All this week I’ve been conducting an experiment. What would happen if I spend twenty minutes a day marketing my book? For some background, my book, RAZE, SHINE #6 was released back in February 2014. It’s available as an e-book on Amazon. It’s my first work to publish, and I’m super excited about it.
Marketing is a challenge for me. But I decided that I need to stop worrying about what I can’t control, and instead focus on what I can control. I have four young children, a husband in surgical residency, several more books to write, and I’m preparing to make a big move from Tulsa to Galveston, TX, but surely I can spend 20 minutes a day on book marketing, right?
I did. I spent a chunk of my morning from about 9:00 am to 9:20, solely focused on marketing. I put up a blog post, linked it to Twitter and Facebook, and then spent more time on Facebook promoting on the book writing groups. I also spent a little time on making friend requests and socializing on the FB book lovers sights. I made sure to set the alarm on my phone, so I knew that I ONLY had twenty minutes. It helped me stay focused, especially when I got on Facebook and felt tempted to scan through the news feed, or got distracted by a picture of someone’s adorable baby. Setting the timer worked better than I thought, and it was such a simple thing to do. I plan to continue with 20 minute marketing, just so I can stay focused.
Here are my results in terms of Amazon ranking:
May 19- #469,644
May 20- #209,315
May 21- #291,057
May 22- #344,971
May 23- #389,137
Also, I gained one more five-star review, which I’m very proud of. Those reviews are better than chocolate to me! The numbers are marginally impressive, but you can see that I at least sold a couple books, which in my mind is worth the twenty minutes.
The main lesson I’ve learned is to be consistent. Maybe I won’t get a sale today, but at least I got my name out there, and I’ve become a more visible online presence, so that when my next book comes out in July, I’ll already have some followers.
Does anyone have better suggestions for how I can spend my twenty minutes? I’ve got the blog, Twitter, and Facebook as my main targets, but I’m sure there are other paths I could take that would garner more sales.
I’d also like to invite other authors to take the 20 minute challenge. (Now I sound like an aerobics instructor) and report on how they did!
Love this idea! I'm terrible at sticking with it, but I always *intend* to use this marketing plan (based on 30 min of marketing/day): http://selfpublishingteam.com/why-authors-who-say-i-dont-have-time-are-doomed-to-fail/
Jordan, I'll look into the 30 minute plan. Marketing is a whole new ball game for me, so I need all the information I can find. Thanks for dropping by!
Timer idea is great.
Making a list to go with your 20 minutes limit will help your time be even more productive. I had to take a bit of a hietus the last 5 weeks during the end of school rush, but not I have time again and I plan to use it to full advantage. I like the 20 minute time limit. I accept your challenge. I'll let you know how it goes for me.
Good–keep me posted!
I started doing the timer thing again this week and it works better than anything else I've tried. I have a daily to do list for my blog and all the various social media channels, my business to do's, and my household obligations. Every task gets a timer set to it and it's amazing how much I get accomplished when I stick to it.
Congratulations on making a plan and getting results. That's awesome! The only things I can think of to help would be to have a Pinterest board so you can pin your posts, books, and other items. I get a lot of traffic from Pinterest. Set up your blog so that people can follow you with Bloglovin', a lot of book bloggers use it and it's a great way to follow blogs and if you can work in visiting some blogs and commenting most of us visit and comment back.
Keep up the good work!
Very good advice! Yes, I was shocked at how well the timer works–and I think I will incorporate it into my daily routine. Thanks for the Pinterest and Bloglovin' advice. My goal this week is to try out a few new social media channels. I'm also going to try Instagram.