Adopting the proper marketing mindset when selling books can change zero sales into a full author career. But what is the right mindset?
How do authors feel about marketing?
I recently polled a group of writers in the Author Cooperative Facebook group (a place where indie authors trade skills) to see how they felt about marketing. The results?
75% of authors hate marketing and/or feel like they’re not great at it.
And yet, to be successful in today’s competitive book market, it’s necessary.
Think about it.
There’s a flood of books entering the marketing written by Artificial Intelligence right now (mostly non-fiction). Those authors didn’t sweat blood and tears over making their books. They researched money opportunities, picked one, and are now pouring their investment money into marketing these books.
The thing is, your book is better than that. Trust me. I read A LOT of AI assisted or written books in my work as an editor and they’re not great. Stories with interesting characters, complex plots, and proper developmental editing will win EVERY TIME!
So why aren’t readers buying yours instead?
Visibility.
If you don’t show them you exist, they won’t know!
So before going crazy into tips and tricks throughout the next couple of weeks, I wanted to talk about the marketing mindset.
What is the marketing mindset for authors?
The phrase “you have to spend money to make money” comes to mind, and I kind of hate it. It’s also kind of true.
But spending money is uncomfortable, especially when you’re just starting out. You slave away writing your darling, finally scrounge the skills or money or hours of servitude needed to get it edited and get a cover, ramp up to launch day where all your friends and family say they’ll buy it, and then sell 3 copies.
That’s when a lot of discouraged authors fall into a marketing minefield. They try half of one idea that costs them X, feel bummed out again because of the small numbers, then wash and repeat in a cycle that either finds small success or–more often–results in burnout and them never wanting to market (or write!) again.
Sound familiar?
The thing with marketing is that it doesn’t magically work overnight. Or in a week. Or in a month. Marketing is about click and dynamic testing, tweaking small things while angling for big results, and (sometimes expensive) patience. 
So how do we as authors make that leap into the money pit without driving ourselves crazy?
The Solution
Perspective, mindset shifts… and a little bit of help.
Over the next couple of posts, I’ll be starting with awesome quotes from industry professionals and discussing how it affects our marketing mindset. I hope you join in and share your insights!
In the meantime, what is your biggest mental hurdle when it comes to marketing?
