Marketing 101

Successful marketing includes forethought and strategies to be implemented before your title is published. To begin the process, AtlasBooks has compiled the following basic questions for you to consider to help identify your genre, your audience and to determine interest in your book. What is their gender, age, cultural identification, consider the size of your audience.

Genre:Categorize your book. Visit www.bisg.org. Is your book fiction/entertainment, non-fiction/information? Are there organizations and/or groups with a particular interest in your title?

Comparisons:How does your book compare to similar books in content, style, length and price?

Design:How do you envision your design and physical nature of your book? Choose hardcover or paperback, size, design style such as type style, paper, color, etc... Visit bookstores and look at similar titles for design elements you like. Look for top sellers and note their successful elements.

As your next steps, we suggests the following baseline promotional activities:

1. Promotions:Develop a promotions strategy for your book. Allow a minimum of 6 months prior to publication to promote your title. Allot funds to be used exclusively for marketing and advertising.

2. Establishment:Present yourself as a knowledgeable person in your field. Market yourself to the media and niche markets by booking speaking dates in the community, at local and national conferences, on broadcast media and social and e-media. Bring your book for visibility and signings.

3. Identify key influencers:Get acquainted with the people in your market who will bring your message to a larger group. Attend or offer to speak at their meetings, conferences, and seminars on your area of expertise. If your book is relevant to them; they may become a representative for you and your title.

4. Website:Create a professional-looking website for you and your title. E-media is an invaluable tool. Link your book to multiple distribution sources – to assure wide distribution of your title. Suggested links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or the AtlasBooks online bookstore. Research your local independent bookstores to see if they have a website you can link to, or to link to IndieBound at http://www.indiebound.org/. If you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, or any other social media platform, provide links to these places from your website as well.

5. Research Your Audience:Learn about your audience and where to find them. Combine marketing, advertising, blogging, and public relations in your promotions strategy. The greater the visibility of your book, the more consumers feel familiarity and desire to buy.

6. Link Your Marketing:AtlasBooks can support your promotional efforts when you inform us about your marketing activities. Visit http://www.bookmasters.com/services/marketingupdate.htm and fill out our Marketing Update Form. We can then notify our sales reps with information which may positively impact your book sales. We will also then have the information we need to notify booksellers as to when and where to increase inventory of your title. Fill out this form early for best results, as it can take up to six weeks to get your books into stores. Finally, please remember to send us reviews of your book — our sales reps can capitalize on your positive reviews and so can you.