The Biggest Marketing Bang for your Buck with Shelli Johannes-Wells

Hi everyone thanks for having me here…

Today, Tina’s asked me to talk through some budget-friendly techniques to get your book out there. Because let’s face it - we are not Stephanie Meyer. That means we either don’t have tons of money to spend or our publishers may not give us much.

First of all – you will spend some money. So, this is really about putting your money in the right place. To me- that is in designing any materials to be sure they look good and crisp and professional. But there are many things you can do that are fairly inexpensive.

Here are a few things I think you can do to push your book and save money.

Local avenues- You'd be surprised at the marketing support such activities can bring.

• Local radio shows and television appearances are good but are often forgotten within hours of the broadcast;
• Join local organizations that provide business-networking opportunities, or start your own.
• Do volunteer work for a large charity. Partner with one that aligns with your book.

Reach out to your contacts- its about spreading the word

• Any groups you are a part of
• Any alum organization – high school, old jobs, college etc.
• Friends and family
• Rebuild older connections

Library or school visits-

• Start tours locally, by state, then move to regional and national. Driving is cheaper than flying.
• Visit places where you know people that can help spread the word. Friends or family.
• Come up with a talk that they might pay for.

Organize before you start- Focusing your energy will help you do the right things for the right people. Don’t waste money doing everything.

• Figure out your top 3 target audiences
• Create a marketing plan for each of those – who are they, what swag do they want.
• Spend 15 min a day building out a detailed plan.
• By starting now and focusing – you will prevent yourself from wasting money on the wrong things.

SWAG- Be sure to do the right thing for the right people.

• Find out what is appropriate for each audience.
• Not everyone will use a book marker or postcard.
• Vistaprint and iPrint – do inexpensive printing
• If you pay – pay for the design aspect – not the printing

Email Marketing-

• Always be gathering email addresses
• Use MailChimp or Constant Contact to create pretty marketing email campaigns
• If you pay for anything – pay for someone to set up the newsletter so you can populate it each month.

Online Marketing-

• Blog Tours – look for well-visited blogs that target your audience. Contact them and offer a post. Blog writers are always looking for content.
• ARC tours – have an arc tour and have readers sign up – send an ARC around and require a post about it.
• EZINE – same thing – look for groups that do ezines and offer an article
• Press releases – Don't underestimate the value of a good press release for making book sales.
• Skype tours – reach more people.

Website-

• HAVE one – and make sure it is professional
• Go Daddy, Blogger, WordPress – all free
• If you have to, spend the money on the design to get you started.
• Create online press kit – generic press release, bio, professional picture, flyer about book, reviews, etc. Also, make sure it is down-loadable from site. This will save on printing costs and mailing costs.

A few Recommended Resources-

Complete Guide to Book Marketing- the basics
Plug Your Book-online marketing
The Frugal Book Promoter- Inexpensive ways to sell your book
Publicize Your Book -

I hope that gets you started. I’ll be popping in and out today to answer any questions you have.

I have a marketing blog called Market My Words for authors and do marketing interviews with editors and agents, run marketing contests for various stuff, and provide marketing tips to help authors sell their book. I also offer a marketing newsletter you can sign up for there.


Contests-

For the week of Jan 31st, I am running a Pay it Forward contest where followers can enter a pitch and I pick a winner to recommend to my agent, Alyssa Henkin at Trident Media.

For today and SEEKERVILLE members only, I will be doing a drawing for a free marketing book. It will be open until midnight tonight (EST). If you become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment TODAY telling me you are from Seekerville, I will enter you into the drawing. Be sure to leave me a comment on today’s post telling me you are a NEW FOLLOWER AND you are from SEEKERVILLE.

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Additionally, to celebrate Shelli's visit, Seekerville will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one commenter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

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Author Bio

Shelli Johannes-Wells started out writing for her local school paper and won a state Nutrition essay contest for “Be a Smart Cookie”. Somewhere along the way, she forgot about writing and earned an MBA in Marketing which started an 18-year marketing career in Corporate America working as a marketing and communications manager.

In 2000, Shelli traded in her expensive suits, way-too high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. She started her own marketing & communications business, Bilan, inc where she continues to work with clients, including Spanx, Goody Hair Products, Chick fil-A, Delta, CARE, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Shelli’s dream is to publish children’s books and is represented by Alyssa Eisner Henkins at Trident Media Group. In addition to juggling nap schedules and client meetings, Shelli focuses on her writing, speaks about marketing at SCBWI conferences, and runs a popular marketing blog, Market My Words that gets over 50,000 hits a year. There, she helps other authors by providing book publicity advice.

In her spare time (yeah right!) and if the kids allow (yeah right!), Shelli obsesses over movies, wishes she could squeeze in Bikram Yoga sessions, and dreams of sleeping in on the weekends. She currently lives in Atlanta with her dog Charley, a British-accented husband (yes it is sexy), and the imaginations of a little prince and princess that someday will change the world.