Mistress of Marketing

by KJ Howe

Are you ready to get answers to pressing questions about marketing novels? We're fortunate today to have guest blogger Kimber Chin, the mistress of marketing, a fabulous writer who was invaluable in my quest for the American Title last year. She's here today to share a few secrets and answer your burning questions about the business of marketing fiction. Welcome Kimber!!!

When KJ Howe asked if I would like to talk about marketing on Romance Bandits, my first impulse was "Oh my good lord, what am I going to share with the Banditas about book marketing?"

Breach Of Trust is my very first novel. I'm no NYT Bestseller. Jeepers, I haven't even sold a book.

But I said yes. Why? Because that is the first rule of shameless marketers. We never turn down opportunities. As Anne, my heroine in Breach Of Trust, says "No guts, no glory."

(Okay, I may know a thing or two about marketing other products having spent a couple decades… I mean years, yes, that's it, it can't be as long as decades… in new business development, launching products for Fortune 500 companies.)

The biggest hurdle an author has to leap over without landing flat on her face is the realization that she has a product worth marketing. You do. Discussion done. Your publisher bought your novel because he/she thinks it will add value to the world. Yes, your romance novel. It is up to you to give readers an opportunity to benefit from that value.

And it is not only your novel any more. It belongs to a whole team of people. Who is on that team? Your publisher, editor, line editor, cover artist, test readers, critique group, bookstores, advertising partners, the list goes on and on. They all had a role in getting your book to the selling stage and they are all depending on you to help sell it. If it helps you, focus on the other person's part. I know one very shy author who tells everyone "Buy my book. The gorgeous cover alone is worth the price." That technique works for her.

As for actual marketing tactics, the biggest is repetition. Your prospective reader has to see your book title or pen name 8 to 13 times (or impressions) before it even registers with them. You want them to buy? Triple that number (at least). Yep, you'll get sick of your message long before your target ever does.

How to bump up impressions? Attach your pen name and book title to the bottom of every email. Have a signature with the same information on chats and include that signature to every message. Use your pen name when commenting on blogs (you'd be surprised how many authors don't do this).

Another marketing "trick" is to look for permanent promotion. Most blog posts are permanent. They will exist on the internet forever. A paid banner ad is temporary. If you have a choice between the two, always pick the permanent promotion. If the paid banner ad comes with a blog post, write the blog post. 20 years from now, that blog post will continue to draw new readers. The banner ad will be long gone.

On the topic of blogging, I love blogs. Why? Because the constantly updated content gives readers a reason to come back. If I have a good blog, I only have to find my reader once through advertising. I don't have to find her each time I release a new novel. I'll know exactly where she is, visiting my blog.

There are so many other tactics like owning a key phrase (I own 'business romance', search on Google and I should be number one), becoming an expert in a niche (KJ Howe knows her firearms), and matching marketing to format (advertising eBooks on the internet and print books in print, etc), but since this isn't Kimber Chin week at Romance Bandits, I'll leave you with these biggies.

What are your favorite marketing tactics?

Thanks, Kimber, for stopping by the Bandits today and sharing all your hard-earned knowledge. Your marketing savvy is a skill all writers would love to have!

If you'd like to learn more about Kimber Chin including information about her first novel Breach Of Trust (a sexy tale of love and business startups) please visit http://businessromance.com/