I did it! I finished the Umpqua Strong 9k race. Today’s race was one year to the day that a tragic situation happened at the college in Roseburg, Oregon. Nine lives were cut short by a madman.
Today, thousands joined together to show our respect, raise money and create a tight community bond.
As I ran the race at a steady pace, I couldn’t help but feel so much gratitude for the gift of running.
Running is a heck of a lot easier than when I began the sport of running a little over a year ago. One reason is I track my time with my FitBit. And I stick with it.
So back to running for just a short period of time. It’s been just a year for me to run in races. I’m definitely not the fastest, but now I can proudly say I’m not the slowest.
I used to talk about how I wanted to do a marathon, but for years that’s all I did…talk.
One day I decided to quit talking and get out and “do the deed.”
I actually participated in my first full marathon at the age of 61. I was a walker, not a runner. At 62 I “sort of” ran in the same marathon as the year before.
Now, I do fair amount of 5k’s, 10k’s, 5 milers, 10 milers and a few half marathons here and there. I love when I run the full race regardless of what distance the race is. It’s one of the most exhilarating feelings I get.
What I know to be true is this; running takes practice. It takes consistent effort and dedication. The more focused I am, the better my result. And if I want to do my best, I must study the sport, surround myself with other runners and learn from those who have been there, done that.
It’s the same with writing, publishing a
nd marketing your book. You can talk about what you’re going to do or you can dig in and write the book, get it published and learn how to market it.
So what do you need to do to get the most out of your efforts with marketing your book? First, take it seriously. You have to put effort into what you’re doing.
Step One: Define your ideal reader.
Before you do much of anything, you have to know who wants to read your book. Who is your “sweet spot” reader? What would motivate them to buy your book, let alone spend hours upon hours reading it? The more you know about your ideal reader the better.
Step Two: Determine where your ideal reader hangs out.
What social networks to they frequent? What forums do they belong to? What podcasts do they list to? In other works, how do they spend their time (primarily online)? The more you know what their habits are, the better.
By understanding what their interests are, which identifies where they hang out, the more targeted your efforts can be.
Step Three: Have an ongoing focus of being discovered by your readers rather than simply trying to sell, sell, sell.
It has been said that content is king. It’s actually true. Yet, not just any content. It has to be stuff your community would be interested in. By providing great content, you actually make it easier for potential readers to find you. Content is everything from blog posts, social media posts, interviews you do, comments on other blogs, comments in groups you belong to on Facebook, tweets, articles on directories, and anything that has a great shelf life online.
Of course, there are offline areas too, but for the purpose of this post, we are focusing on internet marketing strategies.
Step Four: Build a community of readers.
You build a community of readers by engaging people. If they post comments in your Facebook group, respond. Do the same when they mention you in a tweet or on any number of social networks. Social is just that, social.
Building a community takes time and effort. And, it’s not about always trying to sell something. It’s about serving first, building trust and then making offers that align with your community.
Step Five: Tell your story… be transparent.
Readers can get information just about anywhere. What they can’t get is you unless you are transparent. Sure, not everyone wants to know you or will like what you have to say. And that’s okay.
What you want are the people who appreciate your perspective, experience and point of view. The more you share who you are (within reason of course) the better.
Step Six: Have a solid social media plan that you can stick with.
First, I want to define what a social media plan is. In essence, it’s a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve for your business using social networks. In other words, what are your specific goals with social media? Based on your answers, you would put together a list of activities you need to implement on a regular basis.
Your plan should include how you plan to increase engagement with your community. Remember, serve first before trying to sell, sell, sell.
In the end… focused and consistent action rules
Over the years I’ve talked to more people than I can count who talked about writing the book, but they never got around to it. Or if they did, they never learned how to market their book. The result was no result in sales.
Don’t let this happen to you. One of the most important things you can do is learn how to do an effective launch.
Part of a good launch is knowing what to do with your Amazon presence. Amazingly, most authorpreneurs don’t know three key areas of preparation.
Check out my FREE report – Hit #1 on Amazon. Go to www.oneonamazon.com
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