Bethany, I really value this video so much. Marketing is honestly so overwhelming to me, but I know my next step is going to be buying your series on the subject.
This was soooo helpful. Wow, there is so much I have to learn about the selling portion of publishing! I appreciate how you mentioned the problems with spreading yourself too thin. I definitely feel like I am not doing enough to market and that I constantly need more, and it's overwhelming. Hopefully, I can find a good balance! Thank you for making this video!
I really liked your video! These tips are great. The one about not spreading thin and focusing was actually kind of a relief. Everyone has a different opinion on how to market yourself the best and that's why marketing feels quite overwhelming to me. I feel like I have to do everything to succeed. I think I will absolutely benefit from this tip. It gives me some peace of mind. Thanks a lot!
I loved hearing your two goals of reaching new readers and keeping current readers! I had not thought of it that way before that is actually what my goals are! There is so much I could do, but I can't do it all and I have been reflecting a lot on what my focus is. You just said it so well in this video! I also wanted to tell you I just self-published my first children's picture book last week and you helped me so much in this journey, you will never know just how much of an amazing resource you were to me! I learned so much about things from budgeting to how to use Amazon KDP with confidence to planning my copyright and dedication pages! So I just want to say THANK YOU and you rock! (wow I used a lot of exclamation points in this comment!!!)
These are great tips, Bethany, especially the one about tactics vs strategies! I’ve never even thought about marketing that way before. I’ve been pretty clueless in book marketing so far, but by keeping your tips in mind, and taking Sarra’s Publish and Thrive course, I hope that’ll change soon! 😃
Awesome video ROI was a big lesson for me when it came to marketing. I spent money in the beginning for marketing that gave me zero return. Now I always ask what is the ROI for marketing and vending events. Speaking of events your tip 3 and bonus tip have been a game changer. My first year I spent so much money on vending fees and events. Now I turn down vending opportunity and events that do not align themselves with my goal. I love Sarra Cannon too she is a blessing and breath of fresh air.
Hi Bethany! This was a great video and so helpful because I am terrible when it comes to marketing so I feel like that is the area I am going to need the most help in when I start self publishing this year. Also I just wanted to comment on your last bonus tip that it's okay to say no (and it totally is, I'm with you on that lol) because I just want to maybe point out that while it wasn't your target audience and your current readers wouldn't have been there it could have been a chance to win over some new readers who maybe would have never even thought of reading your genre until they heard you speak. I only say this because even though I do not typically read your genre just watching your videos and hearing you speak about your process and your stories makes me want to read your books just because they are yours. You are highly likeable and could easily get new readers to come explore a genre they never thought they would enjoy before. Don't underestimate your ability to capture a new audience. I do plan on getting your books when my finances get a little better and I can't wait to read them! Take care ❤
These are really great tips! I've often forgotten that everything I do must be to get more book sales and readers. It's also really important to become great at a small number of marketing skills and not spread yourself too thin (which I'm really guilty of). Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this information! It is great to have some clarity on the matter - we shouldn't stretch our efforts thin over too many things. Also, your instagram video for authors was super helpful too. All the best
Thank you, Bethany. That was so helpful, especially the last thing about goals. I have written serious non-fiction and it is not marketable on social media and many other (young) platforms. I need to hone in on my goals and do what I can to funnel my marketing to these goals. Thanks.
