Publishing a book is challenging to say the least—you wrote the book (which took ages), revised it (which may have taken even longer), handed it over to your editor (which was intimidating and, yes, time-consuming), and then waited for typesetting, cover design, proofing, and a myriad of other production tasks. So, when the book is finally up for purchase, you can sit back, relax, and watch the sales roll in, right?
Not so fast.
Shawn Manaher, President of Book Marketing Tools, says you’ve forgotten a crucial aspect of book publishing: marketing. In fact, all of that downtime during production is the perfect time set the stage for a marketing campaign, something Manaher is an expert in.
After hearing lots about Amazon publishing in 2012, Manaher worked with a writer to create a book about developing leadership in the workplace. When the book would not sell, Manaher decided to market the book. Manaher began to use the internet to its fullest extent to get his sales up— through a variety of marketing tactics. These efforts paid off and Manaher sold hundreds of books. Inspired by the whirlwind of sales, Manaher published three more eBooks over the next six months. In light of his success, Manaher became fascinated with the complaints he heard from other authors, all having to do with the fact that there was nowhere to learn how to market their books. Seeing a major gap in the market for book marketing, Manaher began consulting with authors and took the first step toward his business, Book Marketing Tools, which has gone on to help over 2,000 authors in just two years. I talked with Manaher to find out how Book Marketing Tools has become so successful.
Book Marketing Tools is dedicated to their goal: helping you sell your book. They do so by providing you with their “three pillars” of book marketing: tools, education, and community.
One of the tools offered on the Book Marketing Tools’ website is a free checklist that is useful for authors at every stage. Whether pre- or post-publishing, this checklist tells authors exactly what they need to know in order to set a successful baseline in marketing their book. Manaher views this checklist not as the bare minimum, but as the stepping stone to building a brand, expanding audience, and selling more books.
Book Marketing Tools also hosts a weekly—soon twice weekly—podcast, The Author Hangout, produced by Manaher on their website. This podcast always has an informative guest, often drawn from Book Marketing Tools’ large community of fascinating authors. Manaher loves to share the stories of those who have found success in their writing career. At this point, Manaher is even getting referrals from his guests, asking who they would like to see on the show next.
In the fast-paced age of social media, Manaher, a self-described people person, has managed to build a strong community of thousands of authors through Book Marketing Tools, and that community, he says, is ever growing. In fact, they are at the point that their community is so large that Manaher and R.J. Adams (who is the director of the company) will soon begin to hold public events, which Manaher calls “just the beginning.”
When asked about his favorite memory in all of his success, Manaher tells quite the humbling story. In June, one of the first podcast listeners, based in St. Louis, asked Manaher if he would speak at an event. Manaher recalls being overwhelmed with happiness when realizing that his work was making a difference, so much so that he as being asked to speak at an event.
There is no doubt Manaher is dedicated to his cause, spending upwards of ten hours on his work every day. He is constantly working to make his business better by taking educational and personal development courses, checking and updating social media, and managing his blog and website content. Manaher says the best part of the job is working with others, through podcasts and phone calls. Manaher loves what he does, and even on our Skype call, he exclaims, “I was looking forward to talking to you!”
If you believe in the power of marketing (and you should!), Book Marketing Tools provides a community that will benefit you in more ways than one.
You can find Book Marketing Tools here:
- Website
- Google Plus
- And their Youtube