3 Marketing tips I love to hate…as a new author.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with marketing. I sure did when I got started over a year ago. All advice said:
- Create goals
- Identify genre and audience
- Brand, brand, brand, and clear messaging
What do those things even mean? We hear them often enough, but let’s face it, every marketing expert and author will tell you something slightly different. Even me. But what they don’t say is that it’s okay to mess up. Is it tedious? Yes! But in this self-publishing business, we learn, implement, and re-launch until we find our groove.
Create goals.
Creating goals can be as simple or as extensive as you like. This is nothing more than a reminder of what you’ve accomplished, what you still need to work towards, and a measurement of your hard work.
Write down your goals so you can reflect on them later.
I use written goals to measure marketing channels e.g. selling on Amazon KDP exclusive vs. wide, brand awareness, the strength of my newsletter, and so much more. Perhaps a certain book category or message didn’t work with a particular book—now I make changes. At the very least, I know what I’ve tried before, keeping in mind, what works for one book does not always work for another and vice versa.
One of my goals was to promote my regency using paid promos like Fuzzy Librarian. After trying it twice, it did not work on my full price books. However, I will try again with my contemporaries which are in KU (free to read for KU subscribers).
Reasons to reconsider this goal are:
- Price point
- Reader engagement on Fuzzy Librarian for this genre
- Media type (digital, print, audio)
- Distribution (Wide – available on all platforms vs. Amazon only)
Identify genre and audience.
This is another tip I hear all the time. Oh! And write to market. This tip is worth a second glance, especially in today’s market where thousands of books are published daily.
You’ve created your goal, and now you’re taking steps to meet those goals.
I wished someone had explained the connection between the audience and the genres I choose to write. If you haven’t peeked, I write regency and billionaire, contemporary romance.
Each genre is a different audience (yes, I have cross-over sales, but not enough to pay the mortgage). Pick a genre: billionaire, sweet, small town, cowboy, etc., and build a small backlist before writing in another, and it may not take you as long to find an audience. Even in the same series, if book one and book two are very different in tropes, and characters (one is a cowboy and the other is a mafia king) it may mean marketing to two separate audiences.
Brand.
This is so much more than logos and images, although those help with recognition too!
Branding is also messaging, taglines, and the stories I write. It’s the covers, the blurbs, and my style.
When readers look at my covers, I want them to get the genres I write. When they read my tagline, I want them to know they will always get a happy ever after. This is my brand promise and everything I post on social media, communicate in my newsletters, feature on my blog, or publish in my books fulfills this promise.
When you write your goals, try to have a cohesive message that will trickle down to all aspects of your work.
Blurb
Family comes first.
The sentiment has been drilled into Latricia’s mind since birth.
When she’s forced to choose between self-respect or her family, what would she sacrifice?
The first time she saw Heath McCreath, he was out for blood. Her brother’s blood.
At their second meeting, he vowed to make her pay for her brother’s crimes.
As if his promise to destroy everything she loved isn’t bad enough, the threats come from the sexiest mouth she’s ever seen.
He’s her blackmailer and she shouldn’t feel anything for him, so why does her body betray her?
Now she has to decide, him or her?
Sneak Peek from Courted by the Billionaire:
Latricia sniffed the collar of the shirt she’d worn to bed these past nights, surprised that traces of Heath’s scent still lingered, and now mingled with hers. She should have accepted his offer to have Terrance take her shopping the day she’d been pampered, but she never envisioned sharing his bed. True, that first night, seeing him shirtless had made sleep restless, but tonight was different. Unwittingly, her affection for him was deepening. Marriage made their relationship more complicated.
Taking a steadying breath, she opened the bathroom door and stepped out, almost stumbling at the sight of him already in bed, the covers drawn around his torso. His fingers stilled over whatever message he’d been sending on his phone as he drank her in.
Flipping off the bathroom light, she pulled back the sheets before slipping into bed, settling the covers over her stomach. Never was she self-conscious about sleeping, but tonight, every part of her was attuned to every inch of him. How could she relax, much less sleep, with him encroaching on her space, rallying for her attention?
“Did you enjoy dinner?” He rolled onto his side, propping his head onto his elbow.
Grateful he’d broken the silence, she said, “Yes, the Pruesos are nice.”
“I wouldn’t know.” His gaze roamed over her face. “I spent the entire evening watching you eat—”
Her skin warmed at his admission.
The thumb from his free hand rolled down the center of her parted lips, from top to bottom. “—Wishing I was the cause of your delight. Not the morsel of food you’d slipped onto your tongue.”
What would he taste like when she swirled her tongue around his cock? Smooth… delicious? If his kiss was anything to go by, she suspected his flavor was an enticing concoction.
***
Bio
Robecca Austin is the author of happy ever after romance stories. She enjoys crafting tales of sassy heroines and alpha heroes that have a soft center.
She writes historical romance and billionaire romance stories.
You can find her outside enjoying nature and lots of sunshine when there are no bugs. When she’s not writing her next novel, she’s busy battling Cystic Fibrosis and hugging family. She lives and works in Canada.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorrobeccaaustin
Contemporary Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/yd4mbvcr
Amazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095Z53244
Author Website: https://www.robeccaaustin.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robeccaaustin_author/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/robeccaaustin
Thank you so much for hosting me. I do hope anyone new to writing or thinking or starting a career in publishing finds the tips helpful.