remember, breaking news is hot today, gone tomorrow. If you wait too long, you may miss a golden opportunity.
   
   Shortly after The Samson Effect was published, there was a scientific breakthrough in real life that followed the fiction in my book. It had to do with seed viability and ancient archeological excavations. I wrote up a teaser called Fact Vs. Fiction and contacted local gardening groups, nurseries, and gardening radio hosts about this. It was a way that my action/adventure novel found interest in areas I would never had been able to plan in a marketing plan.
   
   
2. Testimonials and Endorsements- It would be nice if we could pre-plan all of our testimonials and endorsements for our book, but these rarely come with our planning. When the time comes and you see these marketing gems, be ready to jump in and promote them. Watch the Amazon.com product page for new reviews. Talk to leaders in your community and businesses. When you hear an endorsement or testimonial, jot it down, check with the source for accuracy and post it on your site an in your newsletter. If it's a high profile endorsement, then a news release may be in order. Where ever they come from, be ready to use them when you see them.
   
   
3. Communicators who love your book- This is one of my personal favorites. Simply, keep your eyes and ears open for people who can communicate with a mass audience who tell you that they loved your book. These people may write company newsletters, community posts, or they may be an officer in a civic organization. You may be surprised at how willing they are to mention your book to their readership/membership if you simply ask.
   
   
4. Become a charity sponsor- If you see that a local charity is raising money, you can easily get involved, and do a good deed, by donating signed copies of your book to them. They can sell these books or raffle them off. This is also a way for you to get press from an organization who is already promoting a fundraiser.
   
   
5. Bring two organizations together over your book- Okay, this is a really cool one that I am in the process of working on at the moment. I have been asked to speak about my book to a very influential local civic organization. At the same time, I am in contact with the largest retailer in the town about carrying my book. This retailer pours millions into the community. If I can bring the retailer together with the civic organization and use a portion of the sales of my book from the retailer as a fundraiser with the civic organization, I will get some powerful press. I will keep you posted on how this one goes.
   

The purpose of this post is to help you start to think outside the box when it comes to marketing your book. Marketing can be as creative as you can make it, and opportunities are out there every day. It takes some practice and determination, but with dedication, you can learn to find some wonderful unplanned opportunities to market your book.

Tony Eldridge