Book marketing is dead

what to do instead... [View in browser](=.MONb4K1zyM2ApJmuGaU1oGyYQSUVtm0LnTfn2FFa4NI) People always ask me... About some fancy new $1000 book marketing course. And the answer is almost always "no." Book marketing, as a rule, doesn't work, in that telling people about your book won't get them to buy it. You can't explain or convince people your book is worth their time or money. The book has to do the work.But that's not really super helpful, so real quick let me share a few resources that will actually help sell more books. I published "[Book Marketing is Dead](=.bSiGwDJUyhj-PYVnIvakMhPNQ1PVAICcRWdvNMgRRoU)" 10 years ago, and it's got 473 reviews. It's as useful as ever, because it's mostly about basics and mindset. Why book marketing doesn't work and how to actually create books that sell. =.MvyvcUlifsQ8pS5hbFMzoY8_fOfGxtkv4aXSgrd8IOI Somewhere in there, I say something like sales will always be limited by the amount of people who want your book. You won't be able to reach everybody and convince them to want your book. They have to already be looking for books they like, and your book has to show up and be what they are already looking for. That seems simple, but it's very common for authors to publish something based on their whims, without researching the market... and then get stuck. BMID is currently free so that's a good place to start. Guerrilla PublishingAfter I had more experience, (5 years ago) I wrote "Guerrilla Publishing" - it's $4.99 but if you[sign up here](=.1HbpYBiCwBJCzmL3FW3RUW-P_5Jzu_2_x2fDCcoi36M), you'll get a free ebook copy and a very in-depth video series breaking down my entire book launch strategy. Ps. That will send you a short email series with the 4 steps to launch a bestseller, but you can ignore the emails and read the book; or binge watch the video tutorials on a weekend. I've gotten some rave reviews from that email series so if you haven't checked it out yet... hey, it's free. All that stuff works, and I keep using it, but it's the basic stuff. You can't market a book until it sells itself to the right readers. But it's hard to do everything yourself, so I made a pretty huge companion course that also comes with personal feedback. Basically I'll just tell you what to fix to sell more copies, even if you don't have time to watch all the videos (who does?) It's $497, but [this link will get you $100 off.](=.BmYiW3y7F5Dmw9ss3H3Nz0Q-j0aDuPGf6bIsinPHCNw) I probably won't talk about it again, but it's the only way to work with me directly and see results. The content is a little older but that won't really matter, the strategies still work. And also... I have a newer, updated course that's a "light" version I'll tell you about later, that I'm cramming full of brand-new hacks and resources. But one of the perks of [Guerrilla Publishing](=.r3rvukO8D0AmfV7ipgJumfnK-WZAaWd5uELwgQqTsmo) is basically lifetime access to anything I make, so you always get the newest stuff and I'm there to answer questions. But you don't need to decide now, get the free book if you want and start there. Ads for Authors vs. Platform The key takeaway here, is that you probably aren't ready to "market your book," so any PR opportunities or clever ideas aren't going to be worth the effort. That's why my resources focus mostly on book design, blurbs and building enough of a platform/email list to get reviews, which are necessary. It's tricky to get all that right; I'm currently about to redo a bunch of covers and blurbs - even though I did OK the first time - because advertising has gotten more competitive and I need my books to convert even better before I really push them. (I'll have a case study about that stuff in my new course; how to revive a dead book, etc). I'm also going to be sharing a ton of stuff about cover design; which should cost around $500 for high-quality, but I have a new tool so you can get stunning covers (and promo