Hello Bethany. I have a concern that I would like your opinion on. I'll try not to make this too long. Back in 2013 I published a book called, Faith of a Vampire, through what I consider a vanity press because I knew nothing about the publishing business. I spent a lot of money on editing, book cover design, marketing, etc.. Looking back, I know I spent too much money, but at the same time, I got a good education over the years in each of the fields of publishing a book. Shortly after I published my book, I canceled my contract with the vanity Press Company and republished it on my own on Amazon. At that time I did what most authors we're doing. I set up a website, created a book trailer, set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, attended Book Fairs, and I even created an audio version of my book. As time went on I was only selling a few copies here and there of my book in each of the formats, and everyone who actually read my book enjoyed it tremendously. But my real problem was finding actual readers. I had many followers but I was mainly getting contacts from other authors trying to sell me their book. After doing some research, it is my understanding that approximately 750,000 to a million books get published every year. To really be successful you almost have to be someone famous or well-known in a particular field before anyone will consider buying your book. At the moment I have a second book that I'm almost finished with in my book series. But before I publish my second book, I first want to republish my first book. I plan to make some changes that I've learned over the years. But my real issue still is finding readers. What I found is that basically everyone's doing the same thing with regard to marketing. I'm looking for a special niche, or idea that will catch people's attention. For example, many years ago an author was giving away a golden wand if they could answer the riddle correctly from his book. It was many years ago when prices were low, but it caught on like wildfire. He even said that every book he sold, a portion of the royalties would be added to the golden wand. It was a great gimmick. But to do something like that today would cost a great deal of money. Fortunately, I'm not trying to do this as a business, so I don't have a lot of pressure on me. However, other than creating UA-cam videos, I don't see any particular marketing avenue that will make my book stand out above the rest without spending a great deal of money on marketing. I would like to hear your comments on my opinion regarding book marketing in today's world. Is there really anything new out there to get your book to stand out above others without spreading myself too thin, as you mentioned in your video. Thanks play your time. Mark Sprague Faith of a Vampire
I have an excel spreadsheet that breaks down each book by cost, then a total of that cost. I can then go, it cost me 900 to get the book published, I've made $200 so far. I have now paid back my ebook cover and my proofreader. Now I still have the editor, physical book cover, beta readers, etc left. Did that for all 13 books, have a very clear outline of how much every book is going to cost me and how much I made back on that specific book. But I'm also obsessive about that kind of thing.
Great video! Wish I'd found you before I started "investing" *facepalm* LOL live and learn, right? Anyway, focusing on 3 techniques and keeping my ultimate goals in mind will help a lot this fall when I start marketing for my debut. I have been running on this "have to do everything the experts suggest" frame of mind. I knew it wasn't helping, but hopefully hearing you say it got it through my brain and I can ease off and focus now. :) Thanks for a great video
I work at a publisher, & in the industry houses consider a book a success if it breaks even. So just know, if you make more than breaking even & are not a Stephen King level author, you are super successful.
ROI is mostly used for paid advertising. Calculating ROI for production costs is trickier, because, for instance, editing affects the KU pages read and the sales of the next book. You can only see the ROI if, for instance, you change a book cover and count the sales after that compared to the old cover. A good trick for production is to estimate how many books you can sell on launch and make sure the production and pre-marketing will be lower than the estimated royalties. Great video btw.
@@BethanyAtazadeh I do work in publishing (non US-UK though), so I am aware of how a book is planned and priced and what corners are getting cut to match target prices. Before the video, I never thought to apply ROI on production costs though. The goal orientation is also an advice you hardly find out there. I had a video about it yesterday.
Do you have a video that talks about marketing as an writer on social media even though you’re in the middle of writing and not about to publish any time soon?? Thanks xx
I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the volume is very high. I have it set to headphone volume 1, because lower is off, & it’s still very very loud. I’m not sure how to fix it in app.
Good video. Yeah, I totally understand. I have BIG BAD ROI. But I don't have an audience like someone who has 1/2 million or 1.5 million followers. But that's why I have a $50 a month budget. (I know people who spend that much a week on their vices). I should have a very short poetry book coming out in February and I could understand that someone may think the POD is too expensive because of the cost of printing but the ebook should be fair, I think. I have to go by the rules of Amazon for things like price. My upcoming book will have the word "Flower" in its title. It would be absolutely HUGE if I sold 1,000 per title. That would be my "million". Good luck everybody.
As a customer, I have one, very important marketing tip: Don't be that pathetic twit in the Artist Alley holding up the sign that says, "Please Check Out My Comic." I take one look at that sign, and steer clear of the table, as conspicuously as I can, so he gets a hint.
Bethany, I really value this video so much. Marketing is honestly so overwhelming to me, but I know my next step is going to be buying your series on the subject.
