Polls and Surveys

Take a look at this poll that just came out today and hit many of the national news media with this headline, “Nirvana fans more likely to have sex on the first date.” This news is the result of a poll done by an online dating website – an ingenious marketing idea we can borrow when we look at book marketing. Read more here.

Creating a credible poll or survey related to the topic of your expertise and/or book is creating news and if it is at all provocative it could land you some major media.

Doing a survey is time-consuming but worthwhile. You probably want to have at least several hundred responses for it to be a valid and reliable poll. But the pursuit of respondents actually gives you the opportunity to connect with relevant associations, bloggers and others in a way that does not seem self-serving.

A few years ago I was involved in a survey of women becoming authors. We compiled a list of women’s organizations and writing organizations and asked their help in spreading the word that we were doing an important survey, the results of which we would share with them so they could share them with their readership.

We also offered prizes for those who completed the survey – your book would serve this purpose well, but we had Amazon gift certificates, book bags, writing books and other related items to attract the right crowd.

We conducted the survey for about six weeks to allow plenty of time for the organizations to let their members know via monthly newsletter or blog or however they regularly communicated.

We also had relatively few questions, but then ended with an open-ended question that would allow participants to say more if there was something we hadn’t asked that was relevant to them.

In the case of the online dating service survey, they would only have needed to ask two questions: What musical artist is your favorite and would you have sex on the first date. Not a perfect correlation, of course, but good enough for an online dating service!

The important component is the correlation of those two questions that made for a very interesting graphic. Often a survey will find interesting results that vary by gender or age or economic status. Sometimes you have an idea about what results to expect and other times it is a complete surprise, so you have to stay open to asking good questions and doing a thorough analysis of the answers.

The dating service may have asked a lot of questions, but they only sent out a press release on two and their correlation. It is much more effective to find the most interesting results and blog or do a press release on that limited data rather than trying to give all the results.

Listen for the questions people ask when you talk about your book, the kind that start with, “I wonder…” You can certainly explore subjects that were not covered in your book, but that are related in a way that will draw attention to your expertise.

There are techniques used by research institutions and others who regularly do surveys to make sure the questions aren’t leading the respondents in any particular direction, invalidating the survey.

I urge you to keep an eye out for what topic might make an interesting survey. Sending a press release out about your new book is unlikely to get any interest. But if you create news through a poll or survey, you can mention your book and talk about your expertise as an author.

Book Marketing While Writing

I’m asked a lot about how soon an aspiring author should start the book marketing process – sometimes before the writer has finished the first chapter! While I think it is important to keep book marketing in mind during the writing process, to worry too much about it is just to distract from the creative portion of the writing process and I want the aspiring author’s (almost) full attention to be on that. The number one determinant of how a book will sell is whether it is written in a way that meets the needs of the audience, so I want the writer to be thinking about the audience and focus her attention on creating great chapters and polishing her book-writing skills.

I generally suggest that at least 50% of a book be written (in first draft form) before starting to put any time toward book marketing. You don’t really know what the book is about until you get at least that far into it because a book often takes on new dimensions as it is being written.

If it puts your mind to rest, just know that there are very few things the author must do before the book comes out marketing-wise and many things that can be done months after the publication date. For most books, sales are slow to ramp up (slower than the author would like anyway) and after the book is published the best thing you can do is get out and talk about the book by giving seminars, workshops, webinars, teleclasses and pursuing available speaking engagements on your topic with organizations that need what you do.

But there are some good things to think about that will affect the ultimate marketing of the book as you are writing it:

1. Book Title – Book titles are tricky business. You want the title to reflect the “promise” of the book (be accurate about what the reader will find between the covers), but also be short and clever enough to intrigue a potential buyer. Most nonfiction titles are between 3 and 7 words and then there is a longer subtitle.
What you can do while writing: Pay attention to books you are reading or see in a bookstore or on Amazon and think about what words appeal to you. As you are writing, a title may come to you or you may find it hidden in your chapter titles or headings or just in words or phrases that are already in your book. Just write down words that you think should be in a title without trying to come up with the write order or sequence and keep that list for when the time is right to focus on the title. When you talk to others about your book and describe it, listen to how they respond with their own interpretation of what you told them. Sometimes the author is just too close to the book or the subject but a natural audience member (potential book buyer) can sometimes describe exactly what would appeal to him or her about this book and the words they use are often perfect for a title. Remember, you don’t need to make a final title selection until you are ready to have a cover designer start work, so keep playing with all the possibilities.

1. Book Front Cover – You can’t really do anything to market a book without the cover, but you can’t create the cover until you are set on the title. The intent of the front cover is to create emotional appeal, so you don’t want it to be too busy or cluttered – just the title (in an interesting type font), author name and a graphic that will draw the reader in that has meaning considering the title and the topic of the book.
What you can do while writing: Visit bookstores and Amazon.com to get an idea of what appeals to you. Collect links to the books with covers that are similar to what you might want so you can send them to a book cover designer when the time is right. Don’t get too locked into one idea or concept because a book cover is a package to help sell the book and the professional cover designer can really help you come up with a cover that will do that.

2. Author/Book Website – If you are self publishing, you will need a publishing company name to put on the back cover. If you already have a business name, you may choose to use that or a variation of that name.
What you can do while writing: Do a Google search to make sure someone isn’t already using the publishing company name you are considering for a publishing company name. You will also want to reserve the domain name (perhaps at GoDaddy.com or HostGator.com) so it will be there when you are ready to create your website (or add book pages to your already existing business website). You should also buy your own name as a domain name if it is available and you don’t already have it. Finally, buy the domain that reflects the name of your book title if it is available and once you decide on the title.

