Newsworthy

By Michael Drew - Jul 18 , 2007

Making a bestseller list is an author’s Holy Grail. Most published writers don’t seem to care about the money they make from their book’s sales nearly as much as they do about opening the newspaper and seeing their names in print as a bestselling author. The problem is, only a select few know the correct route to take to get them where they want to go.That’s where I come in. I infuse publishable books with the knowledge, secrets, and timing of time-tested book promotion, and the authors I work with arrive at their desired destination, safely and on schedule. But a magician I am not. I can’t carve a diamond from a chunk of cubic zirconium. That’s why I measure every author who contacts me against a set of non-negotiable standards before I agree to work with them.

As a publisher, you should create your own set of standards. You can’t afford to have stacks of books languishing in warehouses, given the skinny margins you’re faced with today. Which means you, too, must be hyper-selective when it comes to your writers.

Do you know what I look for above all else? A solid marketing platform. I require my clients to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000 people in their Gravity Well before I join the team. And, for my money, producing an interesting and informative newsletter is a great way to begin building that platform.

Scanning a newsletter is like dipping your foot into a swimming hole. It’s a quick and easy way for someone to test the nature of a particular pool of information. If the temperature and composition of a newsletter is not compelling enough for a reader to immerse himself any further, the reader continues the search for refreshment elsewhere. But if it is, that toe test could be followed by a head-first plunge that leads to deeper exploration, word-of-mouth advertising, and, ultimately, to the nearest bookstore.

That’s how a Gravity Well works—a person makes a series of small, incremental decisions and, with each step, the force pulling them towards the center of your author’s universe gets stronger. Before they know it, they’re clicking their way around her website, attending her seminar, and purchasing her book. And by that time, they’ve got both feet planted right smack dab in the middle of her marketing platform.

But nothing is quite as easy as it sounds. The best-case scenario I’ve just described assumes that your author is able to help readers wade through the daily bombardment of information they’re inundated with and provide consolidated, synthesized insights into matters that truly interest them. It’s a fair challenge, but, done effectively, a newsletter is the perfect prime for a well-oiled marketing machine.

First of all, a newsletter consistently reminds readers that your author is not only a great source of information, but also an authority in their field of interest, which means, whenever a question arises that is relevant to this field, he is the one they will likely turn to. In addition, people will probably pass this newly acquired knowledge on to their friends and associates, potentially growing your writer’s marketing platform in the process.

But be careful not to let him get too greedy. Newsletters are not intended to be used as an overt advertising venue for other products and services. Readers have grown weary of being sold, and as soon as their B.S. meter goes off, it’s Wham, Bam, No Thank You, Spam. Your author must always remember that the purpose of a newsletter is to offer the target market free information, and it needs to be the kind of information that attracted them in the first place.

The road to Bestsellersville is not a direct route. There are many twists and turns along the way. But when an author is willing to employ the principles of seed time and harvest and cultivate a sizable marketing platform, that destination can most surely be reached. A weekly newsletter that reaches the target audience is a great place to start.

Questions about effective methods for building marketing platforms may be directed to Michael R. Drew at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of Promote A Book: 512-858-0040. You can also contact Michael via email at michael@promoteabook.com