This was soooo helpful. Wow, there is so much I have to learn about the selling portion of publishing! I appreciate how you mentioned the problems with spreading yourself too thin. I definitely feel like I am not doing enough to market and that I constantly need more, and it's overwhelming. Hopefully, I can find a good balance! Thank you for making this video!
I really liked your video! These tips are great. The one about not spreading thin and focusing was actually kind of a relief. Everyone has a different opinion on how to market yourself the best and that's why marketing feels quite overwhelming to me. I feel like I have to do everything to succeed. I think I will absolutely benefit from this tip. It gives me some peace of mind. Thanks a lot!
I loved hearing your two goals of reaching new readers and keeping current readers! I had not thought of it that way before that is actually what my goals are! There is so much I could do, but I can't do it all and I have been reflecting a lot on what my focus is. You just said it so well in this video! I also wanted to tell you I just self-published my first children's picture book last week and you helped me so much in this journey, you will never know just how much of an amazing resource you were to me! I learned so much about things from budgeting to how to use Amazon KDP with confidence to planning my copyright and dedication pages! So I just want to say THANK YOU and you rock! (wow I used a lot of exclamation points in this comment!!!)
These are great tips, Bethany, especially the one about tactics vs strategies! I’ve never even thought about marketing that way before. I’ve been pretty clueless in book marketing so far, but by keeping your tips in mind, and taking Sarra’s Publish and Thrive course, I hope that’ll change soon! 😃
Awesome video ROI was a big lesson for me when it came to marketing. I spent money in the beginning for marketing that gave me zero return. Now I always ask what is the ROI for marketing and vending events. Speaking of events your tip 3 and bonus tip have been a game changer. My first year I spent so much money on vending fees and events. Now I turn down vending opportunity and events that do not align themselves with my goal. I love Sarra Cannon too she is a blessing and breath of fresh air.
Hi Bethany! This was a great video and so helpful because I am terrible when it comes to marketing so I feel like that is the area I am going to need the most help in when I start self publishing this year. Also I just wanted to comment on your last bonus tip that it's okay to say no (and it totally is, I'm with you on that lol) because I just want to maybe point out that while it wasn't your target audience and your current readers wouldn't have been there it could have been a chance to win over some new readers who maybe would have never even thought of reading your genre until they heard you speak. I only say this because even though I do not typically read your genre just watching your videos and hearing you speak about your process and your stories makes me want to read your books just because they are yours. You are highly likeable and could easily get new readers to come explore a genre they never thought they would enjoy before. Don't underestimate your ability to capture a new audience. I do plan on getting your books when my finances get a little better and I can't wait to read them! Take care ❤
These are really great tips! I've often forgotten that everything I do must be to get more book sales and readers. It's also really important to become great at a small number of marketing skills and not spread yourself too thin (which I'm really guilty of). Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this information! It is great to have some clarity on the matter - we shouldn't stretch our efforts thin over too many things. Also, your instagram video for authors was super helpful too. All the best
So glad you enjoyed them, thank you!
Thank you, Bethany. That was so helpful, especially the last thing about goals. I have written serious non-fiction and it is not marketable on social media and many other (young) platforms. I need to hone in on my goals and do what I can to funnel my marketing to these goals. Thanks.
