Promo Plan in a Month Step #3: Get All The Facts

There is one absolute fact in the world of writing a book: No one cares about your book as much as you do.  That isn't to say that others don't – your publisher obviously loved it, they are invested.  Your friends and family likely hope to see your book do well (if only so they can say in that lofty tone of voice, "Yes, I know an author personally.")  But ultimately, you told a story you fell in love with, about characters you cared enough about to open a vein and let it pour out of you.
So now that you've done THAT work, why stop there?  Keep believing.  Remember that your story IS that good — you got it published.  When this portion of the work seems daunting, remember all you went through to get this far and reinvest your energy, your devotion and your time into loving your book a little longer.

Research First

While "Promo Plan in a Month" is the focus of this series, that actually involves taking everything I've gathered and learned so far and applying it to my book and my budget.  But the work starts long before.  I've spent the last two months researching, reading articles, finding all the relevant information I could and compiling it into notes files.  Before you begin plotting out your marketing timeline, you should have most of your facts at hand – you need to make informed decisions, knowing what the costs are, what the outreach is, etc.

It also means setting aside thoughts of what you can and can't afford.  You'll figure that out soon enough, and you don't want to limit your research because truthfully, assuming you can't afford something could close the door to an element you CAN.  Look into EVERYTHING that interests you, make notes. You'll make decisions later.

What you should know already:

o 1st and foremost: What will my publisher do for me?  
We should always take advantage of publisher offerings, so contact your marketing department and see what's possible.  Get the list of who they send ARCs to, what ads you can co-op with, what contests, anything you can do to piggyback off their interests.  Separate the elements and add them to your notes files in the appropriate category.

o What are My Options for promotion?
What advertising sites are available? What about magazines?  What about free social networking?  From online websites to local establishments and bookstores, list everything you find, no matter how unlikely it may seem. You just need to know what’s out there.

o What local events are around the time of my book release?  
Book fairs, arts and crafts fairs, author events at libraries, check them all out.  

o What Promotional Ideas/Items Have Caught MY eye?
If you haven't been visiting author sites, publisher sites, reading the magazines like RT Book Reviews and RWR, you should be.  You need to see what others are doing, what you respond to, what you find interesting.  Did you see a specific ad you liked in a magazine? Cut it out and put it in a file.  See a website you like? Copy/paste the link into a Notes file.  Make an ongoing list and keep adding to it, no matter how small or large.  Over time, you'll begin to formulate the ideas that you want to try.

o Endorsements/Quotes – research possible options.  
Who do you know? Who would you be comfortable asking for a quote for the cover?  This isn't the time to ask Aunt Frances, this is the time to respectfully consider the better-known names you know.  And remember the Quid-Pro-Quo — if you ask them to help you, be sure that's you've given something first, such as reviews on Amazon.  Networking should never be a one-way street.

Organizing My Notes Into Categories

Okay, I've got my notes, my research and I'm ready to begin making choices.  First, I have to put my notes into some form of understandable order.  So I've separated everything into these categories:

Advertising: Print
Advertising: Online – review sites, writer sites, and other aspects related to my genre
Advertising: Direct Mail/Marketing
Bookstore Placement
Brand & Name Recognition and Outreach
Local Events/Places
Ideas
Blog Tours
Book Reviews
Marketing Materials

Choose the method that makes sense to you to keep these notes, just make sure it's easily accessible. If you've chosen to build this in Word, create a shortcut to the document on your desktop so it's quick to open.  I’ve created my “notes” in my Microsoft Outlook program.  Since I’m on my email all day long, generally, it’s the most convenient place for me to do this. 

This list includes the websites, links and other avenues I've considered for promotion and publicity. I've made lists of blogs and websites that I'd like to approach for a blog tour.  I've listed ideas of places to send materials to, such as indepedent bookstores.

And because I promised full disclosure and my goal is to help others in similar situations, you can see what I have in all my notes here: | Click to link |

Setting a Budget: Money AND Time

What sort of budget should you decide on? Jeffrey Marks, author of "Intent To Sell" says that setting your marketing budget is much like gambling: Never spend more than you can afford to lose.

