Sunday, December 7, 2008

Partners in Word Indeed

The added value in creating partnerships with literary groups and organizations is often overlooked by authors, and such relationships can be vital to marketing both yourself and your book.
The goal of most groups and organizations is to support members through collaborative efforts. The literary community is filled with opportunities from swapping links to your site with the group and other authors, member mailing list and access to potential customers through e-mail marketing used to announce book signings, workshops, appearances and other events.
Groups and organizations have many members and is also wonderful source for networking with others in the industry. They offer speaking opportunities for those in the group as well as non-members. Presenting at meetings hosted by literary groups or organizations affords you a captive audience, and people of like mind are most likely to buy your book in exchange for the information you offer.
A magazine or newsletter distributed by the group is a valuable marketing tool. Use this medium as a way to get your name and book noticed by writing and submitting articles. As an author-rity, you can create content that offers free and valuable teasers, excerpted from books or other promotion. Once you grab the reader’s attention, members can be directed to your site.
Groups market to each other and distribute the inside scoop on outside events that offer opportunities for you to participate as a speaker, panelist or sign up to be a vendor. Book fairs, industry trade shows, book clubs, workshops, seminars and conferences are teaming with aspiring and published authors, writers and novices who either simply love books, seek to improve their craft of writing and/or read material that relate to their style of writing. These same authors realize that by supporting you, they are supporting themselves, for they hope to be in your shoes someday soon.
As a business owner your success is based on 75 percent of your efforts. Being a smart businessperson equates to your working smarter not harder. We have heard this more than once in our lives, however, the act of following through with the plan is the hardest thing for both business owners and sales people to do.
Every missed opportunity to promote your work is self-defeating. Every attempt to promote yourself and your product keeps you in front of many prospective buyers, readers and listeners.

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