Over the weekend I was in San Diego for the 21^st
Century Book Marketing Conference. My colleagues and friends, Christine Kloser
and Lynne Klippel and I were exhibitors.  We knew this would be a great experience and
create amazing opportunities, but the event far exceeded our expectations.

The 21^st Century Book Marketing Conference was
the vision of Arielle Ford and Mike Koenigs. Their goal was to provide a great
learning and networking opportunity for all who attended. They definitely
achieved this goal.

Not only was the event held at a wonderful facility, the
lineup of speakers was beyond compare. Over and over the speakers, which included
Jack Canfield, Dan Poynter , Marci Shimoff, Debbie Ford, John Kremer, Peggy
McColl, Rick Frishman, Mari Smith and more, gave insights into the absolute
necessity of using social marketing to promote virtually anything…especially  books.

Things have changed
The terrain for book publishing and book marketing has
drastically changed in the last few years. Options we have today were not
available in the past. Amazingly, the things we absolutely must do to not only
survive, but thrive, are often ignored by struggling authors.

According to one expert the average yearly income for
authors is only $14,000. Holy cow! I was shocked. Read more…

It made me wonder why authors wouldn’t do everything possible
to learn the art and science of marketing. Sadly, many authors are either doing
as little as possible to market their books because they just don’t find it as
interesting as writing or they are still using outdated methods to reach
readers and sell books.

You have to have control
Repeatedly, 21^st Century Book Marketing speakers
emphasized how important it is to have control over your marketing; simple as
that. And Social Marketing allows you to have more control that most people
realize. Besides, it’s incredibly cost effective … if you know what you are
doing.

Many attendees are thinking of writing a book, but not sure
where to start; while others hadve their manuscript done and are now ready to
get their book published. Regardless of where one is in the writing process the
only way any author can fulfill their dream is to take action every day.

With just about every author I spoke to at the conference my
question was, “What are your plans for marketing?”

Some had a handle on what they could do while quite a few
others looked at me with a quizzical expression.

You need to know
The bottom line is every author needs to know something
about marketing. Whether or not you do your own marketing is not the issue. The
issue is, marketing has to be a part of your plan for the success of your book.

During his hour long keynote presentation, Jack Canfield emphasized
that not only should authors and publishers learn the skills; we must also work
on our mindset. When he and Mark Victor Hansen were complete unknowns, turned
down by over 140 publishers, losing money rather than making money, the one
thing they did was to lay a solid foundation for success by creating a clear vision
of what they wanted. A huge part of the vision was their marketing. Jack said they
referred daily to John Kremer’s book, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.

What they did
Actually, they put up 1001 yellow sticky notes on a wall and
wrote down each and every idea in John’s book. From there they did a minimum of
five things a day to market their first Chicken Soup for the Soul book. With
each thing they did they took down a yellow sticky note.

They also went to great lengths to get on as many radio
shows as possible. It was from repeated efforts they finally became successful.

Jack went on to tell the audience the only difference
between he and Mark becoming bestsellers and others not doing so is the level
of willingness to do whatever needed to be done day in and day out. Simple as
that.

As the terrain has changed, authors actually now have much
more opportunity than in the past. Today we have social networking sites to
sell books. We can use Amazon.com bestseller campaigns to reach our goals. We
can choose to self publish, do print on demand or seek a traditional publisher.

Secure your future
All of this and much more was discussed at the conference. A
hot, hot topic was how to take control of your future by developing and marketing
products. This can be in the form of reports, books, teleseminars and webinars
to name just a few.

Without a doubt, the world of authorship and publishing has
changed. To not learn how to market your books (or future books), develop
products, and find ways to stand out from the crowd is to minimize one’s
chances for success.

The challenge can be where to get the best information.
There are so many things available how does one make the best choice?

1.
Avoid this syndrome
Avoid the “impulse buy” syndrome. Research the
person you are buying products and services from to make sure they are “the
real deal”.

2.
Avoid the “Products are my dust collectors”
syndrome. When you invest in something you owe it to yourself to study and
apply the material.

3.
Avoid the “I can get everything for free” syndrome.
I will be the first to admit there is a lot of great information one can obtain
via the Internet at no cost. However, there comes a point you have to make a
financial investment.

4.
Avoid the “I’m going to get-rich-quick” syndrome.
The fact is, you can make a great living with information products. Another
fact is you have to work at it. Success is not going to happen without effort.

Lots of people would love to have the type of success Jack
Canfield has. Not only on a financial level, but on the level of contribution
he makes to worthy causes.

As you think about the author success stories that abound,
take a complete look at what it took to achieve this. It didn’t happen by
respected authors sitting back and hoping for success. It has to do with gaining
the best knowledge base, training, and mentoring possible. And…. applying the
information.

You can do it too
One of the best ways an author can make money is with
information products. Isn’t it time to start your own products that you can
make available to your market? It’s actually easier than most people realize.
Click here to access information on how easy this can be.

If you do have a book in the works, how do you plan to
market it? Why not with an online book launch? Check out my report on how to
Become and Online Bestseller. Click here.

You will be glad you did.