I think that's a good philosophy to have as well as a way to consider the money you put into your marketing.  Sure, the idea is to sell books, but if you're building a career, you need to invest time and money into that aspect, as well.  Going into my budget and my plan, I imagine I will probably spend more than I make on this book.  If that turns out to NOT be the case, wonderful.  But I'm willing to make the investment into my career…even if I don't see the return on book number one.

I'm 'dressing for the job I want, not the job I have."  (If you ignore the sweats I normally wear while working at home.)  What job do I want? I want to be on par with other authors. I want to be taken seriously.

That said, money isn't the only option.  You can make an impact by spending time. Remember the goal from the last article – 15 impressions to make a sale.  If your advertising budget is small (or perhaps nonexistent) by necessity, you will need to make up for that with your time by hitting social networks, spending more time on myspace, facebook, etc.  You'll need to focus more on yahoo groups and other places where you can connect with your readers one-on-one.  That is a time investment.

This can include: 

• Updating your website
• Social networks – spending time, updating, commenting, conversing with others
• Yahoo Loops – participation in conversations
• Any design work you'll do yourself
• Packaging and preparing ARCs and materials to send out 
• Guest blogging
• Blog participation/commenting
• Articles
• Workshops

If I don't have the time to make those 15 impressions by visiting loops and social networks daily, then I have to make impressions elsewhere – advertising, promotions, and reviews. This is a monetary investment.  

This can include: 

• Paid adve
  rtising
• Promotional materials such as bookmarks, etc
• Printing/Shipping of ARCs for reviews or to bookstores for consideration
• Author copies of your book for giveaway and handouts
• Having "freebies" created – items of interest that people can get for free to draw them to your site
• Press Kits Created/Printed

I know that my time is limited and I won't have the ability to hit the social networks and loops to keep my name present every single day, so I adjust that in my financial budget.  I also know that because of my background in marketing and design, I can create my own design, which will save me money but use more of my time. 

There is always going to be a balance between money and time — when one side is smaller, the other one MUST increase.  You have to be able to invest one or the other significantly to make a difference.  The book can't sell if no one knows it's out there.  Be realistic about what you can afford, and lay it out on paper.

Getting All My Puzzle Pieces

I look at building the promotional plan sort of like a puzzle.  There are elements that have to come together in order to fit and make a finished product.   The puzzle pieces I have so far: 

• My budget is decided – I know my financial limit and my time limits
• My notes are organized
• I have my templates and blank calendars on hand

I'm ready to start plotting. What about you?  Do you have all of these elements ready to go?  If not, you'll have the next week to work on that, because next Monday, I'll have my plan worked out and will share with you the things I chose, the investment involved and why I choose what I do.

And to help you prepare, I've made these items available for you to download and get the puzzle pieces ready for your plan: 

• A Budget template, broken down by categories, with subtotals and a running total so I can see where I am at any point. || Budget Template – Excel Spreadsheet Download

• My Promo Timeline.  This is a document I created as my Checks and Balances.  It includes all the steps and considerations by month.  As I go down the list, I'll doublecheck this document to see if I've missed anything.  || Book Promotion & Marketing Timeline PDF Download

• Blank calendars for each month from here until July 2009.  I am a visual person – This will be my bible for deadlines, time constraints and more.   It's an easy, at-a-glance way to be sure you aren't missing deadlines or forgetting an important step of your plan.  Print Your Blank Calendars here.

• Jeannie's Notes | PDF Download 

Until next Monday!!!

Are you entered to win? 

Don't forget, this series offers a bonus prize at the end!  For anyone who comments on EACH post of the Promo series, you'll be entered to win an ad from Romance Junkies, paid for and designed (if you so choose) by yours truly! 

Current candidate(s): Debra St. John

If you want to be entered to win this prize, be sure to comment on each post in this series. Plenty of posts to go, and you can comment at ANY time during the month of November.