Great sources of advice on book marketing you may never have thought of are podcasts by book marketing experts. I listen to several podcasts, including Mark Dawson’s The Self-Publishing Formula. Here is his advice from episode #382: “You must market your book with Honorée Corder.”
Honorée Corder is the author of more than fifty books. On podcast episode #382, she discusses her new books that focus on nonfiction (some of her advice will also apply to fiction). Here are a few nuggets:
Practical advice and tips
• Use your nonfiction book as a calling card. It sets you apart.
I agree! One of my author clients uses his book to generate new business.
• Three ways to market your book that move the needle:
1. Be on a podcast.
2. Create a high-content newsletter (email) in small bites.
3. Meet people (leave the house)! Get face-to-face.
Honorée’s formula for writing
Her second book is also geared to nonfiction. I think her ideas listed below are important to any genre:
1) Make your book easy to read (7th-grade reading level).
2) Make your book easy to remember: your name, your title, and/or your characters.
3) Make your book easy to share: your name and your title. Word of mouth is golden—tell your friends to drop everything and read it. Keep it simple; make it easy to talk about and/or easy to refer.
Based on my experience as a book designer
1) Use Microsoft Word to check readability and level statistics. There are other reading-level products, too. You might need to do this if you’re doing a children’s or a technical book.
2) Example of a title: The Last Helicopter is easy to remember. The author used a focus group and beta readers who came up with this great title.
3) Refer books you enjoy to friends. How many times have you done this? I have, many times!
Finally
Although I haven’t read Honorée’s books yet, I enjoyed listening to her interview and gained valuable advice. I clicked the “follow” button on Honorée’s Amazon page. She doesn’t have a blog on her website, so I signed-up for her email list. I’m so glad I listened to the podcast. This substantive information will be helpful to pass along to the authors I work with.
