Hiring someone to market our books seems like a logical decision. After all, we hire professionals to edit our books and design our covers, so why not book marketing too?
This is exactly what I thought and precisely what I did. Over the years I’ve hired a book launch expert, a publicist, a book marketing consultant, and an SEO (search engine optimization) guru, a social media specialist, and a book marketing professional.
Each one was a complete failure. I was never able to directly attribute a single book sale to the tens of thousands of dollars I spent hiring them. Nor did I ever see an overall bump in book sales during their time with me.
The only hire that came close to working out was the book ads expert. After three months of losses, the fourth month generated more attributable book sales than ad costs. Yet once I paid the fee for their services, I still lost money.
Now I run my own ads. I also do all the other needed book marketing activities—even though I don’t want to.
Takeaway: Though authors can hire professionals to cover many areas, finding an effective book marketer may not be one of them.
You love words, so now build a writing life that lasts. Successful Author FAQs answers the questions new and growing writers ask most, with clear advice on craft, publishing, and staying encouraged.
It’s time to start calling yourself a writer. Unleash your writing potential with Successful Author FAQs.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
Get your copy of Successful Author FAQs today!