Marketing Strategies for Writers |
I’ve noticed a trend. Articles on idea generation or
developing the discipline for writing are rare.
The reason for this is simple: if you’re serious about being a writer,
you will find the time and you’ll find the ideas.
The not-so-simply part is what to do with the work after you’ve
finished. Apparently, selling or
promoting their own work does not come naturally to many writers. It’s like we hope the publishing fairy will
sweep through our windows at night, wave their magic wands, and suddenly we are
doing the talk show circuit.
But what do you do if the publishing fairy godmother doesn’t show up?
But what do you do if the publishing fairy godmother doesn’t show up?
That’s when I remember: oh right, I’ve taught marketing for
over 8 years now. I wrote the new marketing curriculum for my college and I
spent about a decade in sales and customer service before that. I should know
how to sell my book. Shouldn’t I?
I think the problem is selling and being creative seem a bit,
I don’t know, oxymoronic. What about artistic integrity? Blah blah blah. For
me, art for art’s sake is nothing more than masturbation: you are the only one
having any fun. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I’m not writing
just for a giggle. I want people to actually read my work and give me money.
A word of caution: if you are looking to become a poet laureate
or gain notoriety only after you’ve been dead for a hundred years or so, these
lessons probably do not apply to you. If
you want to make money…well, now we’re talking.
To make things simple, I’m using references from the textbook
we’re currently using for our marketing courses. It is Principles of Marketing (Kotler,Armstrong, Cunningham, Trifts, Toronto: Pearson, 2011). If you can pick up the book, do. If not, get
any book on marketing. Heck, you may even want to take a few marketing courses.
Let’s start with the basics: the marketing process.
Today I’m only focusing on the first step: Understand the marketplace and customer needs and
wants.
NEEDS
Any serious writer or publisher will tell you to read the work
that is already published in your genre. The text states: “Human needs are states of felt deprivation”.
Why do people read your genre anyway? What is the motivation or incentive to
read horror, romance, mystery, or the type of literature that wins the Booker
or Pulitzer Price? People read different genres for different reasons. Learn the
elements what must be in place for a piece to be acceptable. For example:
- Horror must be scary. If there is no fear of death or injury there will not be any real fear.
- Romance must have tension. "Boy meets girl, they get married, the end" is not going to sell.
- Mystery needs a puzzling crime. Preferably a murder
WANTS
To stand out from the competition we need to give more than
just the bare essentials. Again, critical reading helps. Remember to read as a
peer (someone at the same level as the author), not just a fan. Analyze what
they writer did well and try to figure out how they did it. Aside from reading,
ask. Get to know a whole bunch of people
who read and like the genre you hope to write in. Ask them what they liked and
didn’t like about previous books.
Sometimes the customer does not even know exactly what they
are looking for. They may think they
want something they actually don’t want. For example, sometimes in a scary
movie we “want” the hero to live. But would The Exorcist have been as scary if
the devil said “Okay Father, you win” followed by a fade to black? Would
Titanic be so successful if Jack stayed on the raft with Rose? If you think
back to the most “romantic” stories of all time, how many of them had a happy
ending?
DEMANDS
Price matters. For completely non-rational reasons, many
people see $1.00 as much more expensive than $0.99. For equally irrational
reasons free is often interpreted as disposable. So, be careful about what you
give away for free or you may damage your image as a credible artist. Let me
ask you a question.
Imagine you have two books in front of you. One you downloaded
for free, the other you paid $4.99 for. Which one do you read first?
Spending money is tied into the artistic experience. If you are giving away all your work for free
you are, unintentionally, diminishing the experience of the reader.
My next article will be on how to develop a marketing strategy
that is focused on your customers.
Kotler,
Armstrong, Cunningham, Trifts, Principles
of Marketing. Toronto: Pearson, 2011. Print