3. Media Kit - The media kit will be part of your website that is intended to attract journalists and blog, podcast or radio interviewers. There are typical things that go into the media kit (but there will be time for you to think about those later). What you can do while you are writing: What makes a nonfiction book particularly appealing to the media is when they can reprint (printed or web media) or talk in talking points (radio and television) short bullet points like types and strategies. For instance, “The Top 5 Reasons Why Businesses Fail”. Anything original, such as if you do a poll or survey as a part of your research for the book is also a big media draw, so consider how you might poll your audience about some aspect of the topic on which you are writing.
What you can do while writing: Build in checklists, tips, top 5, 7, 9 or 10 lists as sidebars in your book as you are writing and you will have a better chance of attracting media attention when the book comes out.

4. Testimonials/Foreword – Testimonials are generally used to establish credibility on the back cover of a book. The foreword is strictly optional, but wonderful to have if you know a name-recognized individual who can brag about you and your work in a way you really can’t. Consider who you know who might give you a testimonial (you can have unlimited testimonials and continue to gather them long after your book comes out) or who could write a foreword (there is only one foreword for a book). Make sure you let these people know you are working on a book, but don’t ask for a testimonial or other endorsement until you have a professionally designed copy of the pages in the book (which is after you have completed the writing, had the book edited, had it reviewed by possible audience members and had it proofread).
What you can do while writing: Start a list of people you would like to endorse your book, even if these are people you don’t have a personal connection to now. Brainstorm with friends, business associates and at networking meetings if anyone knows the people you would most like to endorse your book (assuming you don’t have a direct connection). When you need a testimonial is not the time to build the type of relationship where you can ask for one and expect you will get a “yes”. Work on building relationships with bloggers and particularly with other authors you admire during the time you are writing by sending them something of interest you find on the web, information on your poll or survey (if you decide to do something like that) or comment on their blogs with something useful for their readers. Make yourself know to them but in a way that serves them, not you. I personally never give a testimonial to anyone I don’t know well and whose book doesn’t deserve it. My own reputation is important to me so I only say in a testimonial what I really believe to be true. If the book isn’t very good, I won’t be saying it is.

Another thing that might help you not worry so much about book marketing as you are writing is that the best book marketing is free – media opportunities, Amazon.com, interviews with influential bloggers, great testimonials and book reviews – all free. Write a great book and everything else will follow.

New Years’ Resolutions for Authors

Authors already have too much to do in marketing their books. But a steady, consistent effort with a lot THINKING involved is better than a sudden blitz, especially if you are paying for publicity help. The most successful books build a buzz and more are sold in the second year than the first and the third year than the second. Think about books like What to Expect When You Are Expecting – not generally NYT best seller stuff, but selling thousands year after year. People hoping to make a living as an author need to write several perennial sellers like that before royalty checks will begin to sustain them.

Here are my New Years’ Resolutions for Authors who know slow and steady will win the race:

1. Make time for marketing. If you spent two hours a week on emails, phone calls and brainstorming for the next weeks’ calls and emails, you would spend more time than the majority of authors. Plan to take Friday afternoon or Thursday morning or some other regularly scheduled time and devote yourself to a continuing effort of at least six months.

2. Get the basics done and maintain your website. Journalists, potential large volume buyers and those who might want to hire you for consulting, coaching or teaching will look first at your site. Do you know how often I go to an author’s site I’d like to interview and find no easy place to buy, no contact information and no bio? If I were a journalist on a deadline, I’d go on to another author – I just wouldn’t have time to chase you down. Make sure you link your site to any interviews you do – print or broadcast as soon as possible after the interview.

3. Follow the media and get on board their already-running treadmill. Watch Saturday and Sunday morning cable TV – especially CNN, MSNBC and FOX. All three constantly interview authors about the topics that were important during the week. Local morning shows do the same. Look ahead for national holidays and other opportunities to be the expert and make a media list so you can email journalists and others with just the information they need when they need it. Unless you have real news (which you can create with surveys and polls), you will need to get on the treadmill of stories the media is already interested in. Most people try one effort with the media – one press release or email – and then give up. Send something to those on your media list whenever you think you can make a contribution to their work with sources and resources. Create relationships with them – it is about what you can do to make them look good and in-the-know – not about selling books.

4. Get great help when you need it and can maximize it. Hire an author’s assistant when you don’t have time to execute. Hire a publicist or others to help you with marketing ONLY after you’ve done the basics, like preparing your web site and doing some local media yourself. Don’t spend money on advertising, do spend money on expertise and hands-on help.

5. Have the confidence to pursue big wild ideas. If you think a company would be perfect to buy 5,000 (or 100,000) copies of your book, call them. Find out as much as you can about the marketing contact so you can start a business relationship. Don’t expect too much, too soon – this is a long-term strategy. But imagine is you could call one company or organization a week and one out of 50 said yes! This would include potential sponsors, nonprofit organizations and others that share the passion for the topic of your book. Fun is infectious, so make this fun for yourself and for them. Again, this is about what you can do to enhance the company or organization reputation, not about selling books, so think about how you can do that. Blog about how much you admire them and what they do – get on their radar!

I’ve created a Book Marketing Checklist for authors that parallels these ideas that you are welcomed to download at the link. Enjoy and have a very happy and productive 2011!