But first, the stories work reading this week:
Follow the Influencers: Social Media Stars 2016 (Alex Palmer for Publisher’s Weekly): “The books that succeed, editors and publishers say, are those that are approached as something more complex than a typical online post or promotional tool.”
How to Get Started as a Professional Speaker (Michael Hyatt): “Public speaking is a tremendous way to: discover what resonates and why, build your personal brand, promote your products, and monetize your content. Most important, it is one of the best ways I know to influence people: to expose them to new ideas, motivate them to take action, and creative transformational experiences.”
7 Simple Steps to Building the Structure of Your Nonfiction Book (Chad R. Allen): “A lot of people have some scattered ideas about what they’d like to write about, but they really don’t know how to take those jumbled thoughts and organize them into book form. … [This is] a proven way to take your untidy ideas and organize them into book form.”
Why Indie Authors Need a Business Hat (Helen Sedwick on The Book Designer): “Many writers who dive into self-publishing are surprised to discover they are running a business. They have questions about incorporation and business licenses. They wonder what to do about sales taxes. They fear hiring editors, designers, and other freelancers.”
5 Must-Follow Authors Who Can Show You How to Market Authentically
Two weeks ago I talked a lot about the psychology and emotion of marketing, and why so many authors struggle to do it in a way that doesn’t feel fake and sleazy. I also shared a 3-step process for how to learn what authentic and effective marketing really looks like. (Hint: If it feels icky to you, don’t do it!)
But when you think about it, marketing is all around us, and we can learn so much about it just by watching closely. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel–we just need to pinpoint the people who are doing it well and learn from them.
Think about the last nonessential purchase you made online, and why you made it. For me, it was a gorgeous art print from Jones Design Company for my gallery wall. The thought process behind that purchase was absurdly simple (as really most of my thought processes are, ha!).
It was something like: “I like her. I like that art print (or book, or course, etc.). I will now buy it.”
See? Those are the deep, insightful thoughts that happen up here. It is really hard to keep up with myself.
But if you look more closely at it, that thought process is actually the distillation of authentic marketing: