Hit Me With Your Best Shot
We are midway through the month. I set some pretty big goals back in May that had to do with my business. I wanted to hit some major milestones by the end of June as part of my milestone birthday celebration. You can check out that blog post here. The TLDR version is this, by June 30th, I want to:
Have sold 55 books (either paperback, digital, or a combination thereof)
Have made $5,500 in revenue
Have a minimum of 55, engaged, interested people in the Guild
Have a minimum of 55 subscribers on my YouTube channel.
Here's the thing with that, none of those are directly under my control. In other words, there isn't a series of concrete steps I can take to hit those targets. And that, my friends, is my dilemma when it comes to setting goals. Almost all of the things I typically set as goals are like this and consequently, I end up missing the mark completely.
For example, it's been 5 weeks (35 days exactly) between when I posted those goals and asked for help. And so far:
People have purchased 14 books
Revenue sits at $368.34
The email list has 58 Guild Members
YouTube subscribers are at 28.
There's still so far to go to hit the majority of those bullseyes and there's only so much I can do to authentically influence the actions of others.
Key word there is authentic. I have looked at what the marketing gurus and sales experts are saying one needs to do in order to skyrocket sales. And all of it comes across as fake. As a consumer, I'm well aware of how I'm marketed to; how copy is written to trick me into believing this or that product is going to somehow "make" me feel, be, or do better physically, emotionally, and or socially.
I don't want to sell that way. I want to be transparent, honest, and realistic. I want to sell the way I want to be sold to, if that makes any sense.
Consequently, here's what I've done so far to provide an honest look at what I have to offer. I've:
Posted almost daily to each of my platforms - website blog & events page; YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Patreon
Published the monthly newsletter (May & June) which included my goals and ways people can help
Sent two emails sharing my goals and requests to friends and family who aren't a part of my business community
Talked with five 'strangers' being sure to hand them a business card and share how my writing and services may be of benefit to them.
At the time of writing, I've got an additional workshop coming up as well as sharing the spotlight at my Sistahs in Self-Publishing partner, Willmetta Owens, book release party. I'll update this post with the results from those.
But, aside from that, all I can do is continue to share what I offer and ask for help. On that note, if you wouldn't mind...
Take a moment to join the Nowata Press Guild. Guild members get all kinds of benefits, from being able to download the first chapter of each new release for free, to having guaranteed early access to those new releases at a discount, as well as discounted and reserved seating at any in-person events.
Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Be nice if you watched a few of the videos as well but just subscribing would be most appreciated.
Share the website, blog, and or YouTube channel with any and everyone you think might be interested.
If you've read any of my books, posting an honest book review on your social media helps get visibility for my work and thus, helps me find potential customers.
Attend a workshop/register for a class. Check out the events page for upcoming opportunities.
Buy a book if you haven't already (join the Guild so you can sample those first chapters). The digital versions of my books are $2 and $3 bucks.
Book me for your next reader or writer-centric event.
Hire me to help you bring your book to life. Whether for a one-on-one strategy session or help with editing and formatting, I'm available to coach you through each step of production.
Join my Patreon and get exclusives that I don't share ANYWHERE else such as excerpts from my private journal, audio versions of my books, and real-time editions of my Simply Self-Published program complete with downloads from the Simply Self-Published Guide (for sale now on the website, HERE).
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That's going to do it for this post. As always, thanks for stopping by. Sending light and inspiration,
Dana