Marketing Your Book

You’ve written a fabulous book which is going to be a best seller (which may be 100 copies if that is your goal!). You’ve determined the best method/s of distribution, but, as they say, nothing happens until someone sells something.

Now you need to apply yourself to marketing your book. The more passion and energy you can apply to this, the more successful your book will be. However, you may need some expertise and advice which we are happy to provide. Many of our marketing services are provided at no cost to authors utilising our design, print and distribution services.

Here are some general ideas and how we can help you but we are always happy to discuss your project and develop a specific marketing plan.

ISBN/CiP

The first step is to organise the ISBN for your book. This must be done in time for printing on the imprint page and you should also provide this information for Catalogue in Publishing (for further details on ISBN and CiP, see the FAQ section of this web site). You must have an ISBN if your book is for commercial sale and CiP will help libraries locate your book and maybe generate your first sales.

Define Your Target Market

Most of your marketing efforts will rely on understanding your target market. Take some time to work out the type of person who will buy your book. You need to consider the demographic characteristics (age, income, gender, occupation) and psychographics (lifestyle characteristics such as preferred TV/ radio stations, newspapers/magazines and peer group interaction). From this information, you can work out how to reach your target market.

Set Your Budget

There are many ways for Self Publishers to market their book on a very small budget. Generally, the less money you spend, the more energy you will need to expend! Many of the suggestions listed below require little or no expenditure but will require your time and effort. For example;

•	Local book launches
•	Target previous buyers (if applicable)
•	Library talks/meet the author sessions at local libraries/writers groups

However, if you have a bigger vision for your book and have the resources, many other options are available, such as;

• Paid advertising in appropriate media
• Promotional materials e.g. posters, bookmarks, fliers
• Bribes (no, sorry, only kidding on that one!!!!!!!!)

Press Releases

You need to announce your book to the world. The best way to do this is to provide a press release to the most suitable media. A press release is written in a very specific format and is written to grab the attention of its intended recipient, without being too “salesy”. A well written press release should focus on providing the media with an interesting subject which they can pass on to their audience – not just be an advert for your book.

The secret to the success of a press release is to have defined your target market and know which media outlets best suit this market. For example, a press release about a book on dementia would not be sent to a “Teen Mag” editor but should be aimed at media concerned with health, ageing and lifestyle. The geographic (does your book have appeal for people in specific locations or is it globally appealing), demographic and psychographic aspects of your target market should always be evaluated.

Palmer Higgs can help you to prepare a customized Press Release and provide a list of target media and special interest groups.

Book Reviews

You should invest in producing several copies of your book for reviewers.

Again, it is important to choose carefully where you send your book for review. You will waste money on producing books and postage unless you target the reviewer who reaches your target market. For example, if you had written a book written for French immigrants coming to Australia, you would research contacts at the French Embassy and find the appropriate person to send a review copy and then follow up for their input and maybe other relevant contacts.

Palmer Higgs can help you prepare an appropriate letter of introduction for your book and provide a list of targeted reviewers.

Book Awards/Competitions

There are many book competitions and awards which you may be able to enter. Although very few of them carry the money or prestige of the Man Booker prize, most of them provide an opportunity to receive feedback and possible accolades which can be very valuable for marketing your book.

Beware of scam competitions which require you to pay large entry fees – if the competition is being run by an organisation which sounds dubious, check it out with your local writers centre.

Palmer Higgs can provide information about various awards, competitions, fellowships and grants which may be suitable for your book.

Internet Marketing

Selling your book on the Internet sounds easy – but how do people find your book amongst millions of others out there in that great big virtual book store?

The Palmer Higgs and Books OnLine websites are strongly marketed via traditional media advertising as well as online marketing methods. These marketing efforts attract buyers to the Palmer Higgs Books OnLine web site where they are exposed to your product.

Authors who have chosen to distribute their books through the Palmer Higgs Books OnLine website are provided with the opportunity to create a one page micro-site – effectively your own website! Some authors may wish to expand on this and develop a more extensive web site to promote their books and provide further information (this site would also link to Books OnLine). The products on this website can then be advertised to targeted markets.

Palmer Higgs can design and host your web site and provide expertise in search engine optimisation for your own website or targeted marketing for your Palmer Higgs Books OnLine micro-site.

Promotional Materials

Depending on your budget, you may consider producing some marketing materials to advertise your book and the channels of distribution. One very simple idea is to produce a colour bookmark which features your book and also acts as a business card for you. You would also include on this the web site address for Palmer Higgs Books OnLine (if that is your distribution channel) so people know where they can buy it. These are easy to hand out to people and also useful! There are many other promotional materials such as posters and fliers which we can help you with.

Palmer Higgs has the facilities in-house through our Print Services division to produce promotional materials at discount rates for our authors. As we already have produced the cover design in many cases, design costs are reduced for your promotional materials.

Federation Square Book Market

Palmer Higgs takes part once a month in the city's largest weekly book market, in The Atrium at Fed Square. Under the weather protection of the glass Atrium, the Book Market is planned as a year round attraction focusing on second hand and new books, a program of "meet the authors", book readings and review forums.

Palmer Higgs will provide promotional opportunities at the Federation Square Book Market to our authors.

Library Catalogue Promotion

Palmer Higgs assists its authors to increase sales of their books by direct marketing to libraries. We produce a quarterly colour catalogue which is posted to 1,300 libraries consisting of all public library headquarters, public library branches libraries and State Libraries. The database service being used constantly updates their lists and guarantees 98% deliverability.

The A4 catalogue is created by our designers to ensure high readability. Each book advertised internally will have ¼ page feature consisting of;

• Book cover image
• Synopsis (200 words maximum)
• Book details

We also use the catalogue to promote the concept of supporting Australian Self Published Authors and the purchase through Palmer Higgs Books OnLine on the cover of the catalogue.

Click here to see our most recent catalogue.

For further information on the Library Catalogue Promotion, please contact Debbie@palmerhiggs.com.au

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