Guest Blogger: Lillian Brummet - SPYING, A MARKETING TECHNIQUE

Spying – A Marketing Technique

One of the best ways to research your own marketing plan is to spy on other authors. Visit as many other authors' websites as you have time for or interest in – and ask yourself some vital questions.

• What are other books in your genre doing?
• What do they look like?
• What are they selling for?
• How are the other authors promoting their work
• And most important: What can you do to stand out among them?

This research and evaluation of your peers in the industry will answer vital questions that can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your marketing plan. This research will provide you with information on what they are doing to promote their book, what they are highlighting and how they are attracting visitors to their site.



David & Lillian Brummet

 Visit your library to evaluate books in your genre and use the Internet to obtain the other information you need. The local bookstore can provide useful information too. Simply walk around and look at the promotions other authors are sending bookstores – What do you like/dislike about them and how can you use this to enhance your marketing efforts?

Writers are natural researchers - we have to be! We just need to focus this talent in a slightly different way. Knowing what others are doing will help you develop your website and other promotional materials so that you stand out in a crowd like a purple snowflake in a snowstorm.

I’d like to invite your readers to visit our site (http://www.brummet.ca) where you can see what we have done to provide interesting, compelling content and keep people interested in our work.

~ Written by Lillian Brummet; co-author of Trash Talk, author of Towards Understanding and co-author of Purple Snowflake Marketing - Host of the Conscious Discussions talk radio show and owner of the Brummet’s Conscious Blog: www.brummet.ca

Guest Blogger: Lillian Brummet - HOW TO PREPARE FOR A BOOK RELEASE

How to Prepare for a Book Release

There are many things that authors can do long before their book is released, but it is never too late to begin or enhance a marketing plan.

My first suggestion is to get a great stack of paper to jot notes on. Personally, I reuse sheets of paper that have only been printed on one side. Make sure you have a couple of pens handy; using two colors is helpful for organizing and grouping ideas. Oh! – And have a thermos of any kind of refreshment you choose next to you, because this is going to take a while!



David & Lillian Brummet

 OK. Got all those? Now is the time to sit at your computer and scan through the last 6 months worth of the previous postings on every section of your favorite writer's forum and your publisher's author forum. It is important to read the messages with headings like "new author" because the actual message may have crucial information. I know, this sounds like a lot of reading, but you will get efficient at scanning messages and determining if they hold useful information without having to digest every single word.

The reason for all this reading?

You will learn about reviews, marketing, promotion materials, media kits, book production processes, resources, the publisher's policies, royalty information, distributor information... it is all there. With this information you can easily get a head start on your marketing plan. Another reason for doing this is to find reliable mentors in your field of interest.

Effective, long-term networking through interacting with your peers on forums can easily lead up to exchanging of links, promotion materials and multi-author book events. These individuals will soon become your online friends who show up and support your media events, tell others about your work and will help you if they can. Of course, this means that you might have to offer something first to get the ball rolling for networking.

~ Written by Lillian Brummet; co-author of Trash Talk, author of Towards Understanding and co-author of Purple Snowflake Marketing - Host of the Conscious Discussions talk radio show and owner of the Brummet’s Conscious Blog: www.brummet.ca