You Are Your Own Best Marketing Rep!

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Edward Everett Hale

Commitment

As writers we make a commitment to ourselves- to make time to write, a place to write, and to what we will write. Eric Maisel asks, “Is commitment more about duty or love? Is it something one demands of oneself or does it flow naturally, given the right circumstances?”

For myself, I know that I am committed to what I love- which is writing. But there are days when inspiration is nowhere to be found and motivation won’t kick in no matter how many times I try to jump-start my inner motivator. That’s where “duty” comes in.

It is my duty- to myself and, of course, to my job to write. Sometimes that simply means sitting down, putting fingers to keyboard, and writing…anything- even if it looks like, feels like, and sounds like, down-right doo-doo. This is because just getting something on the page is better than putting nothing on the page. And typically, though not always, I usually find a little gem among the muck, or at least an idea for a gem.

The same can be said for self-promotion of my writing- though I can’t say I love marketing myself, I do love the results. And I believe it is my duty to market my own work. Though I do write for myself a good deal of the time, it is not my desire to write in a vacuum.

“Marketing” sounds like a big word. It sounds busy. It sounds like a lot of work. It sounds like something somebody else should be doing who has connections and knows how to hobnob. It sounds slick. And most of all, it sounds like something I don’t want to do- ugh! Put myself out there, scheme and sell myself? No way!

But maybe I have to think out of the box a bit. Maybe marketing isn’t the big corporate monster I think it is. Maybe there are some strategies I can use that are, well, maybe a little more non-traditional than the typical marketing I am so accustomed to thinking about.

In his book Unleash the Artist Within, Bob Barker suggests the employment of brainstorming. I have used brainstorming to help me in my writing, so it makes sense that brainstorming could be used in terms of exploring marketing ideas.

You could start by asking yourself one question. Try this one:

What are some things I can do, starting today, to promote my book?

Write down as many things as you can think of. Let them be silly, wild, quirky. Let them be serious. Let them be small, medium, or big ideas. Let them be fantastical. Just write them down!

If you allow yourself to come up with ideas to promote your book, you’ll probably stumble upon at least one that you like, that you think is doable, that you can commit to. I know that I am more amenable to my own ideas than being told I “should do this” or even that I should “try that”.

Barker also suggests writing a commitment statement. I’ve written commitment statements (or “personal mission statements”) for myself and my work, but I really appreciate the marketing commitment statement that Barker shares in his book:

When marketing and promoting my [book], I resist the urge to stick only with obvious methods. There are gold mines of overlooked promotional opportunities waiting to be discovered. And I have an ongoing burning desire to find them.

You could borrow Barker’s statement or create one on your own. But I can tell you, from my own experience, if you create a commitment statement and commit to one marketing idea- even if it’s a small one (especially a small one- the smaller the idea, the easier it will be to accomplish), you will have fulfilled your duty to yourself to promote your book. After all, you’re not writing in a vacuum.

*Next week, I’ll share one small self-marketing strategy with you.