10 Reasons to Read (or Re-Read) Marketing Books

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

The book market is crowded which is no news to those of us in publishing. Thousands of new books pour into our world every day. No matter who publishes our book the author has to be taking action to tell others about your book or to find readers. The author has to continually spread the news about their book and the importance of it for their readers.

 

If I'm honest, I'd love for someone else to do this work and be able to devote more time to writing. It's simply not reality with our world and market. Another reality is there is always more to be done as a writer to be telling a new audience about your book—whether it has been out a while or whether it is brand new. Consistently in these articles, I've written about the importance of marketing and highlighted different how-to books because it is an area every writer needs help. In this article, I want to highlight a number of reasons writers need to read marketing books (and then take action on what they learn).

 

1. You are probably missing some element and the book can give you an idea. For example, maybe you are missing effective use of press releases for your book or pitching podcasts or radio stations for interviews. Have you prepared a list of possible questions? Marketing books can remind you of these tested strategies and motivate you to take action.

 

2. You get fresh encouragement to take action and try a new path. Possibly you need to launch a new product related to your book or something else that you will be reminded through the marketing book.

 

3. You reach out and touch new readers with your message and your book as you apply ideas.

 

4. You are reminded that without your actions, your book stagnates and reaches no one. Last week I was reminded about my product Editor Reveals Book Proposal Secrets. These CDs contain valuable insights and teaching but to be honest have not been selling. Why? It is my own fault because I have not been telling people about this well-done product.

 

5. Even older marketing books have valuable contents. For example, the book, Guerrilla Marketing for Writers was published before social media but still contains valuable insights and ideas. Postcards are still an effective marketing technique.

 

6. No single marketing book has all of the answers. The path is different for each of us. What works for you may or may not work for me.

 

7. If you don't try, it will not fly. In the marketing area, it is necessary to try different techniques to see what will work for you. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen talk about the rule of five. Watch this short video explanation.

 

8. Reading marketing books recommits you to consistent action. While my Billy Graham biography came out over five years ago. I'm still marketing it every day but with different messages and different photos.

 

9. Reading these marketing books opens you to new (and possibly free) ideas. If you take action on the ideas.

 

10. There is nothing new under the sun yet there are proven paths to sell books—and each of us need to walk these paths with our books.

 

Notice I didn't give you a series of marketing books in this article. Why? There are many different books and I have many different possibilities. The key is to use and re-use the books you already have—or check them out of your local library.

 

Did I leave out some reason? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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