This is a guest post by freelance writer Kimberly Crossland.
Congratulations! You just finished your first business book.
Now what?
As a small business owner, you know how to market your business, but how do you market the book you just published? Where do you start, what makes sense to invest in, and what should you do to actually see results from your book.
With the fragile state of today’s economy, it’s important to you that you have a marketing plan for your book that’ll turn your investment into profits. Doing marketing the wrong way can be costly, and frustrating.
Your Business Book Marketing Plan
You should begin marketing your business book long before it’s launched. Some authors even begin marketing their book before it’s finished.
By getting a pulse on what the feedback to your business book will be, and what people hope to see on the pages, you can be sure you include the real value your audience is looking for. It is best to decide this before you hit publish so that you can increase your opportunities for a runaway success.
Budget Friendly Book Marketing
Marketing your book to create a buzz and get people talking about what you’re about to put in print may be easier and less expensive than you realize. To get you started, here are three ways you can market your business book for less.
1. Determine the extent of your book
Before you start chatting with your target audience about your book, you must set your own personal guidelines. Inevitably you will get feedback that, although relevant to your business, may distract from the message you want to deliver in the book you’re putting the finishing touches on.
To lower your costs, and ensure you move your book in the right direction, it is critical that you have a clear understanding of the extent of information you want to include in your book. You are skilled at what you do, and you have a wealth of knowledge about your industry. That does not mean that everything you know must be included in this book. Trying to stuff everything into your book may distract you and end up costing you more money.
With a clear idea of what you want your book to say, you can know how to weed out the good suggestions from the bad.
2. Have a strategic plan in place
Before sending your book to print, you will want to put together a strategic plan about how you will reach your audience.
Some authors who are unsure of how to correctly market a business book take a “spaghetti” approach to their marketing. That means they toss ideas and strategies like wet noodles against a wall to see what sticks. This can be a tremendous waste of resources and money, which in the long run can be very costly.
When you plan out your marketing strategy ahead of time, you stand a far better chance at getting your book in front of the eyes and in the minds of your target market and people buzzing about your industry. These are the people who will give you a return on your business book investment, and these are the people who will buy from you.
Fine-tune your marketing plan to reach the type of people you want talking about your business, and save money on ineffective tactics over the long run.
3. Hire Quality People to Help
You have enough on your plate. You shouldn’t have to take on the burden of marketing your business book alone.
Technology has made it easier than ever for you to access talented, highly qualified people who can help you get people talking about your book – even before it’s published!
Limit your marketing spending by working with smart, talented, well-connected people to generate some buzz around your book at a fraction of the price of other marketing tactics. By investing a little bit up front in a qualified contractor, you can ensure that your book gets the publicity it deserves when it launches.
Don’t wait until your book is in print to come up with a marketing plan. Start early, and start with the help of a qualified contractor, such as one of the ones you can find through Chart House Press. Doing so will pay off in the long run and help you skyrocket both your book, and your business success.