Before you even think about marketing, you need to sit down and define who or what you're selling. Who will people be looking at when they google your name? Do you have anything like: a pen name, a book title, a picture/logo that you can brand as your own? Before you touch any sort of website, social media, or anything else; make sure you know what you're branding!
There are only so many people who will see a book with the pen name of "John Smith" or the book title of "The Red Rose" before it becomes forgettable. Make sure you use names and themes that set you apart from all the others competing in your genre/industry. That will help to brand yourself as someone who is not only inventive, but has a brand that will be rememberable in the future.
Social media is so important to marketing your brand and your book series. A well-written book can only take you so far if there is no branding behind it. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are just a few places to get yourself known around the internet. Just as warning, however, social media has made and broken careers. So tread carefully!
Content is important to have, especially if you are a YouTube blogger. The more you upload on a regular basis, the wider range of people will flock to what you're putting out there. Setting am upload schedule, like my 'Problematic Series Sunday"s, can push you to do specific content on a regular basis. It can be an anxious experience at first to put yourself out in a vulnerable position, but in the end you might find it worth it!
Try to remember to relax! I don't always make it to my once a week series on YouTube, because life sometimes just gets in the way. Some of us writers and authors have jobs, school, even children to take care of. So when your one page takes a month to write, or your book deadline gets pushed, remember that you're only human and can only do so much.
Along the way you'll realize that overnight success is a joke. Anything and everything to do with your book series, biography, novel, etc will take hard work. You'll have people who encourage you and believe in you, and some who will deny your dreams and tell you to stop what you're doing. The bottom line is for YOU to believe in you. As long as you care, have passion, and believe in what you're doing: then you're already on your way to success.
- J. C.
