Finding Author Success: Discovering and Uncovering your Marketing Power

by Deb Riley-Magnus The Author Success Coach

CROSS MARKETING … MAGIC TO EXPAND YOUR PLATFORMS!

I know what scares you, I know because I too write urban fantasy and books involving the paranormal. Nothing is more terrifying than imagining a mere human man shifting and turning into something else … yes, granted it’s a sexy wolf or hot vampire, but still, it’s kinda frightening and the thought of witnessing such an event gives us the willies!

I also know that the idea of marketing your book terrifies you even more. What if I tell you there’s a way to make your book marketing platforms more effective?

Take a deep breath and relax, this isn’t what you think. Yes, you have done as much as you can with your websites, social marketing and group affiliations … but have you? Are your efforts gaining the responses and results you want? Are you talking to the right people … the BOOK BUYING people? Relax. You are doing well, but today I’d like to help you do better with the magic of … Cross Marketing.

Have you ever heard the phrase “make money with somebody else’s money”? Well, it sounds a little tacky and distasteful, but sometimes you need to look into another platformer’s back yard to find a few more book buyers. No, I’m not talking about stealing friends or followers from other authors. In fact, far from it. I’m talking about strolling through an entirely different neighborhood to find more book buyers.

Here are the facts. Most authors feel safer making friends and followers with other authors. It’s a great resource for information and support as you plot or develop characters. It’s a fantastic group of people for input on your book cover ideas and gaining insight into your agent, publisher, format or distribution choices. But the truth is … authors don’t buy other authors books, at least not enough to make a major dent in your sales. In reality, all of your author friends have already paid the price in time, advice and kindness while you showed them version after version of your book video or healed from your rejection wounds. If I bought a book from every author I’ve freinded on facebook, I’d have over 3,000 books! It simply doesn’t make sense to put too much hope into selling books to other authors.

So, now that over three-quarters of your twitter and facebook followers are authors and writers, where do you look for book buyers? This is where the Cross Marketing magic really happens.

Here comes the most powerful words in this blog … take notes … I’m serious … Everything you need to be successful with your book sales in INSIDE your manuscript. Everything!

To start this thinking process, I’m going to choose a genre and story plot point that is fairly simple. Let’s say your book is a murder mystery about a woman who owns an auto repair business and loves to be under the hood, dirty and greasy. How the murder is discovered or solved isn’t relevant for this exercise, so let’s just go with what we have.

Let’s say you’ve already promoted the book to all your facebook friends and followers (most of which are other writers). Now what do you do?

Expanding platforms through Cross Marketing is about taking advantage of someone else’s platforms. In the best case scenario, someone whose platform audience will find no conflict of interest and  - most important - the platform owner has no competition should you sell a book to their customers.

Back to our lovely auto mechanic. Here are a few platforms the author could take advantage of.

Book Clubs

• Not just the obvious mystery readers book clubs, but how about “How to” book clubs?
• How about car, racing or mechanics book clubs? (You might be amazed at how many women follow stock car racing!)

Group Affiliations

• Car lovers groups
• Car maintenance groups
• How to change your oil/sparkplugs/tires groups for women

Live Local Business Connections (never discount readers just outside your own door)

• Pop by every oil change or auto services business and post a flyer or business card about your book on the bulletin board. I promise you someone is waiting there for repairs and looking at the board.
• Do the same with auto parts supply stores
• Give away a free book at an antique car club gathering, or sell books there along with some free lemonade

Website Connections

• Local and national auto service businesses (independent and chains) all have websites. Take a good look at those websites, find the contact and find out if you can post at their website, perhaps a photo of your book cover, better yet, a daily “Mechanical Murder” tip that talks about auto service and solving murders.

Blogs and Yahoo Groups

• How many blogs exist that discuss women and auto repairs? Women who are mechanically helpless? Women who are mechanically savvy? Find them and ask to be a guest blogger to promote your book and do the guest blogs in a series so you can spread out the exposure.
• Seek out Yahoo Groups that cover all the angles in your book, women, women mechanics, murder mystery lovers. Join, make friends and make sure your email promo tag for the book is prominent with every response you make to the group.

Once an author EXPANDS their platforms with Cross Marketing, the whole world opens up for building a bigger fan base, stronger sales and greater demand for more books! It’s a win/win/win!

Questions? Ideas? I’m here to share! And HEY EVERYONE … I’d like to offer a FREE 10 Tools for Author Success downloadable handbook to all blog guests! Just go to http://theauthorsuccesscoach.com/ and hit the button for your FREE downloadable PDF!

If you’d like to win a copy of Finding Author Success, just comment here at the blog, ask questions or just say you’re interested and Louanne will have a drawing for the winner.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Finding Author Success: Discovering and Uncovering the Marketing Power Within Your Manuscript.  

Even the odds for authors with this one-of-a-kind guide to marketing success! Deborah Riley-Magnus takes tried and true marketing, publicity and promotional strategies and tailors them for the unique needs of today’s author. Every element is outlined and explained for easy implementation. You will learn:

·        How to develop a functional and strong book business plan

·        The power of developing effective, targeted platforms

·        The basics of publicity, marketing and promotion

·        How cross marketing works and why it’s magic for an author

·        How to personalize it all to your book

                       

Finding Author Success will take away the mystery about gaining sales and increasing exposure for your book and you as a professional author.

A portion of the sales of this book will be donated to the American Literacy Council. The American Literacy Council’s main purpose is to convey information on new solutions, innovative technologies, and tools for engaging more boldly in the battle for literacy.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Riley-Magnus is an author and an Author Success Coach. She has a twenty-seven year professional background in marketing, advertising and public relations as a writer for print, television and radio. She writes fiction in several genres as well as non-fiction. She’s lived on both the east and west coast of the United States and has traveled the country widely. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and just returned after living in Los Angeles, California for several years.

WHERE DEBORAH RILEY-MAGNUS CAN BE FOUND

I blog - http://rileymagnus.wordpress.com/
I teach - http://theauthorsuccesscoach.com/
I fiction – http://coldincalifornia.com
I write - http://deborahriley-magnus.com/
I suck - http://vampireexplored.wordpress.com/

I play - http://whispersofthemuse.org/
I tweet – http://twitter.com/rileymagnus
I facebook - http://www.facebook.com/deborah.rileymagnus
I should be sooo tired!

BOOK PURCHASE LINKS

Finding Author Success:

Discovering and Uncovering the Marketing Power Within Your Manuscript.

Amazon Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Author-Success-Discovering-ebook/dp/B0061NW5BC/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320173201&sr=1-3

Amazon Paper

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Author-Success-Deborah-Riley-Magnus/dp/1926760662/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320173201&sr=1-4

B&N Paper and ebook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-author-success-deborah-riley-magnus/1106661344?ean=9781926760667&itm=1&usri=finding%2bauthors%2bsuccess

APPLE

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SONY

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