Initiating the ‘Alpha Voice’ Book Marketing Plan

By Michael Drew - Nov 12 , 2008

Something to think about before you initiate your book marketing plan – prospective readers aren’t just evaluating your book: they are also evaluating you. Yes, they still want to know what your book is about. But they also want to know about your values, and whether or not your perspectives are aligned with theirs. You want them to consider yours to be an Alpha Voice, right? But do you know what that voice sounds like?

Maybe history can give us a clue.

In 1991, William Strauss and Neil Howe published a book called Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069. They retrace the past 400 years and determined that societal mindset is continually swinging back and forth through four 20-year cycles. Imagine a pendulum at six o’clock. As it moves up and to the left we experience a 20-year Civic cycle. Then it swings back towards its starting position during a 20-year Adaptive cycle. Only this time it continues up and to the right to give us a 20-year Idealist cycle, before swinging back to that six o’clock position again during a 20-year Reactive cycle. Up and back, up and back, twenty years at a time.

So where does 2008 find us, as the pendulum swings? Five years into a new Civic cycle (about 6:34 on the clock). And what are the values of a Civic mindset?

This startlingly well-written article by Heather Havrilesky demonstrates them perfectly, but here are the cliff-notes–

• Teamwork
• Honesty
• Hard work
• Humility
• Self-deprecation
• Consciousness
• Transparency
• Equality

Still surprised we voted Barack Obama to the Presidency? A couple of excerpts from his speech at Grant Park last week:

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.”

“So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.”

That is what the Alpha Voice of a civic-minded leader sounds like. And that is the kind of message that will resonate with society over the next fifteen years. So how do you adopt a similar ‘voice’ when marketing your book, and ultimately, yourself? How do you demonstrate your values, your perspectives, and your acknowledgement of responsibility?

A few ideas—

1. Reference persons, places and things familiar to your audience.
2. Deliver the experience you promise.
3. Evaluate what you’re doing to make a difference.
4. Find the loopholes and close them. Anticipate the “yeah buts …” and speak to them directly.
5. Evaluate your website by asking yourself, “How can I make it easier for people to deepen their relationship with me and trust me with their money?“
6. Don’t ‘we-we’ all over yourself. Focus your message on your audience. Give this ‘we-we’ calculator a try and see how reader-focused you are.
7. Build a two-word bridge that connects your features to their benefits—‘which means.’
8. Use raw, unscripted testimonials like this one.
9. Keep your pencil sharpened and your notebook at the ready. Be prepared to capture the golden little nuggets of truth and human interaction you observe. These are the moments that bind us together.
10. Study the practical applications of new media. How can facebook help you? Should you put a video on YouTube? Is a blog something worth considering? Marketing strategist Chris Maddock certainly believes so. Read what he has to say on the matter.

Hopefully I’ve given you a glimpse of the prevailing worldview of your target audience. As you initiate your book marketing plan, keep in mind that it will become harder than ever to win people over through PR alone. Technology is rewriting the rules of commerce. Online chat rooms, blogs, social networking, and instant messaging are ensuring that, whether good or bad, word gets out.

YouTube, facebook, and Google are the Kerouac, Dean, and Salinger of the new generation. Everyone’s contributing to the Great Conversation. What about you? Are you ready to join the conversation?

Questions about how to create a marketing message that resonates with society 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.