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The Steve Laube Agency

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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Marketing » Page 3

Marketing

It’s All About You — Sometimes

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 18, 2018
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When I visit the bookstore or library, I seldom fail to see at least one novel where the entire back cover consists of an author photo. That’s it. No endorsements, no story blurb, no author bio. Just a picture of the author. And usually the front cover doesn’t offer many clues, either. Maybe a vague illustration, along with the title and author’s name. To my mind, this means this author has built such a strong fan base that they will buy any book the author writes, regardless, as long as the book shows the author’s name and image.

Likewise, when I was a teenager, I bought every recording by certain artists I enjoyed. I didn’t have to listen to the songs before plunking down my hard-earned bucks. These artists had proven to me that I would enjoy their work so I wasn’t taking much of a risk to buy their albums. Sure, I liked some collections better than others, but I could find at least a few songs on each album I enjoyed, making the investment of my time and money worthwhile.

Forming this type of fan base is what you’re doing by building your brand. You want to create a group of readers who will buy your books no matter what. How to do this?

Consistency Is Key

If your fans enjoy a particular genre, keep writing that. Why? Because if you make a drastic change without warning, your core readers will be disappointed and may not buy your next book. Or the next, or the next. Assuming there are any subsequent books after the switch.

But I Want to Write Something Different!

Anyone can understand the desire for a writer – or anyone else – to crave some variety in work. However, your readers are not buying your books to help you self-actualize. They buy books for their entertainment, edification, and knowledge. Through consistently high quality, you must convince them that they aren’t rolling the dice when they purchase your book. When you demonstrate to them often enough that you provide what they’re looking for, they’ll stick with you. Hence, the effort you have made to build your brand will come to fruition.

So don’t run away from your brand. Embrace it, and enjoy your fans. If and when you want to branch out, it may not be impossible to do so. Ask your agent for direction. It’s what we do!

Your turn:

Is there an author whose books you’ll buy no matter what?

What is your brand? How are you building it?

 

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Category: Branding, MarketingTag: Book Sales, Branding, Marketing

All I Want for Christmas is a Strong Endorsement

By Bob Hostetleron December 13, 2017
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I often tell developing writers that it is never too early to get a strong endorsement for your book project. In fact, I have included endorsements in book proposals—both my own and clients’ proposals.  Every little bit helps, don’t you know. Invariably, when I start talking about endorsements, a flurry of questions comes. In fact, a writer friend (of long and wide experience in publishing) …

Read moreAll I Want for Christmas is a Strong Endorsement
Category: Book Proposals, MarketingTag: book proposals, Endorsements, Marketing

Author Platform and The Laws of Attraction

By Dan Balowon December 5, 2017
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Whenever someone communicates anything in any form, the message will either attract or repel readers, listeners or viewers. All communication is like a magnet, with north and south poles. What you do in social media or blog for your author platform will either cost or earn readers. No matter what you do, the best you can hope for is a net positive, with more people friending, following and …

Read moreAuthor Platform and The Laws of Attraction
Category: Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Faith, Marketing, Platform, Theology

My 600-lb Book Life

By Bob Hostetleron November 22, 2017
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Recently I spent a few hours visiting a relative in rehab, and the television was tuned to an episode of the television series, My 600-lb Life. This is why I like to control the TV remote at all times. The episode focused on a fairly young mother of two children who weighed nearly six hundred pounds and was hoping to engage a surgeon for weight-reduction surgery. Her first several consultations …

Read moreMy 600-lb Book Life
Category: Marketing, Pitching, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Platform, The Writing Life

Six Easy Steps to Publishing Success

By Dan Balowon November 7, 2017
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Success in publishing is actually quite simple. Honestly I am surprised more people aren’t more successful financially as an author. So many conference workshops are making this entire publishing thing far more complicated than it needs to be. Today, here are six fast, easy, no risk steps to being a successful author in any type of writing. We will all be shaking our heads at the end for missing …

Read moreSix Easy Steps to Publishing Success
Category: Book Business, Get Published, Marketing, PlatformTag: Get Published, Marketing, Platform

Be Published? or Be Read?

By Bob Hostetleron October 18, 2017
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Is your goal “being published” or “being read?” What pieces of writing and publishing advice do professional agents and editors wish would go away…forever? I asked that question of some of my friends in the industry (yes, I have friends, and most are much smarter than me). The last two weeks I have posted (here and here) some of their responses. But I’ve saved one more for last. One savvy, …

Read moreBe Published? or Be Read?
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, Career, Marketing, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Book Sales, Get Published, Marketing

What Makes a Great Hook?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 12, 2017
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Lately, smart publishing professionals have been saying “it needs a great hook” to describe  books they seek. Recently I wrote about the all-important first page, which of course should seize the reader and not let go. However, that’s not the same as the story hook itself. The hook must make the consumer say, “I’ve got to read this!” even before she turns to page one. Nonfiction: The …

Read moreWhat Makes a Great Hook?
Category: Book Proposals, MarketingTag: book proposals, Hooks, Marketing

Marketing vs. Publicity

By Steve Laubeon September 18, 2017
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by Steve Laube

Recent I have run into a common misunderstanding. Some writers use the words "marketing" and "publicity" (or P.R. "public relations") as synonyms when actually one is a subset of the other.

There are marketing departments that have a publicity division or a marketing department that outsources their publicity. The two go hand in hand and should compliment each other.

The …

Read moreMarketing vs. Publicity
Category: Book Business, Marketing, SteveTag: Book Business, Marketing, Publicity

Why I Use That Dirty Word … PLATFORM

By Bob Hostetleron September 6, 2017
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It’s a dirty word to aspiring writers. It is even unpopular among many agents and editors. It elicits snarls and sneers from people who just want to write great stuff and get their writing published. I’m talking, of course, about the word “Platform.” It refers to the extent of a writer’s influence. It answers the questions, “How big is your audience? How many people are already reading what you …

Read moreWhy I Use That Dirty Word … PLATFORM
Category: Marketing, PlatformTag: Marketing, Platform

Books are Not Mass Media

By Dan Balowon August 29, 2017
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A hundred years ago, the most powerful media in the world were newspapers. Newspaper writers and editors were society’s thought-leaders and political kingmakers. The day-to-day influence of a major newspaper was unchallenged, no matter what city or country. They were the first truly mass media, defined as broadly available to everyone at a nominal cost and holding an extremely high level of …

Read moreBooks are Not Mass Media
Category: Branding, Craft, MarketingTag: Branding, Christian Market, Marketing, Message
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