You've done the research and now you're implementing your strategy. Do you know
if it's working? The truth is, we sometimes get so caught up in the "doing" that
we don't take time to see if we're spending our time wisely.
It's
important to know how to evaluate your marketing, and this is something you'll
want to assess on a regular basis. Not sure how to proceed? We've got 7
benchmarks you can use to determine if your marketing efforts work - or
not.
1. What's the (real) Goal? You can only learn
what's working if you have established goals. While book sales can be one goal,
there are many other objectives you should seek. Here are a few:
a. Use
Your Expertise to Your Advantage. Become known for what you know, reach readers,
expand your network. This works even for fiction authors - what kind of research
did you do for your book? That could be an area to develop yourself as an
expert. Or perhaps you've become an authority on your genre, or the industry.
This can lead to speaking opportunities, interviews, events and additional ways
to get exposure for you and your book. Owning a particular niche in your market
is key and, in many cases, could be a solid path to your success.
b.
Become More Discoverable: Work on ways for readers to find you; the buzz word in
the industry is "discoverability." What that means is you want there to be
multiple ways for readers to learn about you and your book online. You can
achieve this through blogging, blog tours, guest posts, and social media, for
starters. Blogging may seem less sexy than, let’s say, posting pictures to
Instagram, but it’s still one of the best ways to get found.
c. Get More
People to Your Site: Whether it's through regular blogging, or being active on
social media, or (preferably) a combination of the two, you want to encourage
people to visit your site more frequently. Google rewards this by making you
rank higher in search, which makes you easier to find online.
d.
Personalize Your Strategy: There's plenty of great advice out there, but in the
end, you need to think about what's best for you and your book. Where are your
followers online? That's where you should be, even if the latest hot thing is
Pinterest. Take time to track down your readers and connect with
them.
2. Don't Wear Blinders: Marketing has a greater
chance of success when you diversify. You need to do different things over a
period of time before you really see results. If Facebook marketing is good for
you, fine, but what else can you do to get yourself out there? Whether you’re
writing articles, scheduling speaking engagements, or holding author events -
make sure your marketing plan includes variety.
3. Set
Benchmarks: Once you know what you're going to do to market yourself,
you need to set goals. Remember that social networking is just that - it's
participating in the online conversation. That means your social media goals
have to include more than just the number of fans or followers you have. If
those followers are visiting your site and giving you greater exposure online
then your strategy is a success - regardless of the number of followers you have
(and whether a competitor has more fans or followers than
you).
4. Create a Marketing Plan: I know this is a term
many authors hate: marketing plan, but it’s really necessary if you’re going to
move ahead in efficient ways. Now, when I say marketing plan I don’t mean some
long, complicated plan that’s 70 pages long. I mean an outline of what you’re
going to do and when. It can even be as simple as setting a half a dozen goals
for yourself a month and making sure you hit those goals. Editorial calendars
are great, too, so define what you’ll address and what time of year you’ll
dedicate to a particular task. This is often a great way to take your work and
fold it into a plan that keeps you moving forward without having to start each
day trying to figure out, “what will I talk about now?”
5.
Focus: While authors want readers, who else can you include in your
network? Think about booksellers, book reviewers, interviews, speaking events,
bulk sales - you'll reach each segment in a different way but it's important to
have this goal in mind before you start marketing. This will help you stay
focused and ensure that you are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to
promoting your book.
6. Evaluate Effectively: You need
some metrics to determine if you're spending your time wisely. For instance,
consider these methods:
a. Are You Getting Retweeted? If you're on
Twitter, a sure sign of success is when your tweets get retweeted. You can use
tools like twitteranalyzer.com to review your stats. In general, you'll want to
see a few retweets and new follows each week to know that your Twitter strategy
works.
b. What's Your Website Activity? Are more people visiting your
site? If you're getting yourself out there successfully that will lead to more
website (or blog) traffic. Free tools like Google Analytics can help you learn
more about who visits your site, when, and how they find you.
c. Are You
Getting Site Links? Look for incoming links to your site. Before you start
marketing, see how many links you're getting; then once your marketing is
underway check these stats on a regular basis so you can chart the
change.
d. Is Your Mailing List Growing? If you've been reaching out to
the right people, you'll see an increase in your list. An email list is a
valuable marketing tool, and it’s something that you own. Make sure visitors to
your site can sign up for your list easily, and promote your list via social
media for additional sign-ups.
7. Cultivate Industry
Contacts: Don't think of them as competitors, and use social media to
make contacts with writers in your genre, other authors, and industry experts,
etc. It's a great way to meet a lot of people and network. Enterprising authors
find ways to cross-promote successfully, whether it's simply sharing each
other's social media content or something more elaborate like collaborating on a
blog.
Many authors end up frustrated when they start marketing their
books because they feel like nothing is happening. But without a written plan,
defined goals, and an evaluation system there's no way to know if your marketing
efforts are growing your presence online or simply stagnating. These tips are
designed to give you a means to measure your marketing activities. That way, if
it's working, you can keep moving forward; if you aren't seeing results, you can
change course.
Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com
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