Marketing with Purpose

Today I host author Angela D. Meyer who shares about marketing.

Welcome, Angela. Thank you for joining us and for sharing what you’ve learned along the way.

Marketing with Purpose, by Angela D. Meyer

I started on this publishing journey with a lot of passion. It is just a matter of writing a good story, isn’t it?

That would be nice, but there’s a lot more to it. Marketing is high on the list of extra items.

I’ve learned a lot about marketing over the past year and a half. A lot of the “what” about the process. Now, I’m learning the importance of how marketing is done. How to do it with purpose. Not all over the board, wasting time and energy. Purpose that gains an audience and doesn’t burn me out in the process.

Here are a few things to help you apply your marketing plan with purpose.

Make it sustainable.

Something you can continue doing over the long haul. Once your book is out, you have to keep working to grow your audience. But you can’t keep up the pace of a two week blog tour indefinitely. Find an approach that fits with your life and pace yourself.

Make it fit you and your audience.

When it comes to social media sites, there is no end. It’s tempting to jump in to the next popular thing. But what worked for someone else, may not work for you. Spend your time, money and energy resources where your audience is, not where someone else’s audience hangs out – no matter how cool it is or how many go there. It might be nice for a one time book blast just to see what you pull in, but it will drag you down in the long run.

Give the same thing you would like to receive.

Every marketer out there wants his audience to engage with them. Leaving comments, sharing what they found. The golden rule has a nice application here. If you want people to leave comments, leave your own on the places you visit. People really do read through the comments, and if they like your answer, they will often follow the link…right to you. If you want people to invest in you, show yourself a wise investor in people, as well. It all will return to you at some point.

Make it about connections.

It’s not just about convincing someone to buy a book. It’s about providing something of value to help the one person in front of you. That’s where relationship happens and you make a difference in someone’s life. I think that’s what most writers want in the long run. And ironically, focusing on the one is what brings the many down the road.

It may take some trial and error, but when your practiced craft meets with purposeful marketing, you’ll have a plan that can be sustained over the long haul.

Where do you best like to meet your audience?

For more from Angela read my interview with her. Connect with Angela at www.facebook.com/AuthorAngelaDMeyer or www.angeladmeyer.com