Marketing Your Books - Tamara and Jerome's Fabulous Course

1. Marketing Your Books
Tamara and Jerome’s Fabulous Course
February 20, 2020

2. Class Topics Include: Create and learn to use a
perpetual marketing calendar, Why and how to brand
yourself, Learn to write variety of Bios and when to use
each one, How to discover your market, How to use
social media, How to determine a marketing schedule,
How to write blogs and posts, When, or when not, to
hire a professional PR/Marketing firm, How to write a
book pitch for marketing purposes, Learn to find and
how to do podcasts, blog tours, and MUCH MORE

3. Class Topics Include: Create and learn to use a
perpetual marketing calendar, Why and how to brand
yourself, Learn to write variety of Bios and when to use
each one, How to discover your market, How to use
social media, How to determine a marketing schedule,
How to write blogs and posts, When, or when not, to
hire a professional PR/Marketing firm, How to write a
book pitch for marketing purposes, Learn to find and
how to do podcasts, blog tours, and MUCH MORE

4. By way of background….

5. Let’s Talk About Writing….

6. Isn’t this the oldest profession?

7. And the newest?

8. “No one ever made a decision based on a number. They
need a story.”
Michael Lewis
The Undoing Project

9. Establishing an Online Presence

10. 10

11. 11

12. Establishing an Online Presence
• What makes your online material unique?
• Beating the competition for eyes
• Balancing content and entertainment
• Doing-it-yourself…or…?

13. Let’s get into some
specifics of the online “you”

14. But first, what are you trying to
accomplish with the online “you?”

15. “There is only one recipe for a bestseller and it is a very
simple one. If you look back on all the bestsellers you
have read, you will find they all have one quality” you
simply have to turn the page.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller

16. The Three Elements of the
“Online You”

17. EngagementDesign
Visibility
Do all three
and you are
marketing
successfully

19. Design

20. What Makes Your Online Material Unique?
• Are you providing something people can’t get
anywhere else or get as easily?
• Are you aiming at the right attention span of online
tourists?
• Determining the right level of effort in refreshing
your online content
• Balancing what you give away online and what you
want to sell to visitors

21. Beating the Competition for Online Eyes
• Above all else, when someone “Googles” your name
your website must pop up at the top
• It’s not just about getting that initial visitor – it’s
about getting him or her to keep coming back
• Most online visitors are taking a break from what
they have to do at work or home
• Think of your website the same way as what you
write – tell people a story

22. Balancing Content and Entertainment
• People will tire of the monotonous “professor”
telling them “like this damn you” (from Ian Fleming)
• People will tire of dancing bears, dwarfs throwing
rose petals and fireworks
• Achieving the right blend and balance is your online
presence style
• Press the “Easy Button” with your due diligence: Visit
the websites of writers whose work you enjoy

23. Doing It Yourself Or Having It Done
• Your website is “you” to people you will likely never
meet – but who you want to entertain
• There are cottage industries of books, seminars, tools
and coaches to help you build your own website
• There are legions of people and businesses who will
do it for you
• If you have the time and energy and want to use
your left and right brain – try doing it yourself

24. Engagement and Visibility

25. Social–and Other–Media: Your Vehicle for
Engagement and Visibility
• Engagement
• E-mail mailing list
• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Visibility (typically after your book is published)
• Publicity
• Advertising
• Events
• Guest posts
• Give aways
• Interviews/podcasts

26. Everyone is Doing It
• 74% of online adults use social networking sites
• 71% of online adults use Facebook
• 23% of online adults use Twitter
• 26% use Instagram
• 28% use Pinterest
• 28% use LinkedIn

27. Vote Early and Often
• There are no limits to how much you can use social
media
• This goes to the number of sites you use as well as to
how often you are on those sites
• However, as with your online presence (website) it
comes down to how you invest your time
• Most practitioners advise a Zen approach: “If you
don’t do it excellently, don’t do it at all”

28. Building a Following
• There are many ways to build a following – find the
one that’s right for you
• You can even “buy” a following on media like Twitter
– if this is really what you want to do
• Most people find that letting a following build
naturally conveys the best long-term benefits
• Remember that social media following is a very
ephemeral thing (Un-friending, Tweepie, etc.)

29. Sustaining Momentum
• Building a following on social media carries an
implicit obligation – to stay with it!
• As one indication, Twitter tells you when a person
last posted a Tweet
• You want to make social media your servant not your
master
• Recognize that there are dangers that come with this
http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/who-likes-you

30. …now let’s get to the “where”
and the “how to”

31. …but first…a strategic pause

32. “A fixation with connecting with 'friends' online
comes with the risk of disconnection with
friends waiting for you to be present in the
offline world.”
Craig Hodges

33. Do You Really Want To Do This?
• It can be time consuming – or all-consuming
• It can be boring
• It can be distracting – to the detriment of your work
• It can be expensive in terms of missed opportunities
• Doesn’t have a definable return on investment
• At the end of the day it is ephemeral

34. …on the other hand…

35. Benefits of Social Media
• You can reach a global audience
• Social media is accessible to everyone
• Most social media tools are easily learned
• You control your content and periodicity
• If you have no Web presence, agents, reviewers and
readers are a lot less likely to take you seriously
• Publishers will ask: “What platforms are you on and
how many followers do you have?”

