Time is money. But what if authors have neither?

Earlier this week I share a post that touched on this topic, but today I want to use the newsletter as a space to break it down even further.

If you only had ONE hour a week to devote to marketing your book, what should you be doing?

Marketing is overwhelming for so many authors, regardless of how much time they have to spend on it, and because of this I see most authors avoid it altogether.

• I don't know where to start, so I just won't.
• I barely have any time, so I won't even bother trying.
• I'm not good at this kind of stuff, so I can't do it.

There's a lot of excuses, and I've heard pretty much all of them.

But I'm not here to play a game of guilt--actually the opposite. I'm here to inspire confidence in authors who have little time to start taking the steps--even if they are small--because these small steps will ultimately lead them farther down the road.

So, what should you do if you have one hour/week for marketing?

I'd focus on what I'll call the 3R cycle:

• Research
• Record
• Repeat

When you approach marketing with framework, it can be easier to digest and motivate yourself to keep going.

But what does each phase of the cycle include? Let's get into it.

Research

Research can mean so many different things! Here is a sampling of the types of research you could do in your one hour of marketing time:

• Read a few blog posts or watch some YouTube videos on a marketing topic, and take notes on the key things you learn. What best practices do these articles share? What ideas do they offer? Taking notes will help you keep your learnings organized in one central location.
• Sign up for a video course (there are lots of great free courses out there) that focuses on a specific marketing topic, and take notes as you watch through about what you're learning. Typically these courses will dive deeper into how to implement certain strategies. It might take you a few weeks to get through watching the course, and that's okay!
• Spend some time on Amazon browsing through the categories related to your book. Take notes on which books/authors are the top sellers in this category. Click on the books that are most similar to yours and note which other books Amazon suggests as similar. Doing this gives you a list of comp titles, and a list of authors to research.
• With your list of similar authors, start looking them up online. What do their websites look like? Are they offering a lead magnet for their email list? Sign up for their email list so you can see what content they send in their newsletters. Which social media platforms are they active on? What type of content are they posting on social media? Save your favorite posts so you can use them as a template for yourself. This can give you a lot of inspiration and ideas for what you can add to your own email and social media strategy!
• Find relevant writer groups on Facebook and spend some time browsing through posts from other authors. Are any of them sharing strategies that worked for them? Take notes! Are any of them asking the same questions you have? Check the comments to see what answers people are offering!

You might find yourself in "Research" mode for several weeks, and that is not only okay, but probably beneficial! Putting in whatever time you have to learn best practices and gather inspiration will help you tackle the next phase with more ease and confidence.

Record

While you can certainly take "record" literally and record videos, think of record as taking action. Here's what you might do to take action on your marketing strategy:

• Write out content for your email newsletter. Use your research on best practices and inspiration from other authors to craft email content that works for you. Some weeks you might write one email in the hour, others you might write four emails in the hour, and that is great!
• Write out content for your social media captions. Use your research on best practices and inspiration from other authors to craft social captions that works for you.
• Design graphics or take pictures to go with your social media posts. These could be graphics with quotes from the book, reader reviews, or promotional copy. And you might take pictures of book laying around the house or out and about somewhere fun. Or maybe you take some pictures of yourself with or without the book. Tasteful selfies do well on social media platforms.
• Record videos for social media. This is where research can really come in handy! What types of videos are other authors in your genre sharing? Are they talking directly to the camera? Are they using music or funny sounds? Do they only use video footage of the book? There are SO many different ideas for videos out there for you to use as inspiration.
• Schedule your email and/or social media content. Once you have some content ready, make it easier on yourself by scheduling posts in advance. When you take this approach, you won't have the daily worry of remembering to post on social media.
• Set up advertising campaigns on a platform like Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, or Amazon. Again, research comes in handy here. If you've taken a course on Amazon ads, you can look back at your notes, or even play and pause the videos while you set up your own campaign.
• Send out messages to people in your network or to influencers/reviewers online. Ask them if they'd be willing to share something about the book with their own audience.

Just like above, you might be in the "Record" phase for months, and that is totally normal! The more you start exercising your marketing muscles the easier it will become, and the faster you'll get at doing it.

At first, you might be taking baby steps, barely shuffling forward, but eventually you'll find your strides getting bigger and bigger.

Repeat

This framework is a cycle, so you'll be repeating this process over and over! After a while you might be super comfortable with social media, but want to learn more about Amazon advertising. So you go back to the research phase and spend your marketing time learning something new.

Oh, and Amanda Barry ACC CPCC pointed out an excellent 4th R... Reward!

I love this addition because celebrating wins keeps us motivated and energized to keep going. Did you take an Amazon ads course and successfully create your own ad campaigns? Incredible! Grab a fancy latte on your way to work :)

Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you accelerate the process and level up your marketing strategy:

1. One Hour Consultation: In this 60-min session we can work through problem areas in messaging, Amazon metadata, social media strategy, email list building strategy and more. If you want to eliminate some of the "Research" time and get a tailored marketing strategy, book a consultation here.
2. Amazon Optimization Package: This package is designed to help authors who publish through Amazon KDP optimize their book listing and page. This package is completely done-for-you, so you won't need to lift a finger or spend any "Record" time on Amazon marketing! Learn more about what's included here.
3. 1:1 VIP Experience: With this 8-week program, I'll work one-on-one with you to create a customized marketing plan for your book that you can implement with confidence, making you feel like a rockstar. Plus, we'll dive deep into the best practices of various marketing strategies so you don't need to spend hours finding them on your own. You walk away from this experience with a full marketing toolbox (including custom content and graphics, templates, and video tutorials) and clarity on how to get your book in front of more readers. Learn more about the program and everything it includes here.

Keep rocking,

Aryn Van Dyke

Founder, Book Rockstar