A Practical Guide MARKETING FOR SPIRITUAL WRITERS · Strategic Marketing for Spiritual Writers Presented by Brian Allain pres-outlook.org 3 THE MARK SCHAEFER FORMULA* § Step One:

StrategicMarketingforSpiritualWritersPresentedbyBrianAllain

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www.writingforyourlife.com

MARKETING FOR SPIRITUAL WRITERS A Practical Guide


ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION

§  Targeted at spiritual writers in the platform-building stage

§  Part 1: Strategic; Part 2: Tactical §  IMHO §  I am NOT a writer…this is from an

entrepreneur’s perspective


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THE 2 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS

1.  Find your market niche – that open space in the market, with adequate size, where you have expertise and can become known

2.  Consistently and persistently create content to position yourself as the thought leader in that niche


THE CHALLENGE TODAY

§  To self-publish or traditional-publish, you must have a platform (a following)

§  It is difficult to establish a platform when everyone is online, trying to do the same thing §  Not to mention all of the political angst

§  So how do you rise above the noise?


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THE MARK SCHAEFER FORMULA*

§  Step One: Finding your place (identity) §  Step Two: Finding your space §  Step Three: Finding your fuel (content) §  Step Four: Creating an actionable audience

* From “Known; The Handbook for Building and Unleashing Your Personal Brand in the Digital Age”


FINDING YOUR PLACE

§  Place: “a sustainable interest and something you want to be known for” §  Aligned with your strengths §  Provides purpose by benefitting others §  Distinctive topic §  Inexhaustibly fascinating to you

§  Finish the sentence: “Only I…” §  Gallup Company: Strengths Finder Test §  Write 35 headlines


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FINDING YOUR PLACE: AN EXAMPLE

§  Jonathan Merritt suggests picking 3 adjectives that describe who you are* §  Jonathan writes at the intersection of faith &

culture §  His own 3 adjectives:

§  Proactive §  Thoughtful §  Brave

* From “How to Become a Power Blogger” – Princeton Seminary 2016


FINDING YOUR SPACE

§  Space: “an uncontested or under-occupied niche with enough people to matter” §  The primary area in which people fail

§  Potential methods for narrowing your focus §  Area A and Area B (example: wine and faith) §  Demographics (example: age group) §  Geography (example: Alaska) §  Interests (example: bicycling) §  Platform type (example: podcasting) §  Curation (example: Writing for Your Life)


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FINDING YOUR SPACE: WINE AND FAITH

“…a fresh, holistic vision of the Christian life that sees God at work in all created things, including vineyards, the work of vintners, and the beauty of well-crafted wine shared with others around a table”


FINDING YOUR SPACE: DEMOGRAPHICS

Rachel Held Evans: post-evangelical women in their 20’s and 30’s

“Searching for Sunday”


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FINDING YOUR SPACE: GEOGRAPHY

Combines writings on faith and her family’s Alaskan salmon fishing business “Crossing the Waters:

Following Jesus through the Storms, the Fish, the Doubt,

and the Seas”


FINDING YOUR SPACE: INTERESTS

…tells the story of Everett's unlikely conversion to urban cycling. As she pedaled her way into a new way of life, Everett discovered that her year-round bicycle commuting wasn't just benefiting her body, her wallet, and her environment. It was enriching her soul.


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FINDING YOUR SPACE: PLATFORM

Starting from a collaboration around digital liturgies, the The Liturgists has grown into a global community for people who are interested in Christ, but often feel marginalized by Christianity. Ask Science Mike is a weekly podcast covering questions about science, faith, and life.


FINDING YOUR SPACE: CURATION

§  A fundamental strategy of Writing for Your Life is to partner with leading experts §  Online and in-person conferences featuring

talented authors and industry experts §  Blog articles from numerous guests §  Reselling writing support services


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BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY

§  Red oceans represent all the industries in existence today

§  Blue oceans denote all the industries not in existence today

§  Most companies operate only in red


SEEK NEW MARKET SPACE

§  In Red Oceans, companies try to outperform their rivals. As it gets crowded, profits and growth are reduced.

