Today’s Book Marketing Plan:  We’re at the third step, which is todecide on our issues.  Hannah and I each decided to choose two issues that we’re really passionate about.

If you haven’t read Step 1 of the Book Marketing plan, click the link, and here’s the link for Step 2 of the Book Marketing plan.

What are issues? In your book marketing universe, issues are different from topics.

Issues are larger, and have to do with causes you and your readers or target
market are passionate about.

Examples include: social justice, poverty, women’s issues, religious issues, children’s issues, education, going green, etc.

So now it’s your turn.  Choose your own issues – but choose them carefully. Issues can rally people around topics, they can create topics, build tribes and help you become known for what you believe in.

Because here’s the thing about issues – once you’ve chosen them, you have to take a stand and then get verbal and be seen and heard.

So think carefully about the issues you choose, and be prepared to become a shining light supporting what you believe in.

We’ll go into details about step 4 tomorrow.  For now, you should be starting to do some keyword research.  You want to choose your keywords carefully too, because you’ll be using them to write your blog posts and articles in the coming weeks and months.

The keyword tool I use for my basic research is:

Google Adwords

I like adwords because, first of all, it’s free, secondly it comes from Google, and thirdly, the suggestions it gives are often surprising and usually useful.

Of course, you can’t stop with it.  There are so many different tools you can use for keyword research – and chances are you have your own, so I’m not going to get into how to do it.  That’s not what this series of posts is about.

So just know that it’s time to do the research now – and the more and the deeper you go, the better.  The keywords you find will help you to write future articles, media releases and blog posts.

We’ll go into Step 4 of the Book Marketing Plan in the next post, so watch for it! And if you’ve got a comment, idea or suggestion, please feel free!

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Okay, so if you’re following along with our Book Marketing Plan, you’ve figured out what your book’s ‘universe’ is.  You know who your book is targeted towards, who your readers are and where they’re hanging out, and who your potential partners are.  (This works whether your book is fiction or non-fiction.)  If you missed that post, you can find it here: Book Marketing Plan Step 1:

So now it’s time to get to Step 2 of the Book Marketing Plan.  Step two is all about choosing your topics.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  What’s the subject of your book?  What topics are related to your subject matter?

You want to choose between 6 and 12 Main Topics.  Your topics need to relate directly to the subject matter of your book, and they should be the most important ones you can think of.

Your topics need to be ones that you, yourself, are passionate about. (Because you’re going to blogging and writing about them for a long time – so if they don’t hold your interest, it’s going to get pretty boring pretty quickly). Your topics also need to be ones that your readers and target market are interested in, too, for obvious reasons.

Once you’ve chosen your topics, it’s time to start thinking about sub-topics. But, there’s something even more important you need to do first…

Start by getting organized

Since you’re going to be marketing your book for several months – or longer, it’s better to get organized right now.  Because the longer you’re promoting your book, the easier it’s going to be to get lost and disorganized – especially since you’re going to be promoting your book on more than one site and in more than one way.

The Tools and Resources an Author Needs to Organize their Book Marketing Campaign

Figuring out what tools you need to organize your book marketing campaign can drive you crazy – and right into the poorhouse, if you’re not careful!

Which is why Hannah and I are sharing our strategy with you on this blog, and showing you the tools we use – and the results we get.

So stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, when we share the only essential tools you need to put together your own book marketing plan and promote your book!

Do you need a book marketing plan for your book?    Are you worried, because, after all, you’re a writer not a marketer? Well, have no fear – cause that’s why we’re here…

So, let’s get cracking – and by the way, if you’ve got other ideas about marketing your book, or have tried things that have worked – or haven’t – we’d love to hear from you!

Step 1: Defining your book’s universe

Hannah and I decided to start by defining our book marketing universe.  So the first step, was getting clear about who we’re writing this book for, and how we wanted to find them – and have them find us.

We’re also thinking about people who are already doing this work – working on safety issues for women – because we want to help spotlight their work whenever possible.

And of course, we need to think about how we’re going to market the book.

So we started by defining our universe.

For us, we decided our blog was going to be the ‘center’ of our universe, and everything we do will flow out from it and come back to it.

We also decided we wanted to use social marketing, and what makes the most sense for our readership is Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, because that’s where we’re going to find our readers, our partners and make new connections.

We’re also going to be hooking up with various groups and writers’ communities, and we’ll appreciate any and all comments, ideas and support.

And of course, we’re going to be finding and commenting on forums, groups, and the blogs of people whose work is making a difference in women’s lives.

Now what about you?  As a writer promoting your book, what’s your book’s universe? Where do you go to find your readers? Who are your partners, supporters and friends? What’s your marketing strategy?  If you don’t have one, or what you’ve been trying up to now isn’t working, we invite you to follow along with us, and we’ll go through this adventure together!  (If nothing else, you’ll be able to learn from our mistakes!)