Marketing Is A Bitch!

So my marketing strategy thus far has been:

• Present it to the world with a grand announcement on my FB page, my Road of Fathers FB page, my Road of Fathers Twitter, Instagram, etc. Sending out a mass email announcement and texts.

• Having 25 people preview it and post reviews the day it goes online.

• Reaching out to all my friends on Goodreads.com and sending them free copies and asking them to recommend it (only, of course, if they like it)

The results so far have been: a 181 likes the first day on FB. 25 likes on my Instagram. One or two daily likes on Twitter. 3 reviews on the Amazon page. And I have had an average sale of one book a day.

So this becomes way tougher than I thought. But I realize it becomes a constant slog through the mud. Updating review quotes on Twitter and updating my blog. At this point, if I can average 1 a day while people read it and I spend money on other things, I believe it will take an uptick.

The three things I plan on doing going forward are: signing up for multiple Twitter e-book promo sites, putting visual ads in alternative online comics, and physically printing stickers and postcards for local comic and book stores.

This is where the artistry goes out the window and I become a business man. It’s tough and it can be depressing, but this is also the work of an artist.

I remember, years ago, a friend of mine, who is an amazing drummer, gave up on local musicians. He was astute enough to know that rehearsing for groupies and playing Thursday-Saturday night shows were not going to get them success. He became the defacto business manager, booking shows, negotiating pay, etc. But it was an uphill battle with band mates that weren’t as committed to the business side as him.

It’s the same with all art, when an artist approaches his or her work unrepresented. It’s scary and depressing, but it must be done.

After the initial high of announcing my novel and getting tons of likes and comments, I have to face the reality that now it is just a constant push to get people to notice it.

All said, I am still very proud of my work. It’s what feeds me.