36. A Slice of Social Media

37. A Slice of Social Media
• E-mail
• Blogging
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Text Messaging
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Instagram

38. A Slice of Social Media
• E-mail
• Blogging
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Text Messaging
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Instagram

39. “Your email inbox is a bit like a Las Vegas
roulette machine. You know, you just check it
and check it, and every once in a while there's
some juicy little tidbit of reward, like the three
quarters that pop down on a one-armed bandit.
And that keeps you coming back for more.”
Douglas Rushkoff

40. E-mail
• E-mail remains the most “personal” of all types of
media we use – except perhaps the phone
• Since it is asynchronous in time, it lends itself to you
just launching something at any time
• You can also create multiple “lists” for various
communities of interest
• Many people you e-mail expect a reply when they e-
mail you – and the clock is ticking
• Know the “rules of the road”
• Learn how to handle your in-box

41. “Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on
producing a blog that’s great for your readers.”
Brian Clark

42. Blogging
• Your blog is typically your “stream of consciousness”
of content you want to share with the world
• It’s not just about getting people to look at your blog
once, it’s about getting them to come back to it
• Use the “Goldilocks” approach to blogging – not too
much, not too little by remembering what you like
• It always helps to periodically build on material
you’ve blogged on before

43. “In modern politics, even the leader of the free
world needs help from the sultan of
Facebookistan.”
Rebecca MacKinnon

44. Facebook
• Having at least a decent Facebook page is an
expected attribute for any professional
• In much the same way as your website, your
Facebook page should balance content and sizzle
• Be judicious regarding who you follow – it can
overwhelm your e-mail inbox
• Facebook is a great opportunity to engage both your
left and your right brain

45. “Twitter is my bar. I sit at the counter and listen
to the conversations, starting others, feeling the
atmosphere.”
Paulo Coelho

46. Twitter
• In some ways, Twitter is today’s news “ribbon” in
Times Square
• Twitter enables you to redistribute content that you
find and want to share
• Twitter provides a great opportunity to drive people
to your website
• Exercise caution and don’t “over-market” on Twitter
– people can easily see through this

47. “The real challenge is for each of us to determine
where we feel we can make the most impact.”
Jay Samit

48. Like Many Things in Life Using Social Media
to Enhance Your Writing Reach Involves
• Organization and planning
• Knowing your target market
• Getting creative
• Staying consistent
• Picking some – but not likely all – types of SM
• Setting realistic goals–especially the time you invest

49. ...if you are interested in learning more…

50. One Way to Learn More About How Social
Media Can Help Your Writing Promotion
• Fauzia Burke
www.fauiziaburke.com
• Tracy Petrucci
www.tracypetrucci.com
• San Diego Writer’s Ink
http://www.sandiegowriters.org

51. Website Constants Regardless of Who
Builds and Maintains the Site
• You will need to provide the content
• You will want to add content frequently
• You will want to use social media to drive people to
your website
• The longer you have your website the more it will
become your “professional persona”

52. “Being a comparatively successful writer is a good life.
You don’t have to work at it all the time and you carry
your office around in your head. And you are far more
aware of the world around you. Writing makes you
more alive to your surroundings and, since the main
ingredient of living, though you might not think so to
look at most human beings is to be alive, this is quite a
worthwhile by-product, even if you only write thrillers.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller

53. What are you working on now?

54. First book of the Rick Holden
Thriller Series - from
Braveship Books
What if the most senior officers
in the United States military are
so dissatisfied with the
President that they concoct a
scheme to have the President
direct a major military operation,
and then have that operation fail
in order to drive the President
out of office?

55. Second book of the Rick
Holden Thriller Series - from
Braveship Books
What if the Islamic Republic
of Iran is killing Americans in
terrorist attacks and other
actions and the United States
is not taking action? And
what is a carrier strike group
commander decides to create
an incident that has Iran’s
fingerprints and uses this as
an excuse to extract his own
vengeance on Iran? Can he
be stopped?

56. Third Book in the Rick Holden
Thriller Series: Fire and Ice
This story has painted Russia and its leader in stark, unflattering terms. While
this is fiction, one thing undergirding the high concept for this story is that
Russians are spectacular grudge holders. If you tick a Russian off, the chances
of him forgetting about it and not seeking revenge asymptotically approach
zero. Perhaps the best way to explain this is by way of a joke that has been
retold countless times.
An angel appeared to three men, a Frenchman, an Italian, and a Russian. The
angel tells them that tomorrow the world is going to end and asks them what
they each want to do with their last night on earth. The Frenchman says he
will get a case of the best champagne and spend his last night with his
mistress. The Italian says he will visit his mistress and then go home and eat
his last meal with his wife and children. The Russian replies that he will go
burn down his neighbor’s barn.

57. “If you decide to become a professional writer, you
must, broadly speaking, decide whether you wish to
write for fame, for pleasure, or for money.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller

59. http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/

60. Slides Posted:
http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/
E-Mail
george@georgegaldorisi.com

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