4 Marketing tactics that will sell your novel

You want to sell books! Here are 4 proven strategies that will help you sell your novel.

1. Quit marketing to other writers. Your peers aren't your target audience, yet a lot of newbie writers engage the writing community with their marketing. 

• Gear your social media posts to readers, not writers, even if you're just starting out. (have you targeted your audience? If you haven't check out this post.)
• Focus on growing your reader base, rather than your Facebook friend list.

2. Use the 80/20 rule. Marketing isn't about YOU, it's about YOUR READERS. What are your readers interested in? Do you write nineteenth century fiction? Why not post pictures of historical homes and clothing? Did you write a steam punk novel? Why not showcase some great tattoos?

Avoid being selfish:I hate it when writers talk about themselves all the time. Be humble and feature lots of other books that your readers will love!

• Think of your posts as bait. What will make your readers bite? Make it smell good, look good, taste good! 
• 80% of your marketing is "bait"(reader interest) and 20% is "hook"(your books) 

3. Schedule your posts. When you've determined what you're going to use as "bait" for your audience, start a list of scheduled posts.

•  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest can all be managed with a monthly subscription to http://www.hootsuite.com TIME IS MONEY, especially in marketing! 

4. BE YOU. Marketing is very personal. What works for you isn't going to work for another writer. My brother sells cars with slap-stick YouTube videos...they are hilarious! (Wanna see them? Go here) These ads are working great for him, but I don't think they're the right fit for selling my romantic suspense novels! 

• Make a list of the things that define you as an author. (if you mention professional coffee drinker or chocolate hound, may you be cursed forever! So cliche!) Use these things to define your marketing. Are you funny? Take good pictures? Create nail art? 
• Readers LOVE authenticity. Be YOU and no one else.  
• Consider your budget. Spending too much on marketing will sink you faster than a lead balloon. If you don't have marketing money, don't spend it! Do what you can, sell what you can and put your profits back into marketing! (do this on 10 books and you can go to Bermuda on the proceeds)