By Mari Selby, Selby ink

Congratulations you’ve finished your manuscript. Do you have a story of transformation that will inspire and move others to take action? For those authors who are story tellers with a message or risk-takers ready to make a difference, you are in luck! In addition to the business you create with your book, you can start a movement that will revolutionize your world. Books truly can enlighten, educate, inspire, inform, and entertain. They can, and do, change lives and open doors. In addition, as an author with a message, your book will boost your messages credibility. Of course, if it’s a great book, your credibility will explode!

Marketing is a necessary part of the book writing and publishing business. How you do that marketing depends on your goals for your book. Here are some questions to ask yourself about how you want to use this tool – your book – to further your cause:

  1. Do you want to support a cause? Are you passionate about the environment, inner city health or gun violence? Whatever cause you support, you can be more effective by writing a book versus donating money or time.
  2. Do you want to build a tribe to make a difference with your message? Because of your book, your tribe will find you not only on the social networks, but also in reading groups, meetups, conferences, and more.
  3. Do you want to become a speaker? You can speak to groups outside your expertise about your cause. You can create and market seminars, conferences, webinars, or teleconferences that support your cause.
  4. Do you see yourself as an expert? The process of researching and writing a book automatically makes you an expert in your field. Media is always looking for experts to fill out stories, to quote, to add newsworthy tips. You can become the go-to person for your cause and perhaps offer leadership to other people in the community.
  5. Do you imagine bypassing the gatekeepers? As an author and an expert, you can approach major corporations, government offices, foundations, or think tanks with your message. Creating change from the inside is the least of what you can accomplish by working with the corporations.
  6. Do you seek to be a role model to the people you are working with in the community? Your book becomes an effective tool to make a difference. For example, you can tithe a portion of the sales or all the sales to your cause. Then you become the person who not only believes in their message but walks their talk.
  7. Do you imagine partnering with Apple, Google, YouTube, Amazon, and other high-traffic websites to promote your message? Just having a website or a YouTube channel will expose your message to the world. And if your cause is something Apple or Google already supports you can piggyback with their efforts.
  8. Do you envision creating an institute, church, or school? More than one author has created an institution to carry on their work originally inspired by the book they wrote. The book can create the platform for your institution.
  9. Do you want to make money for your charity, institute, cause or revolution? You can make money selling your book and all the ancillary products and services you can offer.
  10. Do you long to found a movement? A book is just the beginning. You don’t need to stop at an institution or a series of products. Why not create a movement? You can create a movement that changes the world.

 

If you have done your research you know that writing the book is only half of the process. Writing is a business that requires you to implement your marketing plan even before you finish the book! Do you have a clear idea of your goals? If the goal is still murky, sit down with a publicist and help define what is possible and the steps you need to take to get there.

© Mari Selby, April 26, 2016. Reprinted with permission.


mari_selby_150For the past 18 years Mari Selby has been the director of Selby ink, a publicity and marketing firm. Selby ink promotes authors who make a difference, and helps those authors to increase name recognition through traditional publicity efforts as well as to develop broad reaching social media platforms. Selby ink specializes in the following genres: body-mind-spirit, relationships, environmental issues, and social justice. Mari is also a contributing writer for personalgrowth.com.