Hello Bethany. I have a concern that I would like your opinion on. I'll try not to make this too long. Back in 2013 I published a book called, Faith of a Vampire, through what I consider a vanity press because I knew nothing about the publishing business. I spent a lot of money on editing, book cover design, marketing, etc.. Looking back, I know I spent too much money, but at the same time, I got a good education over the years in each of the fields of publishing a book. Shortly after I published my book, I canceled my contract with the vanity Press Company and republished it on my own on Amazon. At that time I did what most authors we're doing. I set up a website, created a book trailer, set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, attended Book Fairs, and I even created an audio version of my book. As time went on I was only selling a few copies here and there of my book in each of the formats, and everyone who actually read my book enjoyed it tremendously. But my real problem was finding actual readers. I had many followers but I was mainly getting contacts from other authors trying to sell me their book. After doing some research, it is my understanding that approximately 750,000 to a million books get published every year. To really be successful you almost have to be someone famous or well-known in a particular field before anyone will consider buying your book. At the moment I have a second book that I'm almost finished with in my book series. But before I publish my second book, I first want to republish my first book. I plan to make some changes that I've learned over the years. But my real issue still is finding readers. What I found is that basically everyone's doing the same thing with regard to marketing. I'm looking for a special niche, or idea that will catch people's attention. For example, many years ago an author was giving away a golden wand if they could answer the riddle correctly from his book. It was many years ago when prices were low, but it caught on like wildfire. He even said that every book he sold, a portion of the royalties would be added to the golden wand. It was a great gimmick. But to do something like that today would cost a great deal of money. Fortunately, I'm not trying to do this as a business, so I don't have a lot of pressure on me. However, other than creating UA-cam videos, I don't see any particular marketing avenue that will make my book stand out above the rest without spending a great deal of money on marketing. I would like to hear your comments on my opinion regarding book marketing in today's world. Is there really anything new out there to get your book to stand out above others without spreading myself too thin, as you mentioned in your video. Thanks play your time.
Mark Sprague
Faith of a Vampire
I have an excel spreadsheet that breaks down each book by cost, then a total of that cost. I can then go, it cost me 900 to get the book published, I've made $200 so far. I have now paid back my ebook cover and my proofreader. Now I still have the editor, physical book cover, beta readers, etc left.
Did that for all 13 books, have a very clear outline of how much every book is going to cost me and how much I made back on that specific book.
But I'm also obsessive about that kind of thing.
These tips were so helpful! Thanks!
Great video! Wish I'd found you before I started "investing" *facepalm* LOL live and learn, right?
Anyway, focusing on 3 techniques and keeping my ultimate goals in mind will help a lot this fall when I start marketing for my debut. I have been running on this "have to do everything the experts suggest" frame of mind. I knew it wasn't helping, but hopefully hearing you say it got it through my brain and I can ease off and focus now. :)
Thanks for a great video
I work at a publisher, & in the industry houses consider a book a success if it breaks even. So just know, if you make more than breaking even & are not a Stephen King level author, you are super successful.
ROI is mostly used for paid advertising. Calculating ROI for production costs is trickier, because, for instance, editing affects the KU pages read and the sales of the next book. You can only see the ROI if, for instance, you change a book cover and count the sales after that compared to the old cover.
A good trick for production is to estimate how many books you can sell on launch and make sure the production and pre-marketing will be lower than the estimated royalties.
Great video btw.
@@BethanyAtazadeh I do work in publishing (non US-UK though), so I am aware of how a book is planned and priced and what corners are getting cut to match target prices.
Before the video, I never thought to apply ROI on production costs though.
The goal orientation is also an advice you hardly find out there. I had a video about it yesterday.
Excellent tips! 😀👍👏
These are great tips, thank you for sharing them!
Do you have a video that talks about marketing as an writer on social media even though you’re in the middle of writing and not about to publish any time soon?? Thanks xx
I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the volume is very high. I have it set to headphone volume 1, because lower is off, & it’s still very very loud. I’m not sure how to fix it in app.
Great things to consider. Thanks for sharing.
And the must-have one is SEO. Thank you for the tips.
Good video. Yeah, I totally understand. I have BIG BAD ROI. But I don't have an audience like someone who has 1/2 million or 1.5 million followers. But that's why I have a $50 a month budget. (I know people who spend that much a week on their vices). I should have a very short poetry book coming out in February and I could understand that someone may think the POD is too expensive because of the cost of printing but the ebook should be fair, I think. I have to go by the rules of Amazon for things like price. My upcoming book will have the word "Flower" in its title. It would be absolutely HUGE if I sold 1,000 per title. That would be my "million". Good luck everybody.
Thank you!
As a customer, I have one, very important marketing tip: Don't be that pathetic twit in the Artist Alley holding up the sign that says, "Please Check Out My Comic." I take one look at that sign, and steer clear of the table, as conspicuously as I can, so he gets a hint.
Thanks
ROI is so important and so tough to understand/hit positive when you start out. Great job explaining!
Interesting
i love you bb