And you thought the hard part of writing your book was writing your book...

...no, the hard part is actually selling your book.

My new ebook for kids, Born to Fly, came out a few months ago and I've spent as much time marketing it as writing it. Well, maybe not as much time yet, but it seems that way.

Whether you self-publish your baby or go with a traditional publisher, you've still got to be involved in the marketing efforts. You can have the most wonderful book in the world, but if no one knows it's on Amazon or at your local B&N, no one will buy it. This is particularly critical for ebooks since you don't have paper copies to show anyone.

You can't rely on your publisher to do the marketing for you. You're in charge.

My marketing blitz

The first thing I did was set up a website for the book: www.borntoflybook.com. It's kid-and-parent friendly (teachers too). It's got illustrations from the book, a reader's guide for kids and curriculum for teachers. Most importantly it has links to all the online bookstores where my ebook is for sale.

I also created a Facebook fan page and dedicated Twitter account for the book, again making them kid friendly since my ebook is for kids.

I printed color promo postcards with the ebook cover on one side and promo copy on the other. I carry them around with me, include them in mailings, and give them out whenever I can. This is particularly convenient for ebooks since you don't have a paper book to show anyone.

Next I developed a media kit to make it easy for anyone to write a review of my new book:

• news release
• bio
• jpeg of the book cover and some inside illustrations
• pdf of the book (since I didn't want to ask reviewers to buy the ebook)
• links for the website, Facebook, Twitter, and online ebook stores

I published the news release through PR Web. Actually I won it in a contest, which was great because their services, while excellent, can be a bit pricey. The news release got picked up by a number of publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, and that helped put the book in front of even more new people. It really helps that proceeds from this book go to fight child trafficking -- a built-in news hook.

Then I contacted some of the bloggers I know from Twitter and asked them to participate in a "blog book tour" -- that's the virtual version of an in-person book tour. I sent them the media kit, which includes a pdf of the ebook (since I didn't want to ask them to buy the ebook online).

Here are the latest bloggers to participate in Blossom's Blog Book Tour:

You were born to fly | Miss Edee

It’s not about guilt. It’s about compassion. | Jon Swanson, 300 words a day

Get mad...then save a girl | LucyAnnMoll.com

Who inspires you to greatness? | Basics Matter

The launch of Born to Fly | Emily Bain Murphy, Season of Light

A child Is born | Lynn Mosher, Heading Home

Tale of the suede paper that was Born to Fly | Leah Wiedemer, Roaming Artist

This Christmas help stop child trafficking | FC Kibler, Just Let Me Vent

As soon as their posts were up, I tweeted the links. I also posted the links as a Blog Roll on both my blogs (this one and www.dianascimone.com) -- a nice way to say "thank you" and give them some publicity too. The idea is, if you like what you read, maybe you'll subscribe to their blog as well as mine.

If you're a blogger and would like to be part of Blossom's Blog Book Tour, just let me know.

Plan your marketing strategy now

Even while you're still writing your book, think about creative ways you can market it. Keep a file where you jot down info and contacts.

And you know how I'm always harping at you to write your elevator statement and 3 objectives? This is where you will use them -- in your marketing materials.

Of course, you can't market what you haven't written yet, so keep on writing. And if I can help you, just let me know. Another one of my writer's coaching clients just sold her 5-book package to a traditional publisher. I'd love to help you do the same.

 

Comments

[Lucy Ann Moll]

This is great, Diana. To see exactly what you did helps me know what I can do to market my forthcoming book, Refills: Sharing Cups of Comfort, Truth and Hope with Women.

A question: When did you set up your FB page? Months before you published the book? Or around the time it published?

Blessings, Lucy

[Diana]

Lucy,

I set up my Facebook fan page after I sent the ebook to BookBaby for formatting and cover design, but before the book was actually available in online bookstores. There was about a 3-week window so it gave me time to pull all the marketing materials together.

If you have more time and can set up your FB fan page ahead of time, that's even better because you can be generating buzz before your book even comes out.

[reviews for essay writing services]

Actually, it is an easy thing to write your own book as long as you have a very wide resources which will be used as a path to create an informative book that contains on the things you wanted to talk about.