Delilah Marvelle - Cracking The Promotion Code

I have learned quite a bit about promotion since first being published in 2008.  I’ve learned that cracking the promotion code is like trying to find a flea in a haystack.  There simply isn’t any one thing that will guarantee that you will reach your readers.  BUT…I will say this.  If you do nothing to promote yourself, rest assured you won’t get any buzz at all. 

If I can give you four BIG pieces of advice in best promoting yourself, here it is:

1.)  Brand yourself.   You are selling your writing.  You are not selling your dogs, your cats, or your children.  Remember that when you decide to blog.  Most writers make the mistake of creating a blog that serves no purpose but entertaining a select few.  It’s an amazing opportunity that is lost.  Think bigger.  How can you reach more people?  How can you reach people who don’t even know who the hell you are?  An example of how to step outside of the box is what I did with my own blog:A Bit O’Muslin (www.DelilahMarvelle.blogspot.com)  I created a blog on Sex Throughout History which I post to every first of the month.   Why only once a month?  Because that way, I don’t get burned out and neither to my readers.  I want an ongoing relationship without being in their face every day. 
I get several thousand hits a month and I will say that most of the traffic is rather random.  People who Google “The History of the Dildo” will discover that I am actually #1 in the Google search engine.  It took a bit of time to establish myself as number one in the dildo search, lol, but I assure you, it’s strategic.  I’ve had quite a few people who accidentally came across my blog who started not only following me but were curious enough to pick up my books.   My blog reflects my writing, not my life.

2.) Make use of Social Media to do MORE than promote yourself.  Whether you do Twitter or Facebook or whatever other Social Media poison you choose, remember to use it for more than promotion.  Get to know your readers.  Get to know reviewers.  Follow them and converse with them without being annoying.  And only pimp yourself when necessary.  People know when you’re selling and when you’re being genuine.  Be genuine at all times.  Not just some of the time.  

3.) Forget the pens, the mugs and those endless trinkets you buy to pimp yourself.  Here’s what I noticed when going to events and what readers (not writers) pick up.  They pick up signed bookmarks, excerpt booklets and books.  Which makes sense.  They want your writing.  Not your pens.  So put your writing INTO the hands of your readers by doing excerpt booklets or handing out free copies of your books.  Sure, it costs more in the long run, but think about it.  Books will never be thrown in the trash and will make its way around.  Can you say the same for a pen or some of the other promo?  Even bookmarks will eventually find their way into the trash...sadly. And though the excerpt booklet may not last long, if they picked it up, they will most likely READ the chapter booklet.  Which gives you a better chance of getting a sale than any pen.

4.)  Write the best damn book you can.  Your writing is really the ONLY thing you can control in this crazy business.  A good book will continue to find its audience with or without promotion.  Word of mouth, after all, is the greatest promotion of all.