First… let me get your attention…..
and a few more just to be sure….
Awesome.
When Soul Mate Publishing approached me with a contract and told me I would be doing my own marketing, I almost didn’t sign.
WHAAAAA???? “I don’t know anything about marketing,” I said. “How in the world will I ever figure it out?”
My editor assured me I would do fine.
I’m one of those A+ overachiever types, so when I put my John Hancock on the dotted line, I challenged myself to learn EVERYTHING I needed to know about marketing in three months. That was my release date.
Some people have asked what I did to rise so high in the rankings so here goes.
I asked other writers what they were doing. I knew I only should’ve been asking VERY successful writers what they were doing but I didn’t know any very successful writers. In fact, I didn’t know any writers at all. Crap.
I researched online and hired a consultant for an hour. Enter Jane Friedman. We talked, she gave me a list of places to research, and I was off and running. I think I probably could’ve found everything she said on her website, but, it just felt SO GOOD to talk to someone.
“Most important,” she said, “you need reviews. Ask friends, go to review websites, and research.”
“Okay. I can do that.” I had no idea how hard that would be.
“What next?”
“Blog site, website, Goodreads, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter Account.”
I remember thinking at that point, I could just hire all this out so I said, “No Problemo.”
Blithely I left that conversation thinking I had it all down until…I saw how much money these services cost to hire out. Wow.
Okay. I’m a programmer. How hard could it be? Hahahahahhaha. Famous last words. Did I mention I’m an overachiever? Over the next three months I ticked one thing after another off my list.
Realizing I needed some more help, I hired Hajni at Substance Books. I could tell you what she told me to do, but then I’d have to kill you. Seriously? She is SO WORTH the small fee she asks.
Her method, however, is very much show and tell at the basic level I pay for. She gives instructions and I do it.
Thusly armed, I thought I had it down, but I didn’t. I felt like a parrot. Buy my book. Buy my Book. Everything that I’d read not to do and say, I did.
Connect? Virtually? Sounds like an Oxymoron? Right? But on Mother’s Day, I saw this tweet. “Next person to tweet me, I will give a review to.”
I tweeted back, “Me Me ME. PICK ME! Oh oh oh.”
She virtually laughed. We’ve become the best of virtual friends and now I get it.
Connect with your fans.
That’s it. I have fun. I tweet out stuff that makes me laugh and feel positive.
I pin things on Pinterest that look like scenes or people in my book… and yea.. some other stuff too.
I still work 40 hours on my day job. I still write for 20 hours a week. I still work out for seven.
Most everything else, that adds no value to my life, I’ve had to let go.
Know what the coolest thing is?
I REALLY LIKE IT!