Today I have YA author, S.R. Johannes, to help us with marketing! Read on for some amazing tips to get your book seen! You can buy Shelli's third installment in the Nature of Grace series, UNSTOPPABLE, on amazon.com. Visit Shelli at her website, her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter!
Thanks for the great info, Shelli!
How marketing and writing go together.
Every writer loves to write. But not every writer loves the business side of publishing.
These days it's important to know all aspects of the business (marketing, sales, taxes etc) - especially if you decide to indie publish at any point.
First, it's important to understand the basics of marketing. You need a web site, you need some form of social media, and you will want to start an email list. But this is all online marketing.
You need more than that and this is where it can get overwhelming.
But if you think of "marketing" in a different way, maybe it can be fun. Think of marketing as networking with your target audience - AKA our readers.
Basically, marketing your book is about finding your audiences and just letting them know about your book, about the themes in your book. Marketing is about connecting to your readers. And that's why we write! You first need to understand your writing, the genre, and all the secondary topics your book addresses - directly and indirectly.
All YA have similar audiences at a high level - teachers, librarians, teens, parents, and bookstore owners. But you can't stop there. If you want your writing to touch people, you have to focus on the next level of readers. For example - My Nature of Grace series is for young adults and it is a thriller. But it also touches on animal conservation, nature, going green, survival, outdoors, and the region surrounding the Smoky Mountains. These are all possible targets for me to consider. Here's what you need to do to break it down into smaller chunks.
Once you have targeted the audiences listed above, then do this:
• List out the topics/themes your book covers.
• Pick the most dominant theme
• List out what 3-5 audiences would want to read it.
• Find out where they hang out most (forums, ezines, festivals etc)
• Document who to contact
• Then figure out how to contact them
Hope this helps you realize that marketing can be fun especially if you break it down into smaller chunks. It's about connecting to your readers on a more personal level.
