As I watched Coach Carter recently, I was struck that one of the first mandates of the new coach (played by the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson) is that students must sign a contract if they want to continue playing basketball. They have to agree to do things like hit a certain grade average and sit at the front in class. As you can imagine, there’s some serious backlash, from the parents as much as from the students.
Now, even though the coach comes across as a harsh taskmaster, he doesn’t instigate this to be a killjoy. It isn’t even really about the discipline. His hope is that getting the kids to sign this document will raise their expectations of themselves, show them another potential future other than flunking out of school. The result? Spoiler alert: the students start to take their training (and studies!) seriously and learn to play better as a team. The credits at the end list which students went on to college and where, a much higher percentage than pre-Coach Carter.
This got me thinking: what would happen if we took our marketing seriously as writers? What if I signed a contract with myself?
Not to hit a certain number of readers, but to commit to consistently engaging with my audience in an authentic way. When we choose the career of writer there are several parts to our job description and marketing is one of them. Call it platform, branding or audience engagement – if you want readers to read what you write, you have to commit to getting your words out there.
So, what might this contract look like? You can go ahead and write your employer’s name and the employee’s name (hint, they’ll be the same!) Or the address. You can give yourself the job title VP Marketing. But what I’m thinking about is making a deal with ourselves that we’ll take marketing seriously. Call it a manifesto if you like. It’s about our commitment, our attitude.
Here are three things I’m thinking about including:
CORE COMMITMENTS
This will be unique to you, but some of the marketing guideposts I steer by include:
- Empathy: I commit to putting myself in my audience’s shoes before I shout about my book
- Relationship: I will reach out to , respond to, be available for my readers through the channels they favour
- Value: I will seek to create valuable content for my readers, not just limited to my books
- Curiosity: I promise to remain curious about my readers, by researching and asking questions
- Exchange: I will seek feedback, reach out to collaborators in the literary world, offer insights into my writing life so that I am contributing to the conversation
TASKS
This may change depending on what stage of the publishing process you’re at, but activities you’ll want to consider include:
- Website
- Online sales channels
- Book launch events, online and in-person
- Newsletter
- Social Media engagement
- Events
- Collaborations with other writers
- Support of local literary events and organizations
- Free products
TIME
I think this one is key. Relationship with your readers doesn’t happen overnight. And it doesn’t happen by accident. That doesn’t mean it’s a hard sell or that it depends on tricks and gimmicks. What it does mean is setting aside time to think through and implement a marketing plan. You wouldn’t expect a book to magic itself into being without hours sat at your desk, would you? The same is true for audience engagement. Schedule time daily or weekly to look at what you’re doing to network with your readers and follow through on the activities you’ve chosen.
So, who’s with me? What would you include in a marketing contract with yourself? Let me know, I’m seriously considering drawing one up!
If you need help figuring out how to reach your readers, contact me for a FREE phone consultation.
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