Waterfalls are interesting things. They don't generally start off as that big magnificent force of nature. No, they often start as a trickle, followed by another trickle. Then some more of the water thinks, "Hey, that's a good place to flow" and pretty soon like a high-school party when the parents are away, there's this raging, gushing monster ready to take out anything in its path. As authors, this waterfall is marketing, and you better start building your dam to control it at the very first trickle!
My marketing trickles are beginning to pool and cascade in a mini-waterfall. I am so proud to say I'm averaging 1-2 copies sold per day. No idea if it will stop tomorrow, but I hope it keeps growing. And I have a plan to build the momentum, but it's not for the faint hearted....
First, starting December 4th, I will be a regular blogger for both the WLC and Mark Williams International on Sundays. :) I'm going to be covering all things techy. At the bottom of every post will be links to my book, and this is awesome weekly exposure to a ton of new readers.
Second, I am working on my Twitter presence. I use automated tweets to share links of my books, ask questions, and reach out to other authors. I don't spam, but I'm using technology to help me balance being present online and still taking care of my kids. So far this has translated into sales, and followers.
Third, I need to revamp my reader site. It's starting to get some traffic and I need to redo it. The purple and white isn't working for me anymore.
Fourth, I need to work on linking and keeping track of all of my clips. What's a clip? Why all of those blogs and websites I've been interviewed, reviewed, or guest posted on. :) I need to create a master listing on my reader site with all of them, before the number gets so large that I'm daunted. See? Building the dam.
Finally, I NEED to write my next book. Right now, my sales are phenomenal to me. They are. But I would love when someone tells me how much they loved CANCELLED to be able to say "Check out SERVED." It's looking like June of next year before I will be able to say that.
So here's to building up to that waterfall of mentions, tweets, and books flying off the virtual shelf. I'm raising my cup of tea because today is a no coffee day. But I want to make sure I'm riding over the top of my waterfall in something a little more thought out than a rickety old barrel!
How are you building YOUR dam to manage your waterfall? Leave a comment below and I will respond!
Check out CANCELLED on TakeTimeforMommy.com She is running a great promotion where one lucky reader will win a Kindle Fire and a copy of every book listed between now and Dec. 1!
Great post, Elizabeth. Don't worry, with time you gain experience and soon you can ride the falls on a boogie-board!
ReplyDeleteA boogie board? Oh dear. I was thinking more like part boat, part helicopter so I can glide down the falls, enjoying the view. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's not really a dam I'm building right now but more of a canal. I'm trying to build relationships with fellow writers, working on my anthology and second novel, finishing up the touches with the first, and (hopefully) start revamping my website. All of which I enjoy doing.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the best metaphor right now would be preparing for the rain to fall. And if I can get a waterfall going, hopefully I'll have a dam ready to be put in place.
A canal and lock system works! What I was trying to communicate, briefly, is that once you start putting your name out there, either with Twitter, blog posts, guest posts, interviews, and reviews, there is a certain level of maintenance that comes with each new marketing avenue. If you're not careful, you suddenly end up with a deluge of requests, that no one person could ever fill, yet you feel powerless because as authors every single marketing opportunity is precious. Having a plan of what you can and cannot maintain early on really helps!
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