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Have you created the Roadmap for your book?[/caption]
By Patrick Donnelly
Account Manager for AlphaGraphics St. Louis
"There is no magic bullet."
If there is one piece of knowledge I could impress upon anyone, it is this. Many people become discouraged at the notion that their grand idea isn't enough to guarantee success, and it is the reason many of these people never attempt something as scary and daunting as publishing their book. The nice thing about self-publishing these days is now, like most things of a "DIY" nature, a glut of information and advice exists for authors such as yourself to take advantage of the trail blazed by people who came before you. Authors, once upon a time, did not have a means of measuring success, or more importantly, Return on Investment (ROI) once they had their book printed, published, and ready for the masses. Recall the visual from
the first blog in the series which described boxes piled one on top of another, full of books gathering more dust and cob webs than praise and adulation of a loyal readership. This is the reality we hope to avoid, and more importantly is a reality that the AlphaGraphics process aims to eliminate, and we do that with the "
Take Your Book to Market" Process.
Take Your Book to Market is the product of years of research and painstaking partnership early in the days of self book-publishing. The earlier referenced blazed trail is littered with the successes, and failures, of Authors who were the pioneers; the ones who refined the system we now employ for the next generation.
Take Your Book to Market outlines, in great detail, the steps many Authors overlook, or simply do not acknowledge when publishing their books with Quick Printers in the area.
As was discussed in the
Introduction Blog, the old model of print as many as possible and hope just isn't feasible; both as a strategy as well as financially. Understanding the pitfalls of self-publishing without a plan, I give you the 7 Steps which comprise the "Roadmap" of successful book publishing. To get to where you are going, or rather want to get to, these are the 7 Questions every author needs to ask themselves before even considering sending their book to be printed:
1. What does my destination look like and what are my goals?
2. Who are my customers?
3. How do I find my customers?
4. What products do I need to grow my business?
5. How much will it cost?
6. When will I do what?
7. What should I be doing differently?
Notice that not once is your "book" referenced in these steps. That is because, from this point forward, as we discussed in the first
Blog, your book is so much more than simply ink on paper; it is a
business. If you can change the way you think about your book to being much more than simply printing as many books as possible, you are already more successful than most Authors in your shoes. The Entrepreneur Author is one who understands that a commitment is required if any measurable success will be achieved.
I will briefly touch on the 7 Questions outlined above to give some insights as to what is to come in this series. Each point will be greatly expanded upon in future installments of "The Entrepreneur Author" Series, but here is a quick synopsis of what you can expect:
1. Visualize where you are going
The first step to creating your roadmap is to visualize where you are going. We call this your Point B. Building a business with your book is a long journey and having a clear vision of where you are going will help keep you motivated and on track.
The visualize step also asks you to define some short-term goals and then create a 12-month action plan. We will show you how to implement your action plan by breaking your 12-month action plan into three phases.
Traditional plans (like ones your banker will ask for) are generally three to five year plans. The problem with these plans is that conditions change so rapidly that after a few months entrepreneurs generally put them in a drawer somewhere and forget about them. Your roadmap is more dynamic and flexible to the changing business conditions.
2. Target those most likely to buy your book
The second step is to know your target customer. As time and money is limited for most businesses, they tend to focus on one or a few customer segments. Marketing a book is no different.
The Take Your Book to Market program will help you define those people most likely to buy your book. We'll also show you ways to help your target customers spread the word about your book to other people.
3. Sequence your marketing plan
The third step is to sequence your marketing activities to build a strong foundation. The four workbooks included in are the four cornerstones of your marketing foundation. The four workbooks included in your kit cover the following:
1. Social Media
2. Publicity
3. Direct Selling
4. E-mail Marketing
A key concept of your marketing plan is to shift your focus from selling books to growing your database. People often need to see a marketing message several times before deciding to buy. When you capture people's data, you are able to sell multiple times to your prospects.
The key to growing your database - your audience - and selling books is launching multi-channel, cross media marketing campaigns designed to engage and connect with your target customers. The workbooks in this kit explain why you want to:
1. Build an interactive website to capture leads
2. Launch a social media campaign to get people talking about your book
3. Conduct a publicity campaign to build awareness for your book
4. Sell books directly to companies
5. Run direct mail campaigns to promote events
6. Use e-mail marketing to sell books and other products
The workbooks will also explain how each marketing tactic you deploy will help you add people to your database so you can sell to your prospects multiple times.
4. Create the products you need
The fourth step is to create your products. You have this kit because you either have a published book or you are working on a book. Your book, however, is just the beginning of a suite of products and services you can create.
The following is a short list of products you can create to grow your business:
1. Online coaching programs
2. Workbooks for seminars
3. Keynote speaking services
4. Consulting services
5. White papers
6. Audio books
7. CD or DVD training programs
In addition to these products and services, you can also write other books. In fact, as your business grows and you begin engaging with your customers, you will get new ideas for books. And who knows, one of these books may become your first New York Times best-seller!
5. Invest the finds to roll out your plan
The fifth step is to determine the best ways to invest the funds you have to grow your business. As an entrepreneur author you do not need to know how to do everything in your plan. For example, you do not need to know how to build websites, run e-mail campaigns or how to measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts. But you do need to figure out how you are going to pay for everything you want to do.
Therefore, your roadmap will include a simple 12-month budget based on actual estimates of the actions you want to take. For example, you will know how much your website will cost, how much a social media campaign will cost and other tactics you will implement.
6. Execute the details of your plan
The sixth step is how to execute your plan. This section helps you build a milestone chart that shows who will do what by when and how much it will cost. Successful entrepreneurs build a strong team around them. This team is built by formal and informal members. A formal team member would be a part time or full time employee. An informal team member would be your accountant or a marketing solutions provider like AlphaGraphics.
Once you select the best people to put on your team, you need to give them clear instructions on what you want them to do and when you want each task completed. You accomplish this by creating a 12-month action plan divided into three 4-month phases.
7. Adapt what needs to be changed
The seventh step is to measure what you are doing and then adapt your plan to keep you on course. As most of your marketing activities will be done online, we will show you simple ways to gather data on your marketing efforts. This data will tell you things about your market and your customers that will help you develop more effective messages and offers to help you sell more books and grow your business.
Marketing your book and growing your business is a daunting and complex operation. The step-by-step process outlined in the
Take Your Book to Market program will help you simplify your book marketing efforts by giving you a sequence to follow. With this sequence, you will build a solid foundation to grow your business.
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If you didn't realize it yet, your book is SO much more than just getting someone to print the books and box them up. If you want success, true, measurable success, the only way to accomplish that end is through a succinct, targeted plan of attack that is calculated and well thought out. We will dive more into this as the series rolls on, exploring new ideas and concepts that will change the way you print your book, the way you market your book, and most importantly the way you sell your book.
There is no magic bullet...but we can give you all the tools to build the perfect blueprint.
Just follow your roadmap!
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Interested in having a free copy of the
Take Your Book to Market program referenced above?
Click Here or on the book below to request a copy!
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If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, leave them in the space below or send us an email! AlphaGraphics is a Marketing and Printing Solutions company in St. Louis, MO that has provided the St. Louis business community with quality service for 16+ years. Visit us at www.stlprint.com to learn more!