Marketing Strategies for Authors:
3 Steps for More Effective Results Now!
Are you challenged by how to market your business?
Overwhelmed by all the choices out there and not sure what to do next to bring in new clients?
Frustrated and stressed because the path forward is not clear?
When it comes to marketing strategies for authors who want to leverage their book to grow their businesses (who usually are also coaches, consultants, speakers, or entrepreneurs) we find a lot of confusing advice. So let’s go back to the basics for a few minutes.
You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule, right? This is the one that says that 80% of our revenue comes from 20% of our clients. (By the way, it is also true that 80% of our problems come from 20% of our customers. Let that sink in a moment.)
This also applies to our marketing strategies as an author.
Here are 3 steps for getting more effective results with your marketing now.
Assess what is working and not working. 80% of our success comes from 20% of our marketing efforts. That means we need to identify and keep our finger on the pulse of what is working (and not working). Focusing our efforts on what works in our business will lead to much greater business growth. It’s true….marketing success leaves clues. Somehow we may choose not to pay attention to the clues; nonetheless, they are there if we take time to look.
Here is one easy place to start. Take a close look at where you are investing time, energy, and effort with business networking. Which groups have members that either refer to you or become clients? Unless you are in a financial position where gaining new business is not a top priority and you have plenty of clients, leads, and speaking engagements, letting go of some of them is in order so you can focus on the groups or activities that really bring results.
- Identify the top strategy that is yielding the greatest results. Let’s get real about this: Write down right now how your last 5 clients came to you. How did they know about you?Recently I was presenting information about marketing strategies for authors at a local workshop. I asked the group to complete this process. Ready? Write down how your last 5 customers came to you. Did they come from
- Your Facebook page?
- A local networking group?
- Your online marketing?
- An ad you ran?
- A word-of-mouth referral?
- A speaking engagement?
- A video on You Tube or other video platform?
- Some other marketing activity?
At the next break at that workshop, one participant confided that I’d given him this same advice last year and he’d done nothing with it. When I asked the source of his last 5 clients, he told me they came from referrals inside a state industry association.
So if he wants to grow his business fast, where should he focus? Exactly right: On building the relationships inside that association and finding more clients just like the last 5! Sometimes what is so obvious escapes our thinking.
- However your last 5 clients came to you, do more of that. Rather than getting caught up in chasing the latest marketing idea we hear online or in the last marketing presentation we attended, stop and identify what is working now. Then focus time, energy, and effort in that, instead of some new idea where we have no idea what the results might be. You’ll be amazed at the results you’ll see if you just do this for the next 30 days.
Remember to focus on what works and forget the rest, especially if your greatest need right now is to secure paying clients. This will save you so much time, effort, and marketing dollars.
Still not sure what to do next for marketing your business as an author, speaker, coach, or consultant? Contact me here and request your complimentary Author Marketing call.