§  Blue Oceans are defined by untapped market space, demand creation, and opportunity for profitable growth

§  In Blue Oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are yet to be set


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CHARACTERISTICS OF A BLUE OCEAN

§  They define new markets §  They create a leap in value §  They are the result of value innovation – when

innovation is aligned with utility and price §  Examples:

§  Cirque du Soleil §  iTunes §  iPhone §  Starbucks


FINDING YOUR BLUE OCEAN

§  What can you provide that is a leap in value? §  Insight §  Saying what others are thinking (but no one is saying) §  Edginess §  Relatability §  Pain §  Incredible writing §  Asking questions that others would ask too §  Talent not contained in a book


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FINDING YOUR DIFFERENCE*

§  Traditional thinking: §  Idea -> Develop -> Launch -> Market

§  Difference thinking: §  People -> Empathy -> Idea -> Launch

§  “Create intangible value that gives people an emotional point of difference.”

§  Give people a story to tell; a “you’ve got to see this” moment

* Adapted from “Difference” by Bernadette Jiwa


WHY SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS

§  Your audience is there! §  Immense reach §  Publishers care (a great deal!) §  Made for content and branding §  Amazing way to be found §  No gatekeeper; direct to your audience §  Testing ground §  If you’re not online, you don’t exist


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YOUR PUBLISHER WILL NOT DO IT FOR YOU

§  My view of publisher changes •  They’ve cut staff and cut spending •  They focus on fewer authors, existing authors •  “Hits business”




§  A publisher will: •  Expect you to already have a website, Facebook,

etc. with a following •  May help with book launch promotion


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§  A publisher will: •  Expect you to already have a website, Facebook,

etc. with a following •  Help with book launch promotion

§  It isn’t that difficult §  It isn’t that time consuming


SELECTED CLIENTS

Leslie Leyland Fields

Kathleen Norris Diana Butler Bass

Frederick Buechner


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EXAMPLE 1

Day Zero 4 Years Later

Facebook Main Page

0 1,854,642

Facebook Chinese

0 180,107

Twitter 0 307,000

YouTube views 0 140,561

Book sales - +>40%


HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??

§  Key drivers ü Amazing content ü Consistency ü  Format selection ü Advertising


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EXAMPLE 2

§  Writing for Your Life did not exist until Spring 2016 •  Zero awareness •  Zero followers

§  136 paid webinar subscribers in September 2016


HOW MARKETING DIFFERS

§  Modest and humble; not boastful §  Not viewed as commercial §  Professional, not too personal §  Not too frequent; not too noisy §  Engage kindly §  Artistic §  Balanced §  Partner frequently §  However, you MUST be true to who you are


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CHANNEL RECOMMENDATIONS

§  Top priorities •  Facebook, blog/website, email, Twitter, Amazon

§  Secondary •  YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, podcasts,

Goodreads, Google+ •  These are generic recommendations – your

priorities may differ


FACEBOOK MARKETING PRIORITIES

§  Consistency – leads to Trust §  Formats and Lengths §  Advertising §  Engagement


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CONSISTENCY

§  Overall objective: be consistent so that your fans can count on you and who you are §  “Set expectations then meet those expectations” §  “Give them what they are looking for”

§  Jonathan Merritt

§  Consistency builds trust, engagement, relationship, authenticity §  Which in turn create loyalty and book purchases!


CONSISTENCY

§  Frequency; same days and times


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CONSISTENCY

§  Frequency; same days and times §  Formats and lengths


CONSISTENCY

§  Frequency; same days and times §  Formats and lengths §  Branding

§  Personal vs. Professional Page §  Who you are / your persona §  Your area of specialization §  Your uniqueness §  Tone / look & feel


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FORMATS AND LENGTHS

§  Overall objectives: §  ENRICH YOUR AUDIENCE with your great content §  DON’T BE PUSHY about your work and events


