What can a marketer do for me and my book? What does a marketer even do? How much will it cost?
Hiring a marketer can help your book reach its readers. It’s as simple as that.
Having someone on your team with great marketing experience and publishing know-how can really help your selling strategy and book.
It’s not always clear to people what marketers actually do so I thought I’d answer a few of the questions people often have.
What is the difference between a marketer and a publicist?
In the old-school publishing world, the definition was that publicists get free coverage and marketing is anything that needs to be paid for.
These days the line is more blurred. Marketers can advise on social media strategy and optimizing free web presence that can cost nothing apart from the time spent on it. There are lots of ways to make a real difference to a book’s online visibility that cost nothing but just require a little knowledge or research. A marketer can help with that.
If you want to reach out to the press and get coverage in the press because your book has a particularly great press hook, you envisage being in front of cameras with your book or you already have a media presence then it’s worth hiring the services of a publicist. If you want some general advice on where to send your book out for review, reach out to influencers, or if you want someone to tell you if you need a publicist then a marketer can help.
What will a marketer do for my book?
There is a loooong list of what a marketer can do for your book. See here for a comprehensive list. But generally:
- Help identify your audience and pinpoint how to reach them
- They will work with you to optimize your online presence so that you and your book can be found online.
- They will advise on any advertising you should be doing and can help write and design that.
- Marketers from a publishing background will have sat in on cover meetings so can advise on whether they think your book cover will fit in with its market and stand out in a positive way.
How much does a marketer cost?
The cost of hiring a marketer doesn’t have to be exorbitant. Obviously, it depends on whether they are working for themselves, an agency, and their level of experience. I believe in transparent pricing. After all, no one wants to sign up for something if they don’t know how much it will cost. You can see a list of my services and prices here but generally speaking, you can expect to pay between $75 – $100 / £50-£75 an hour.
Most marketers bundle up costs in a ‘service’ cost and if you book a marketer that way you should expect them to keep to that cost unless you ask for services above and beyond the scope of the original project outline.
You can find a whole variety of marketers specializing in books at Reedsy.com where I am listed too.
Can I expect to make the money I spend on marketing back in book sales?
If only marketers could guarantee that! There are a lot of variables that prevent marketers from making this promise; your book’s quality, its place in its market, the work you are willing to do as an author to get your book out there, the time of year it is published. . . etc., etc. ad infinitum.
BUT marketers can help you get your book into the very best position for success. Having your online presence and metadata and keywords optimized can make a huge difference and there is a huge range of really creative and innovative ways to reach readers that a great marketing plan will provide you with. It could be that this book isn’t the book that propels you, as an author, to stardom, but working to ensure you are building fans and a really decent online presence can also pave the way for future books. Marketing is about giving you and your book their very best chance.
Why not set up a free consultation call if you have any other questions? Or just drop me a line.