This is an exciting week at Writers on the Move and I get to kick it off. The whole week we’re focusing on marketing innovations and proven strategies to help you write publish, and market your book. We wanted to do something special to thank you for taking the time out of your busy days to read what we write.
Starting off the week, I wanted to give an overview of some 2013 marketing strategies. While researching the topic for my post, I came across some very interesting information. Here are some of the highlights:
5 Innovative and Proven Marketing Strategies
1. Marketing is ever-changing.
This is especially true of inbound marketing. The changes are so fast, that it’s tough to be the first or even get on the wagon of a new strategy before it’s old-hat.
Because of this, it’s wise to stick to the marketing strategies that are working for you. Stay true to what works.
This is not to say you can’t venture out and try new tools and strategies, just be aware that they may not be here tomorrow, or they may not be as effective as the ‘marketer’ is purporting them to be.
2. Innovation doesn’t always mean ‘new.’
In an article at Marketing and Innovation, Yann Gourvennec noted that, “innovation isn’t always about disruption, it is often about making things better.”(1) In other words, it’s not always about creating something new. A revised or renewed product or service can be innovative. It might be in making a product or service better, or adding something to it.
3. Inbound marketing is still one of the top strategies.
In a recent survey conducted by HubSpot and MIT, the results showed that “92 percent of HubSpot’s customers increased traffic.” Seventy-five percent of those customers saw a 75 percent and more traffic increase. (2)
This proves that inbound marketing works effectively.
4. Co-branding can be a profitable marketing strategy.
The source article of this topic dealt with offline business. It gave the example of a local restaurant teaming up with a local movie theater to offer discounted tickets if the customer spent a certain amount on dinner. (3) But, this strategy can be translated into book marketing.
As an example I’ll use my children’s bedtime picture book, Day’s End Lullaby. I could research infant and baby bedroom and bedding stores to see if there is any interest in co-branding. Buy a bed set and get a bedtime story free or for a minimal fee.
The perk to the store is offering something more to its customers, helping to make that personal connection. The benefit to the author (me) would be the store buying the book at a discounted rate.
5. Gaining discoverability through Freebies.
The source article for this topic discussed the innovative marketing strategy that NAL/Penquin used for “You Knew Me When” by Emily Liebert. The publishing house sent “advance galleys with a three-bottle set of nail polish.” The book is about a successful cosmetics executive. This particular author and publisher took it to a new level – the source article is worth the read, see reference #4 below.
Stayed tuned tomorrow for a post by Annie Duguid.
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References:
(1) http://visionarymarketing.fr/en/blog/2013/05/innovation-what-new-really-means-the-data-center-robotics-example/
(2) http://www.shebangdesign.com/7-innovative-marketing-ideas-to-get-the-roi-rolling/#.UnVvKBAljW4
(3) http://www.shebangdesign.com/8-great-marketing-ideas/#.UnVtfhAljW4
(4) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/08/09/a-polished-book-marketing-plan-nails-it/
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Oh, I did have Part 3 of the three-part series on Small Business Marketing scheduled for today, but because of our special marketing week, I'm moving that post to December 30th.
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P.S. To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).
Karen Cioffi
Award-Winning Author, Freelancer/Ghostwriter, Author/Writer Online Platform Instructor
http://karencioffi.com
10 comments:
Interesting post.
Thanks Susanne. Glad you found it interesting!
Co-branding is an intriguing possibility that I'm considering exploring more widely. Certainly lots of opportunities for innovative marketing there.
Great post with interesting twists on marketing.
Freebies can certainly pique interest in a book!
Co-branding sounds interesting... Thanks for doing this series, Karen!
Maggie, co-branding does have the possibility of opening doors and widening an author's selling potential. It's something I can look into for both my children's books. And, another strategy I may look into is joint project ventures - two heads and twice the effort are always better than one.
Mary Jo, I found the research so interesting. And, I love the idea that innovation doesn't have to mean 'new.'
Sherry, Absolutely. Freebies can even be the determining factor in grabbing a potential book buyer. With so many books flooding the arena, giving the reader a taste of what you have to offer can work wonders.
Heidi, You're welcome! I find the co-branding strategy interesting also. Something to thing about.
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