FORMAT TYPES TO USE

1.  Book excerpts 2.  New thoughts 3.  Memes 4.  Share others’ posts 5.  Video snippets 6.  Events Use an image

with most posts


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BOOK EXCERPTS

§  Frequency: ~3X per week §  Length: ~2-4 paragraphs

§  Long enough to get across a key point §  Short enough so that people will read it all

§  Include previews of your upcoming book §  Ok to include excerpts from articles too §  Catchy headline §  Photo if relevant


NEW THOUGHTS

§  A.k.a. “blog” §  But not always a pointer to your blog page

§  Frequency: ~1-2X per week §  Length: ~2-4 paragraphs

§  Long enough to get across a key point §  Short enough so that people will read it all

§  Temporal §  “Newsjacking” – see David Meerman Scott

§  Catchy headline §  Photo if relevant


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MEMES

§  THE most important format §  ~5X more sharable

§  A photo with a one-liner of text §  Text is from you (excerpt or new) §  Important: use emotion to capture attention §  Important: make sure you have the right to post

the photo §  Frequency: ~1X per week; boost it!


FREDERICK BUECHNER


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FREDERICK BUECHNER


KATHLEEN NORRIS


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MARILYN MCENTYRE


SHARE OTHERS’ POSTS

§  Very carefully… §  Share very selectively

§  Consistent with your own branding §  Someone you very highly respect §  Someone who is very highly respected by your fans

§  Frequency: ~1X per week


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VIDEO SNIPPETS

§  Frequency: only if you have something appropriate, tasteful and not vain §  Once a week at most

§  Length: 1-2 minutes §  Examples:

§  Snippet of an interview §  Small portion of a public presentation §  Message to your fans §  Reading an excerpt from one of your books


EVENTS

§  Frequency: whenever you have a speaking engagement, book intro, etc.

§  Use either Facebook Event (preferred) or point to a web page

§  Be sure to use a photo


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FACEBOOK ADVERTISING

§  Bad news; §  Very necessary in order to get new fans

§  Good news: §  Powerful, granular targeting is easy to achieve §  Very measurable results §  Spend a little or a lot


FACEBOOK ADVERTISING STEPS

§  Determine the objectives of your ad campaign §  Ongoing ads vs. boosting a post §  Design your ads §  Determine your target audience §  How much are you willing to spend? §  Test and refine


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ENGAGEMENT

§  Early in your platform development, engage frequently

§  Engage liberally with other artists, bloggers §  Have a thick skin; don’t feed the trolls §  Don’t be afraid to ignore / delete / block §  Do NOT engage with negative reviews §  Don’t hesitate to apologize / retract if appropriate §  Remember, it is your page!


MARKETING SUMMARY

§  Social media is a must do §  Social media has tremendous value, but does

not cost that much §  BE CONSISTENT!! §  Mix your formats strategically §  Spend on ads §  Find someone to help you get started


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THE 2 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS

1.  Find your market niche – that open space in the market, with adequate size, where you have expertise and can become known

2.  Consistently and persistently create content to position yourself as the thought leader in that niche

For additional assistance, visit our Writer Support Services https://writingforyourlife.com/writer-support-services/


WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER SELF-PUBLISHING

§  Changes in the publishing industry §  How these changes motivate you to self-publish §  Examples §  Writer support services §  The concern of legitimacy §  Summary


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OLD INDUSTRY MODEL

Writing Functions

Publishing Functions

Distributing Functions

Consuming Functions

• Book writing

Author

• Author selection • Author financing • Editing • Formatting • Author marketing • Printing • Inventory • Bulk shipping • Sales to distribution and retail

Publisher

• Inventory • Shipping • Sales to retail

Distributor (eg. Ingram)

• Inventory • Discoverability • Sales to consumer

Large Retail Chains (eg. B&N, Borders)

• Discoverability • Sales to consumer

Independent Bookstores

• Book purchase

Consumer


NEW INDUSTRY MODEL (TRADITIONAL PUBLISHER)

Author Functions



Consuming Functions

• Book writing • Author financing • Author marketing (platform)

