Marketing 101

Now that I'm getting serious about getting myself published (and read by actual human beings) I've started to look into ways to market myself.  Like many other authors, I really wish I could just hand the whole marketing thing over to someone else. I'd rather spend my time, you know, writing...which is apparently not going to happen.

I'm lucky. I have a sales background. I teach marketing at a local college. I also wrote the curriculum for several marketing courses for Everest College Canada. So I know how the importance of creating a brand and building brand recognition.  But just because I have the theories behind making your product (e.g. your writing) a household name doesn't mean I have to like it.

Let's be honest. Marketing and publicity can be a lot of work. But it's easy and, for the most part, doesn't cost you a dime. In the era of Facebook  twitters and various other social media sites, authors shouldn't have to spend money on getting their names out there.

Here are a few articles I've seen with some easy information on getting your name out there.

How to Market Yourself Successfully as a Writer
This lists several different websites you can use to increase your branding. I'd recommend starting with GoodReads. It's incredibly easy to use. It can also be kind of fun.

5 Ways to Market Yourself Even if You Don't Want To
And for a dose of reality this is a great article.  Whining about how much work is involved getting your work out there doesn't get your work out there any faster. Use the time and energy you could spend whining about how much work it is on actually getting the work done.

How to Market Yourself Through Social Networks for Books
This is similar to the first article but gives more details on the pros and cons of the various sites. This is how I learned about Shelfari (a social network site tied into amazon.com).

If you have any other suggestions or methods of marketing please sent me a message via email or twitter.


BOOKS BY M JOSEPH MURPHY:

Amazon: M Joseph Murphy on Amazon: Paperback and ebook
Smashwords: M Joseph Murphy Author Page on Smashwords
Kobo: M Joseph Murphy Books on Kobo