Yes, I’m one of those dummies. I love to write, but I hate to market. I recently began a journey to learn more about marketing because, like it or not, if I’m going to get the written word to the reader, I have to market (and I don’t hvae thousands of dollars to pour into it).
The first thing I asked myself is why is marketing necessary? It’s only necessary if you want people to read your work – whether that be a blog page, a short story, a how-to article, or a full-blown novel. There may be different reasons why you want people to read you, but they won’t unless they know about you. So, marketing is a necessity.
The public must be aware of your product, which in the case of writing, is two-fold – your book, and you. It’s not enough to get your book in front of people. You must also sell yourself. By that, I don’t mean to be pretentious and put on a front. Be yourself. What I do mean is that people must learn to trust you. That calls for building relationships, and that’s not an easy task.
So, how do we do that? There are several things to consider, and that will lead us to Part 2 next time. Until then . . .
My Very Own Writing Coach 