graphics!) for $19. Covers are super important, and I like blogging and building a platform that generates a lot of traffic, because it's free... but it's also a ton of work, and maybe not necessary if you just have a book or two. Do you need a website, an email list, a Facebook or Twitter page? Maybe not. The truth is, you can sell lots of books directly with advertising, but it rarely works the first time unless you've nailed every aspect of your publishing, and that's hard. So even though advertising is really the easiest way to sell books (or the only book marketing that actually works), it doesn't work for most authors, until they get help fixing the thing that's killing sales. I'm putting that out there as a disclaimer, because you might have seen people promoting Mark Dawson's "ads for authors" course which is open right now, for about 2 more days. It's a great course, that can help take you to the next level, if you've got enough books already and they're well put together (or if you plan to publish a bunch of books in the next couple years). It's $849, but you can do a $45/month payment plan. A lot of the indie authors who are making beyond six-figures, got started with Mark's course; he's added some new stuff for TikTok etc; and there are a bunch of publishing deals and discounts included. So, do you need it? That's tough to say. If you're looking to sell more books, have some experience, but never really figured out ads and are ready to take your writing career seriously, it could be the thing that helps (and it's the only course like it I recommend).=.DLlKh3LZHa4KAc0KX8wJNYwCq7BrZFz1z2pzX8_Ugus Flash Deal! (2 for 1) To make sure you get everything you need, here's a special offer: if you use my link to buy Ads for Authors (and only my link) I'll give you access to my full Guerrilla Publishing program as well. That way you get two courses; two different experts giving you support and feedback in different ways. And like I said, GP (and me!) will make sure your book is actually ready to sell, and I'll do everything I can to make sure it looks professional and attracts the right readers. Once that's set, advertising really can make a huge difference. It's not for everyone, so I'm limiting it to the first 10 people or so, and it's only for the next 48 hours. After that I'll go back to finishing my new course and all the new tools I'm building. If it's not for you, no worries, but I hope you'll grab my 2 free books above and go through all my free book marketing material, it's a lot! [Here's the link](=.mAgPnL52liqZvrGN8jtNjWtdgnhMYSg3S4gpeJpWkaI) so you can check out the course. If you decide to join, just send me an email so I can give you access to my course as well. [Ads for Authors (+ Bonus Course)](=.GbDZqkL1gMzfE6d-TZltoZ37HUKgj77sZMWm7tOWl7c) [facebook](=.D0cghZNciE926Agangi5qH6jF9_vrsFFk-cT5MZiyKE) [instagram](=.23hPBn-Tqyn4nDPOdlP8I-khJFnxn89z3_2axetnT7o) [twitter](=.yHOU_wn8IrkBH64FmKwhJwNUEkpCQtfOKNusWzGs1mk) [youtube](=.IAtdSUQRcsJptImpFx2E3w_mHjvrqbaUt41v8Am4Gj0) PS. I got some great feedback on my writing prompts generator, but then the site crashed :) - it should be working again now if you want to play around with it (type what you want, it'll write you an instant story.) Helps generate ideas and get unstuck: [Promptoria.com](=.0q2pI9wjjuvNqZD5nTDgdJvOc3bLC9QacrOn-wFrfdU) =.6FOT5b3Kqf7AQaCkLU4HpCXuJq2iYbWlUp_EjAI1o1A [Share to Facebook](=.sdxKixtDSTiFT2d-KCNQsDDBSG7fisWaYNsqfYbglP4) =.a1ekR0l41HUxPLAeU_HEeicCpVCVHsYUPFlIWNmorYY [Share to Twitter](=.svy_qPHlTHzWDnalQ4OuAagD-JvbKRJBF3ugkZ6Clmo) =.S-k4_IkI6tBXVSWkKHFTivB0UyPN9r5dbIvJBTwe73E [Forward email](=.iPBaQ-tPAvpPQ89RSaMu0KctbqoKH38Gmd2feCkQN2w) Do not want to see it again? [Unsubscribe](=.bSyrcXrUfU29vvPYdcRXGoEaYZXS2zLaUE7dk7fD_JE) Derek Murphy [Creativindie.com](=.j6seZYsVWLKI1BO2tcmyIiiciTD9VuRFT2sx51JQe_A)Â | Portland, OR Location Independent - Usually in a castle or cabin.