Hello? Is it Me You're Looking For?
Ugh! Online marketing...am I right? At this point, advertising your wears online feels like being that one vendor at the conference who is stuck behind the concrete pole in the corner at the back of the hall. Hardly anyone knows you’re back there especially since the company with the million dollar ad budget set up the flashy booth with the lights, DJ, and has all the cool freebies right up front.
How on earth are you going to be seen?
Start first by niching down or rather, get more specific about who you’re marketing to. You have a target audience or ideal reader (I hope); the person(s) you wrote the book for. You’ve done some initial investigation and have a general idea on where your target audience hangs out on the internet. I say, drop down a level and get even more specific.
For example, the age range of my ideal reader is between 35 and 65. This leads to several different online spaces in which my ideal reader might be found. In other words, I’m fishing in the ocean. Niching down means I close that range up so instead of a 30 year range, I niche down to 50—55 years. I then go through each of my reader’s characteristics and close whatever gaps I can find. Once I’m done, I’m looking to market to a much smaller section of the population.
Once you’ve shrunk your pool of potential buyers down, you can more specifically target the marketing you’re doing—from Facebook and Instagram ads to the types of events you look to set up a vendor table, by focusing on a smaller pool of potential readers, you’re more likely to be able to get their eyes on your book.
Another way to niche down is to pitch directly to the facilitators, leaders, organizers for groups that share your target audience. Instead of marketing to the reader directly, you’re now talking to the person responsible for scheduling, organizing, etc.
If niching down doesn’t appeal to you then let me suggest you Host an online event. There are so many ways to do online events now (that don’t start with a “Z”). You can go live on almost all the social media platforms for free, so it’s a matter of setting up the time, having the book ready for sale, then sending invitations to friends, family, acquaintances, ie. EVERYONE. Of course, you’ll ask them to invite friends, family, and acquaintances so you have the maximum number of eyes on your book as possible. The event doesn’t have to be extravagant or long. Take an hour and answer questions, play a game, do a reading from the book, offer a give away all the while making sure you point participants to how they can purchase your book.
Whew. Seems like a lot doesn’t it. And truth be told, these are just a tiny, few of the many online marketing techniques you could employ. As I’ve mentioned before, I like simple so I’m presenting the simplest ways I know to market. And remember too, I wrote, “simple doesn’t always equal easy” so to that end, next week I’ll show you a simple way to plan what you’ll do and how to do it as a means to hopefully, cut down on any feelings of overwhelm you might have.
With that, I’m going to end the post here. See you back here next week.
Until next time, sending light and inspiration,
Dana