Word of Mouth Marketing

I read somewhere the other day that actively managed word of mouth book marketing campaigns get the best results between week 13 and week 17. It made me consider some of the marketing campaigns I've been involved in and for most books they were right.

A word of mouth marketing campaign doesn't always kick into gear immediately after a book is published. It can take two weeks to a month after a potential buyer hears about a book from a friend, through reading a review, hearing the author interviewed or meeting the author at a social gathering to result in the buyer tracking the book down. By week 18 most of the scheduled book events have taken place and the media has moved on.

Word of mouth marketing campaigns are a great way for authors to get involved with promoting their books. There is a fine balance between offering to do a book event for every church group, service group, professional association and arts group that you belong to and becoming the author who people cross the floor to get away from at social events because they're tired of being bored to tears over a book.

When done well a ground swell ripples through the organizations of a community and book sales soar.

Instant Breakfast

In this world of instant everything, it seems only natural that the first book about the Chicago White Sox World Series win would arrive only days after the team's success. It's the White Sox: 2005 World Series Champions [$19.95 hardcover 1596701390, $14.95 soft cover 1596701021] published by Sports Publishing with the aid of the Chicago Sun Times.

I understand their drive and enthusiasm for getting a wonderful momento out for fans everywhere to collect but I am with the slow food movement on this one. I like to savour my books both in the writing of them and in the publishing of them.

A Ghostly Business - Book Writing

A new business survey recently revealed that consultants who were authors earned at least 4 times more than consultants without a book. There is no other field where the differential between those who had published a book and those who hadn't was as great.

Not every consultant makes a good writer. Many consultants have all the information at their fingertips but lack the skill, the time or the patience to write a book. [It takes an estimated 700 hours to write a book of this type]

Most consultants who have published books find that they make more money by hiring a ghost writer, but the bottom line is that you both need to be like minded enough to give coherence to the material.

Windshift Press has recently worked with several consultants to bring their material to book form. We'd be pleased to hear from other consultants to discuss their projects.