Author

• Author selection • Author financing (smaller) • Editing • Formatting • Author marketing? • Printing • Inventory • Bulk shipping • Sales to distr. and retail

Publisher

• Inv/Ship • Sales to retail

Distributor

• Inventory • Discoverability? • Sales to consumer

B&N

• Discoverability? • Sales to consumer Independents

• Discover-ability • Author selection • Book purchase

Consumer

Social media

• Discoverability • Inventory • Sales to consumer

Amazon


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NEW INDUSTRY MODEL (SELF-PUBLISHING)

Author Functions



Consuming Functions

• Book writing • Author financing • Author marketing

Author • Print-on-demand • Print/Inventory? • Bulk shipping

Self-Publishing Platform

• Inv/Ship • Sales to retail

Distributor

• Inventory • Discoverability? • Sales to consumer

B&N

• Discoverability? • Sales to consumer Independents

• Discover-ability • Author selection • Book purchase

Consumer

Social media

• Discoverability • Inventory • Sales to consumer

Amazon

• Editing • Formatting • Author marketing

Author does or hires


CHRISTIAN TRADE PUBLISHERS Big Five

• HarperCollins o  HarperOne

o  Thomas Nelson o  Zondervan • Penguin/ RH o  Crown

o  Riverhead o  Waterbrook/Multnomah

• Hachette o  FaithWords o  Jericho

• Simon&Schuster o  Howard • MacMillan

Current / Former Denominational •  Abingdon (Methodist) •  Ave Maria (Catholic)

•  B&H / Lifeway (Southern Baptist) •  Concordia (Lutheran, Missouri Synod)

•  Fortress (ELCA) •  Ignatius (Catholic) •  Loyola (Catholic) •  Paulist (Catholic)

•  Presbyterian Publ. Corp. (PCUSA) •  Church Publishing (Episcopal)

Independent

•  Baker (Bethany, Brazos, Revell) •  Christian Faith Publishing •  D. C. Cook •  Crosslink •  Crossway •  Eerdmans •  Hay House •  Harvest House

•  InterVarsity Press •  Lighthouse •  Moody •  Nav Press •  Paraclete •  Relevant •  Tyndale •  Wipf & Stock


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TOP 10 REASONS TO SELF-PUBLISH

1.  Platform first 2.  What it takes to become known 3.  Publisher challenges and focus 4.  Who does the marketing 5.  The age of the freelancer 6.  Monumental shifts in distribution channels 7.  Capabilities of self-publishing platforms 8.  Amazon Marketing Services 9.  Dollars per book 10.  Writer support services


1. PLATFORM FIRST

§  An author’s platform is an increasingly important factor in publishers’ author selection §  It is no longer just about writing ability §  If you do not already have a strong platform, it will

significantly impact the likelihood of a book deal §  The more prominent the publisher, the more

important this is


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2. WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME KNOWN

§  Find your own niche §  An unoccupied space in the market §  You have unique expertise

§  Establish yourself as the thought leader §  Consistently and persistently create content

§  This is now a requirement whether you self-publish or not!


3. PUBLISHER CHALLENGES AND FOCUS

§  Publishers are under increasing pressure •  Decreased market power •  Greater competition

•  Which has resulted in •  Staff and spending reductions •  Focus on fewer authors, existing authors •  “Hits business” •  Approx. 1% of book proposals are published


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4. WHO DOES THE MARKETING

§  The old model §  Author writes the book; publisher does the rest §  Primary means of discoverability = book store §  You don’t get in the book store without the publisher

§  The new model §  Author must have already done the marketing §  Primary means of discoverability = author’s online

platform

§  No longer a “vanity” stigma with self-publishing


5. THE AGE OF THE FREELANCER

§  Publishers cannot afford so many fulltime staff §  Individuals are seeking more flexible work

arrangements §  Technology allows effective work from

anywhere §  Resulting in:

§  Proliferation of many high-quality freelancers §  Available for all elements of the value chain


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6. MONUMENTAL SHIFTS IN DISTRIBUTION

