The program includes book marketing advice specifically for fiction, nonfiction and children s books. Your book marketing plan for distribution setup guide. As previously mentioned, marketing children s books can be difficult. Creating a book marketing and publicity plan is necessary for all authors, whether your publisher is a traditional house or youre trying to selfpublish. Each chapter teaches a marketing task by, first, explaining. Marketing your book for selfpublishers and indie authors. Its not necessarily more difficult, but more diverse and customized in approach.
After that just follow the plan, make adjustments when necessary, and listen to your readers. Thats why weve collected this years best marketing books to help you grow your business and gain the edge over the competition. It may be just a few extra steps to get a version of your book in coloring book. This book teaches the think do measure method of marketing. Once again, social media is not used often enough when it comes to marketing childrens books. The following is a marketing plan developed for a new collection of childrens bedtime stories called goodnight canada. For children s book marketing whether print or ebook marketing services its almost always best to start locally. Think outside of the box when considering a possible target market. As with any marketing program, children s books need exposure in media where target audiences are present. How to market a children s book effectively requires a specialized approach. Teachers like having authors visit in person or through skype. Marketing plan summary the summary is written last and may include the following key items.
Because kids dont buy their books, you have to reach parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians. When you are marketing a childrens book, the book itself must do the heavy lifting. In this post, we offer up dozens of book marketing ideas that you can steal for your own promotional efforts. Parents are extremely busy and im conscious of not wanting to add to their todo list unless i have something of genuine interest to share. A beginners guide to book marketing author resources. Explore your future through our page dedicated to the indie publishing life, or find out. The principal challenge is to satisfy the numerous and diverse internal demands, and to do so with finite and often shrinking resources. I would be happy to hear your suggestions for other resources. This book will lead you stepbystep to a practical marketing plan for your business, both online and off. Or, use the contact form below and well help you devise a book marketing plan all of your own. Authors of selfpublished children s books, in particular, have their marketing work cut out for them, as promotions for these titles have to essentially appeal to two distinct groups. Three keys to marketing childrens books ingramspark.
How to write a marketing plan for your book youtube. To sign up for the hustle smarter, not harder webinar series, go here. Childrens book marketing is the most important element there is after you write a childrens book so, there you are, drained from giving your blood, sweat and tears to write the next great american bestselling childrens book, but whats this. The book is educational in that it exposes young children between ages four and seven to different cultural communities in canada. Congratulations, now youre a selfpublished author with your book floating around in the world. How to create a book marketing and publicity campaign.
The best way to market a childrens book is to get it in front of children and. Because there are many different ways to promote a book, and authors have limited time and budgets, its important to put together a written book marketing plan and prioritize your book promotion tasks. Since children dont buy books, you have to market to adults. Reach out to bookstores, both chain and independent, and inquire about opportunities for events and signings. Create your childrens book marketing plan article research. However, its not usually the children who buy your books its their parents. Keeping up with industry news and blogs is helpful, but if you really want to get indepth information, reading the top marketing books is still one of the best ways to do it. Children s book marketing programs are often developed for parents and grandparents the people who buy books for younger members of their families. Authors who set up some personal market tactics to execute, whether standalone efforts or those in tandem with their publisher, sell more copies. That is the first, most essential step to marketing your book.
Kids love authors and illustrators and they love to ask questions. Childrens books have some unique opportunities when it comes to marketing and pr. On marketing, karen talks about copywriting, optimizing keywords on her blog, about her author website. Looking for a creative marketeer with experience in marketing books to help develop a marketing plan for a new childrens book the idea is to self publish and market mostly online using seo,ppc, facebook advertising etc to drive traffic to the website to encourage customers to buy for their children target market mainly mums of children aged 2 5 need an innovative plan that. That means that your book marketing campaigns must be created with the adult in mind, not the child.
Childrens books lend themselves to highenergy interactions with young readers. If you only had 21 days left to live, what would you want to accomplish before you go. After youve read this article, youll be ready to release your beautifully crafted story book to the world, to your loved ones, and most importantly, to those special little ones in your life. How to create a hospital marketing plan with healthcare.
Im seeking help in marketing my book to get exposure. You dont have to spend a lot of money, and a reputable publisher wont ask you to pay them to market your. Create marketing materials set up an author website. What you should know and think about before beginning your marketing efforts. In this fivemodule virtual training program, youll get a handson learning experience and create your own customized marketing plan.
