Learning the Lesson

February 15, 2015

I seem to be increasing my work load simply by looking
into ways of promoting and marketing my books. Despite the ease with which the
methods are claimed to be, and that no technical knowledge is required, I find
myself scratching my head and wondering what I must do next; or how do I
prepare a campaign and list of subsrcibers for Mail Chimp. Do I really need
e-pub, mobi and pdf files ready to distribute to those on my subscriber list
should they ask? And here’s the chicken and egg argument: how do I get
subscribers if my standing as a writer comes close to invisible? The answer, of
course, is patience, hard work and ‘stickability’ (and the tutorials).

I’ve worked my way through the three, free videos on how
to increase my visibility, and have watched two of them twice. They are packed
with information and I expect I will be watching them again. Then there’s
MailChimp. It’s so easy a monkey could do it. I must be descended from a
different kind of monkey because my head is still spinning. Perhaps an increase
in my banana consumption might help? Oh, and I forgot Calibre: probably the
easiest way to convert documents to epub etc. Of course, there’s PhotoShop ,
which is really handy when uploading jackets to CreateSpace, particularly if
you know what you are doing. But never mind; there are always the tutorials to
hand. But what’s missing out of all this? What vital ingredient has to go into
the mix in order to make sales? That’s right: books. And writing books is what
I do best. I don’t need tutorials. I’ve been there, done that and got the Tee
shirt. But there’s not enough time of day left to settle down with pen in hand
(e-pen) and write. I use Scrivener by the way. Forgot that one. Had to use the
tutorial of course, but I managed it in the end. But I won’t give up. Once I’ve
organised myself into some semblance of order, have grasped the finer details
of marketing and promotion, and can see light at the end of the tunnel, I will
write. All I need to do now is communicate with readers. Not authors, but
readers: people who will agree to sign up to my e-mail campaign once I get it
rolling. They will receive the occasional e-mail from me letting them know what
offer or news I have. The first offer will be a free ebook in return for signing
up. They can even unsubscribe once they’ve received the freebie. But first of
all, I will be putting one of my titles out as a ‘permafree’ in the hope that
will attract readers to my list. It will be a little while yet before I’m ready
for the big ‘launch’. Meanwhile, anyone reading this blog who might be
interested once I begin, might like to let me know through the contact page.
Just think: it could be the beginning of a great partnership. I hope so. Wish
me luck!