When I published my first commercial book: Provocateurs, I knew that I will be its marketer extra-ordinaire. 

No other person can promote this book more than me.

No other agency can package, reformat, and reboot this more than I do.

So to start off, here are some of the lessons I've been learning since I launched it in 2022.


1. The book is a  good excuse to contact strangers

"Yes, I have a new book," an out-of-the-blue announcement from me to a stranger I want to connect with sounds a bit dubious. But it worked wonders for a lot of time. First, it stirs curiosity at least. Even if they don't take my offer, they will look for me and get to know who I am and what I do. Second, it reminds them that I am around and can help in areas of my expertise.  Third, we can be greatly connected and this will be useful later on, no matter what happens in the interim. 
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2. Promoting a book is never-ending, but it doesn't have to be a chore 

It's a good strategy to get your book in front of your target audience in the first few years. But as soon as it's no longer new, it's time to start writing again or repurpose its contents, in many ways to encourage more engagement. If you have a loyal readers, that's the audience to tap in terms of engagement, case studies, and applications of your book's insights. Continue to grow that audience because you will need them for the next books and launches. I always get a good dopamine after I get some good reviews out of it. It never ceases to make my day. 

3. Ready or not, market now!
I have a marketing plan when I wrote my book proposal. I had this very optimistic numbers to start with. Well, during the pandemic and the after-years, those numbers were just imaginings. Conferences and events were all virtual and you have to book them ahead to get on their radar screens. I had to use my marketing hat and be creative as to how I will get in front of my audience and those that already following and/interested in my work. No marketing plan ever survives contact with reality, just remember that. 


4. Don't forget your WHY?
Don't forget why did you have to write that book? The long game goal. So, when it's not the best-seller, it's just perfectly fine. Some negative comments perhaps. Your target audience will be the ones cheering for it and appreciating its value for a long time. Great outcomes can come in many ways and not just through book sales and royalties. It all accrues to what the business goals you set out at the beginning. Stay in that long game perspective. 


5. Love it but not obsess about it
You're the best person to appreciate and promote your book but it has to speak to the benefits for the reader/audience. They don't care about another book as there are millions of titles every single week that's being produced, if not self-published. But why you, why this book, and what gains will it bring to them with this one? As Seth Godin noted, there are less people who reads books nowadays, much less finish the book. Don't be those book authors who are obsessed about their books, that they forget the people behind why the book was created in the first place.


​6. Your last book will be revived with the new one 
Guess what? To revive an old book, you need to write a new one. If you're launching a new book, all your past work will be resurrected. You will see a resurgence in interest in your old books, old contents, past offering because you are back in the game of promotions and engagement and all that jazz. It will keep everything that you do fresh in the minds of your audience. That means, that we authors have to continue making original intellectual property to stay in our game. In the academic world, the 'publish or perish' mode operates. In this industry, it's 'create or die' that rules our existence. 

Whoever says being an author is super-easy, not if you want an excellent product that speaks for itself and sells on its own merits. Being an author is also about being a great marketer, in season or out of season. 

If you really want to build connections, you don't need an agenda.

I have been going to meetings with my stakeholder, agenda-free.

To most people this is counter-intuitive. 

But in recent years, I noticed an increase in more connectedness just because I'm not selling any widget, app, product, service, 50/50 tickets, a cause, or an agenda.

I'm sharing my lessons learned, my insights gained from working with other organizations, some perspectives that could help them on the spot, and lots of valuable operational details they can help co-create with me.

I'm being present, focused, and light. 

They don't want to be sold, they want to be heard. 

They want to be part of what your trying to be build- your raison d'etre. 

Don't come knocking down doors with some prescription. It's not going to work. 

They will clamp down and leave the discussion before it's ended. 

You wouldn't know the extent of the issues until you listen and ask some questions. 

Build connections that can outlast your own little agenda, that could multiply in many directions, business or personal or both. 

Come as a stranger and leave as a vital partner. 

You will never lose that way. 

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Two Saturdays ago, we went out fishing on a lake near us.

We went for the first few hours to the favorite spot where we usually, I would say 75% of the time catch fish. There were bites but nothing moved much. We got one fish, that's all.

So we decided , us ladies to get to the next part of the lake, where the guys were not that keen. But of course, having been out for a while, we wanted to get more action. So we went, and after another hour or so, no bites, no fish, nothing.

My father-in-law said that maybe we should just trawl and see what's inside these waters. So we did, and we caught two by just crisscrossing the lake going back to the same old original spot that we had earlier. 

Back to the same spot, we waited for an hour and a half. No bites, no fish this time.

Everybody immediately agreed, that maybe we should just trawl. Trawling is an accidental success that we should maximize. 

Sure thing, we trawled to the farthest left and to the farthest right section of the lake, but lo and behold, no fish. It was getting late and it was time to go home.

Positioning is important. I recall what one business trainer would lecture that, "It's all about positioning." 

What do you do when there's no bite?  Do you move around to get to where your customers might congregate, perhaps a watering hole or a hub? Do you modify your strategies for outreach? Do you sit tight until new opportunities arise for you to take advantage of? 

Patient waiting, positioning, and creative outreach. That will get you your fish and lots of them. The key is to move around and not get stale.