Promotions for these titles have to appeal to two distinct groups. Sample book marketing plan outline a book marketing plan is a blueprint for selling your book. Promoting your book takes careful planning so you get the most out of your time and effort. Prepare your book marketing plan and you will realize your book sell like gold. Authors looking to make events part of their marketing plans. Marketing books for children katie shares a lot of tips in her new book for adults how to promote your children s book. Dont be fooled by the smaller number, penny takes it back to whats truly important when marketing a book, starting with my alltime favourite tip, be consistent. Every publisher and literary agent will tell you that responsibility for the success of your book rests heavily upon you, its author. Purpose of the marketing plan brief description of the business. If youve dreamed of having your book in bookstores, enrolling in the traditional distribution program at mill city press, where your book marketing plan for distribution will be presented to book retailers and wholesalers, is a great first step but enrollment in traditional distribution doesnt guarantee your book will be picked up. Children will enjoy reading my book while learning valuable lessons about stranger danger.
Children s books have some unique opportunities when it comes to marketing and pr. Dont let all of the work on a marketing plan go to waste because you didnt hire a competent editor. Tailor your marketing plan to attract those individuals. She has targeted specific book bloggers but this is a longterm and longtail strategy, as you cant control the timing of their. Choose from one of our wellrounded book marketing packages. Book on marketing 2020 the marketing book jm internet. When marketing other books, you take into account what your readers will be. In the second of three posts in this series, allis childrens author advisor karen inglis shares valuable advice gained from the booksellers childrens conference on how to sell books within the challenging market of children aged under, notoriously difficult to reach. Writing, illustrating and marketing books for kids with. Children s book marketing is unique when compared to other genres. Selfpublishing and marketing books for children with. Rick works closely with authors to create custom, robust book marketing.
The ultimate book marketing timeline for indie authors. By following in the footsteps of those who have succeeded before you, you can create a focused and effective book marketing plan that will get people snatching up your masterpiece. Rick lite of stress free book marketing, is a seasoned book marketing professional with over years of experience in the industry. Small, independent publishers sometimes ask for a marketing plan as part of the submissions package. This is a vital step in the promotion and marketing of your book, andif done rightwill make the rest of the process infinitely easier. Ricks expertise comes from tirelessly working on new and innovative ways to market his own books and cds with his company and parent company, stress free kids. You, the author, should assist in the marketing of your book in some way. You dont have to spend a lot of money, and a reputable publisher wont ask. Everything i know about book marketing is now available in the amazon bestselling book. But i firmly believe that no one will find the best way to market childrens books without experimenting.
How to use the polarities of marketing to craft the best plan for your book. Marketing childrens books is quite different from marketing any other book genre, but by watching others and planning, you can do it. However, to introduce and sell your title to your target market and, crucially, keep it in their line of sight you also need a robust marketing plan. Childrens book authorsillustrators great childrens. Determine who will be interested in your subject and why. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when i receive a small percentage of sales if you. Create a coloring book coloring books are more popular than ever. Having seen and been involved in so many book launches ourselves, we know what works and what doesnt when it comes to book marketing well walk you through a playbyplay of exactly what you need to do so that your readers can find your book and buy it. A sample marketing plan small publishers have a limited budget for marketing, and every dollar has to have impact. The problem is that the majority of the book marketing strategies online focus nearly entirely on the adult market. In this case, it means moms, dads, grandmothers, and grandfathers.
Read about our childrens book marketing strategies that can help separate your book. Marketing selfpublished children s books is an interesting task, different from the marketing of a regular book for one sole reason. Six powerful ways to market childrens books 30 day books. After finally getting a book published, many authors find that the hardest part wasnt actually writing the book or getting it into print. Crafting any hospital marketing plan is a nearimpossible task. Authors of selfpublished children s books, in particular, have their marketing work cut out for them. A marketing plan details the approach you intend to take to promote your book. This, in my experience, is the most problematic aspect of childrens book marketing and something ive yet to nail or test properly. This is a book about better thinking, better doing, and better measuring when it comes to marketing your business. Its an innovative marketing concept, one wholly appropriate for childrens picture books. In this article, well craft and plan an igniting and highpowered marketing strategy that will set you and your book up for success once its time to launch it into the. First, children s books are the only type of book where you arent marketing to your ideal reader. Children are different from adults, and marketing childrens books is quite different from marketing any other book genre. And thats why having a book marketing plan is an essential part of the process.
Multipublished author and journalist shares the stepbystep process to write nonfiction book like a pro. Children dont have much to spend on books but if they like one of your free books, its most likely they will buy others. Creating a hospital marketing plan that meets hospitals business objectives. Find out who your book appeals to, get to know those people well, and be where they are, both online and off. Developing a marketing plan for your family child care. Childrens books require specific book marketing skills. How to prepare and implement it luther, william on. If you sell childrens books, you are actually targeting parents and not children, if you sell legal publications you. Ways to market your childrens book my book illustrator. Online and offline promotion strategies to build your audience and sell more books stephanie chandler on. A simple plan generally contains your approach for the following. Children rarely enjoy listening to smooth jazz, reading the newspaper, and going out for coffee with friends. Susan raabs column on marketing children s books in the scbwi bulletin, which you will find archived at the website of her children s book marketing company, raab associates.