In today's episode we speak to Greenleaf Book Group Marketing Strategist, Emily Maulding, about the best ways to promote your book and everything we should expect from book marketing in 2020.

1:22 - Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about your background and what you do here at Greenleaf?

• I have an academic background in English literature and writing, but I have Marketing experience in multiple industries including nonprofit marketing, retail marketing, restaurant and book marketing.
• I have been here at Greenleaf for over a year.
• My job here is to recommend the best strategy, execute on those recommendations, and look for opportunities along the way to get our authors’ books into their readers’ hands.

1:57 - From a very basic standpoint can you start by establishing what we mean by the phrase “marketing”?

• The purpose of book marketing is to get our authors’ books into their readers’ hands.
• We achieve this through multiple strategies, including coordinating book giveaways, running targeted advertising to the right consumers, reaching out to influencers to review the book and share with their audiences, and more.
• There are baseline initiatives we recommend to get the book pages retail-ready and set up for success.
• A good marketing campaign helps authors lay the groundwork to launch future books, sell backlist titles, and position them to be seen as an authority that can be commodified with speaking engagements, online courses, and other programs.

3:26 - What are some of the best or most effective marketing strategies, given that you see a lot of them?

• Some of the most impactful marketing initiatives are Amazon targeted ads, Goodreads print and ebook giveaways, author splash page websites, and podcast outreach.

4:40 - For people who don’t know what goodreads is, could you explain what goodreads is and why it’s been so important?

• Amazon actually purchased goodreads a couple of years ago. Goodreads is a large online community of book reviewers and readers, and it’s basically a social media platform for book lovers.

5:30 - When we’re talking about these marketing strategies, what kind of timeline are you recommending? What is the timeline when these things start to happen relative to the book’s publication date?

• As an author is writing, they have a targeted audience in mind, and then as the book comes to fruition, the author has a better idea of their audience. And that is when we can begin to think of where to reach the buyer and then lay the groundwork for making sure there’s an online platform like a website, the author is teasing the release on social media, etc.
• For a true marketing strategy we want to launch as close to the publication date as possible because readers like instant gratification.
• So generally pre-publication you want to focus on garnering trade reviews, hosting giveaways to seed multiple books to a large sum of readers, and building your online audience and platform.
• And then at post-publication is where the heavy advertising runs: targeted advertising, promotions, book talks and events, securing reviews on retailer pages, etc.
• We run the ongoing marketing for as long as it’s successful and the AU is still enjoying it, really

8:20 - If you could only pick one, what would be your number one marketing “do” and “don’t”?

• DO have defined goals for your marketing plan. Take advantage of reader feedback.
• And take opportunities as they come.
• Don’t be afraid to take a risk and try a new promotion opportunity.

• DON’T believe that publisher’s or agency’s marketing plan is the key to your book’s retail success.
• Authors have to promote themselves by hosting book signing events, engaging with their readers, securing media hits, staying relevant and active on social media, and so on.
• Marketing doesn’t have a firm end date. So authors should be continuing efforts for as long as they have the passion and the book is helping them reach their goals.

11:00 - Some folks of a certain school of thought would say, “Good writing should sell itself.” What would you say to someone that makes that remark to you?

• We very much wish this was true, but there is a crowded marketplace and in the world that we’re in, books aren’t competing with other books, they’re competing with podcasts, blogs, digital media, and so on.
• So while it would be great if good writing could sell itself, it’s so important for authors to connect with their audiences/readers, and this takes work.
• Of course, good writing is necessary for a successful book as this is what spurs reviews, boosts Amazon’s search algorithm, and so on.

12:45 - Going into 2020, how do you think we might see marketing strategies change in publishing specifically, and what should any authors listening to us today keep in mind to accommodate those shifts?

• Email marketing is going to be vital in 2020. I think authors should grow your newsletter database and send regular emails to that network.
• A good newsletter is direct access to readers and your community.
• Another initiative that is going to be very important moving forward in 2020 is podcasts.
• Securing podcast interviews is a great goal for 2020 marketing because it’s a great way to reach new readers through niche audiences and create evergreen content that you can share online on your social media and your website for months and years to come.
• Another item that is going to be very important in 2020 is video marketing. So I think it would be great for authors to make book trailers, Q&A videos, any lifestyle videos they want to share with their network.

15:28 - What can authors be doing right now to prepare for launching a book in the coming year?

• I would say they should start working on building their platform and their audience online.
• They should choose a social media platform that they enjoy and stay active.
• It’s important to engage with authors of similar titles on social media by following their pages, commenting on their posts, and engaging with their followers.
• As we enter this new decade, consider creating a marketing calendar to plan which book promotion ideas you can take advantage of to sell books, what you’ll need to do to accomplish each task, and when each step should happen.
• Don’t be afraid to promote yourself, as well.
• Sharing the journey with your audience is a great way to get them involved and invested, and it will ultimately make your readers advocates for your work.

17:25 - Any parting thoughts for our listeners as we wrap up this marketing-focused episode?

• I think my main recommendation for authors planning their 2020 marketing would be simply to engage your audience.

---

About Emily

Ever since she was young, Emily has had a passion for words. When she grew up, she traded her journals for a degree in English from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. During her time in college, she studied Spanish in Costa Rica and taught English to medical students in China. She loves to travel and learn about other cultures and people. Using the power of words, whether it's helping authors get their books into their readers’ hands or overseeing marketing and communications for a local nonprofit, Hungry Souls, Emily keeps her passion for storytelling front and center.