by Penny Sansevieri
It’s true, planning for a book release feels stressful, yet exciting—so much so we often forget that an effective marketing plan for a book really needs to take you through the first 12 months and beyond.
Does that sound like a lot of work?
It can be. But it doesn’t have to be work you resent!
On a recent episode of our book-marketing podcast we took on the less sexy topic of figuring out how to create a marketing plan for a book that really addresses what you need to be doing at month two, month six, month 12, and even beyond.
Because the reality is, no book earns (and keeps) its bestseller status based on the efforts in the first 30 days alone, unless your name is Jodi Picoult or John Sanford or Colleen Hoover.
So what’s in a 12-month marketing plan for a book?
Planning. Ouch. You saw that coming. Download our free monthly planner below to get started.
Consistency. You probably saw that coming too. That’s where the planner really shines. Don’t execute a marketing strategy once and cross your fingers; put it on your planner and do it every month.
Strategy. A truly effective marketing plan for a book takes timing into consideration. Some efforts need to happen between months one and three; others you can save for month nine and beyond if you’re short on time or can’t hire a team.
We provide more details and specific tips in the episode so don’t miss this one—if you plan on making a career (even if it’s a side career) as an author you MUST think long term.
Hopefully you’re intrigued, and we look forward to your feedback!
Full-length episodes from our book-promotion podcast go live every other Thursday. You can stream episodes from our website or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Plus, you’ll want to follow us on your preferred podcast platform in order to catch our helpful and often comical minisodes that go live every other Friday. The minisodes are a grab bag of topics to include industry rants, publishing predictions and breaking news, basic (yet critical) business advice for authors, and more!
Download the planner here!
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME) and an adjunct professor at NYU, is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.
