MARKETING LESSONS IN PROMOTING "PROVOCATEURS"

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.