Why can authors muster so much passion for topics they want to write about, but gag when they discover that they—and they alone—must be the Marketer-in-Chief for their own books?
“I don’t want to create an email list of readers because I don’t want to be constantly bothering them,” an author told me.
“I don’t want to do public speaking because I don’t like to be around a lot of people,” another one said.
“If I write a good book, it will sell itself,“ said a naive writer.
When I was a guest on “The Successful Author Podcast” recently, hosted by Julie Anne Eason, we discussed do-it-yourself publicity for authors, and why so many authors are not only reluctant to market their books, but view the task with disdain.
I’ve heard many say high-pressure sales tactics make them feel sleazy. The problem, I suspect, is that they see so many other authors hawking their books ’round the clock on social media without offering relevant content from the book or topics that tie into it.
We spent the majority of the program discussing how nonfiction and fiction authors can gain expertise in their topics and promote it instead of pitching their books.
What Makes an Author an Expert
Expertise is not only about what you know, I explained. It’s about what you do.
Author experts do things like teach classes, have coaching programs, publish blogs and newsletters, moderate LinkedIn groups, have copyrights and trademarks, and spin off products from their books. All of those activities tie into book marketing.
The recording is being transcribed right now by someone I found at Fiverr.com, the worldwide marketplace I recommended last week as a helpful place to buy and sell services. I’ll slice and dice the entire transcript and feature it here. But I wanted to give you a sneak peek at the interview. Get ready to take lots of notes.
You can listen to it on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio.
Or listen t0 the 32 minutes of solid content below. If you have questions, ask them in the Comments and I’ll answer them.
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