Marketing your book, getting the news out that *YOU* have a book available for purchase!

[CdnWriter]

This is an idea I have been turning over and over in my mind for a bit.

The problem for new authors that need to get their work out into the public awareness is usually that they don't have a marketing team behind them. Plus, no offence to authors but writing a book that people want to read and marketing a book, getting the word out that *YOU* have a book available for purchase and convincing the buying public to spend money on your book are two different skill sets.

So...how to solve that dilemma?

I realize this might be a HORRIBLE idea....BUT.....have you considered approaching a local community college or high school that does marketing course to see if maybe the school could give the student credit if they did your marketing for you? They would get school credit & a teacher (& you) would have to approve their work, and then you'd get a marketing plan and some information for your books? You'd have to write the student a letter of reference probably, maybe end provide them with copies of your book(s), say 2 or 3 so they can read one and have 1 or 2 to gift people. Win for the student that gets real life experience. Win for the school that gets to provide the student with the opportunity that they don't get elsewhere. Win for the author that gets a marketing plan at a low cost.

Or, you could post an ad in the local college looking for someone who wants real life experience marketing books to work with you, negotiate a price for their work. You can also look on places like Reddit's r/beermoney and r/commissions for example as well as Fvverr or other online marketplaces for people to do work for you.

I like the community college option especially if the college can develop an on-going relationship with several authors so they always have a practical skills component for their students that also benefits the local authors in the community. Down the line, if the author is successful, it would also be nice for the author to contribute towards the college's programs via a scholarship, by adding funds to an existing scholarship or implementing a completely new scholarship. I've seen scholarships for as little as $100 towards the cost of textbooks for example.

In terms of cost, I think the authors would have to contribute actual money towards a scholarship but let's say 5 authors all contribute $100 - $200 annually to a scholarship for marketing students, that's a pot of money that would be $500 - $1,000 value. The author would also have to provide the student with a letter of reference and possibly 2 or 3 copies of their book - one for the student and 1 or 2 for them to gift at Christmas or birthdays. Perhaps one book as well for the school library. The main cost though is probably time. The author is going to have to spend time with the student explaining what the book is, and checking that the student is doing marketing that fits with the author's vision.

So....win for the student that gets practical, real life experience in marketing. Win for the author(s) that gets marketing plans and expertise at a lower cost than can be found elsewhere. Win for the school that gets a practical, real world event for the students to participate in and hopefully make their program more desirable and attract more students (and tuition money).

Turning all of this over and around in my head, everything makes sense. I'm sure there's bound to be issues that people will bring up but hopefully there will be enough contributors to this thread that the issues can be resolved!

Happy writing! Happy marketing!

 

[Pyroglyphian]

I like your idea in principle — that of calling on other people to fill skills gaps.

I feel there’s a level of risk involved for both parties, which might undermine the programme. By approaching high schools for a marketing plan, the author risks ending up with a marketing plan of dubious efficacy. Similarly, although we commonly think of marketing as a communication activity, this is just one aspect of the discipline; the development of a marketable product is foundational to successful marketing — as you say, a book that people might actually want to read. However, removing gatekeepers through self-publishing also means removing the layers of quality control those gatekeepers might have provided; the student, then, risks ending up trying to market an unmarketable product.

I don’t believe there’s anyone on this forum who isn’t capable of learning how to market their work. I mean, if you can learn how to write a book that people want to read, you’re certainly capable of learning how to promote it. I think it’s more an aversion to marketing practice that holds creatives back.