Episode 10: Sustaining Energy for Your Book Marketing

 

Click here to listen on your device and subscribe!

Welcome to The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson! In today’s episode, after returning from the Berrett-Koehler Book Marketing Workshop, Becky continues the conversation about The Advancing Phase of your book marketing journey as well as how to keep building interest in your book after your launch week is over.

If you haven’t listened to the previous episodes on the four phases of your book marketing journey, we encourage you to do that. Those four phases are:

1. Building (6 months prior to launching)
2. Working (4 months prior to launching)
3. Launching (week of your publication date)
4. Advancing (1 month and beyond post-launch)

The Advancing phase happens right after your book is launched. Most authors during this phase are asking the question, “What do I do next?” As Becky mentioned in the last episode, the primary goal of The Advancing Phase is to keep your book in the conversation. You can achieve that is by consistently showing up with value from your book. 

Here is a practical formula you can follow:

    Content you create (value from key themes from your book)
+  Buzz from content you create
+  Buzz from others’ sharing that content 
=  Your book in the conversation 

This can lead to book sales and interest in your other offers.

What you want to do is consistently think about how you can bring the value from your book into the world in a way that can create buzz, in a way that will cause people to want to share it with others, and in a way that continues to make a difference in the world. 

There are a lot of different ways I’ve seen authors do this; one way is by creating free virtual events around the content in their book. We have partnered with many authors for these webinar events in which authors have the opportunity to share key concepts, invite discussion about their book, and remind people of the fact that their book is a valuable resource. 

A couple of thoughts about sustaining energy for your long-term book marketing . . .

Consistently show up with value. What you want to do in order to sustain your energy for marketing is to show up in a way that feels fun and enjoyable for you. Because so many authors often have a resistance to marketing, it’s critically important to find those parts of marketing that you love and choose to invest your time in those things, instead of forcing yourself into a mold of doing what you think you need to do. 

Choose a sustainable pace. Choose a sustainable pace with your investment in marketing as it relates to both time and money. Choose to implement actions you can repeat over time, even if that means you have to start small. You want to invest in marketing activities that you love. Make sure you can implement these activities into your regular routine—and for those activities you don’t love, outsource them or let them go. 

Action items to sustain your energy for long-term book marketing:

1. Set aside time for what brings you joy. Set aside time and ask yourself the question “what marketing activities do I find joy in?” As you look into the next week or month, make sure you have set aside time to invest in the marketing activity that brings you joy. 
2. Choose one activity to let go of. What is one activity you have been doing that isn’t serving you well? Give yourself permission to let go of that activity. 

We encourage you to continue to consistently show up with value in the days and weeks ahead. Let us know below what action steps you will take today, or email Becky Robinson here. 

Click here to tweet about this episode!