§  Amazon: 41% market share in paperbacks §  Aggressive prices

§  eBooks: 20% of overall trade book revenue §  Brick & mortar book stores struggling §  Increase in “borrowed” book model §  Results:

§  Traditional distribution is less important §  Publishers strength is traditional distribution §  Publishers are no longer the gatekeepers


7. SELF-PUBLISHING PLATFORMS

§  The business and technical capabilities of self-publishing platforms have increased §  Ease of use §  Breadth of capabilities and options §  Quality and low cost of small print runs §  Wide distribution options §  Low barriers to author adoption


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8. AMAZON MARKETING SERVICES

§  2 types of ads on Amazon §  Sponsored Products (by keyword)

§  Appears below search results

§  Product Display Ads (by product or interest) §  Appears on related product detail pages

§  Cost-per-click §  Available if you have an account and product on

Kindle Direct Publishing


9. DOLLARS PER BOOK

§  Trade paperback, 200 pages, list price $14.99 §  Typical traditional publisher royalties (US):

§  7.5% of retail price or 22% of publisher revenue §  ~$1.12 per book to the author

§  Typical self-publishing royalties (US): §  ~$5.74 to the author (Createspace example)

§  Therefore: you would need to sell about 5 X books through trad. publ. to break even!


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EXAMPLE: AUTHOR 1

§  Well known Christian author §  Self-published a paperback book (publishers were

not interested in it) §  Paperback list: $15.99; eBook list: $7.99 §  First 10 months of sales; minimal marketing §  Amazon: 3,100 units / $20,800 = $6.70 per book §  Other distr: 400 units / $1,400 = $3.50 per book §  eBook: 915 units / $5,005 = $5.47 per book §  Total income to author: $27,200 §  Purchase your own PB copies: $2.89 per book


EXAMPLE: AUTHOR 2

§  Well known Christian author §  Published hardcover through a Big 5 house

§  Significant marketing

§  The author’s best selling book §  First 15 months: 28K hardcover, 8K eBook §  Hardcover list: $26.99; eBook list: $9.99 §  Estimated royalties:

§  Hardcover: (7.5%) = $56,700 = $2.02 per book §  eBook (25% of publ. net rev.) = $ 10,000 = $1.25 per book


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COMPARING EXAMPLES 1 AND 2

§  Adjusting for differences in list price and length of sales period

§  Example 2 estimated royalties become: §  Hardcover: $22,400 = $1.20 per book §  eBook: $5,330 = $1.00 per book

§  Example 2 total revenue = $27,730 §  Example 1 total revenue = $27,200


CAVEATS

§  Example 1 has added up-front costs §  Editing, formatting, cover design §  No advance on royalties

§  Example 2 spent a large amount of time marketing §  Example 2 assumes that the publisher agreed to

publish your book §  Backlist analysis: for every additional book sold:

§  Example 1: $6.70 PB; $5.47 eBook §  Example 2 (adjusted): $1.20 HC; $1.00 eBook §  Example 2 is more dependent on retail stores still

stocking the book


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10. WRITER SUPPORT SERVICES

§  Book concept viability assessment §  Book proposal review §  Manuscript review and editing §  Book cover design §  Interior book design §  Business planning for writers §  Social media marketing §  More to come §  https://writingforyourlife.com/writer-support-

services/


THE CONCERN OF LEGITIMACY

§  “If am not able to get a publisher then I am concerned that I am really not good enough.”

§  This could be either: §  A real risk, or §  An unwarranted crisis of self-doubt

§  How to mitigate both issues: §  Get feedback early-on from industry professionals §  Hire a freelance editor


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PUBLISHING RECAP

§  You need to build your own platform either way §  Once you have your own platform, you can drive

your own sales through marketing §  Dollars per book are much higher with self-

publishing §  Many services available to help you §  You have your success in your own hands

Documents

A Practical Guide MARKETING FOR SPIRITUAL WRITERS · Strategic Marketing for Spiritual Writers Presented by Brian Allain pres-outlook.org 3 THE MARK SCHAEFER FORMULA* § Step One: