(Print this blog post) and keep in your writing book to reference the how-to's, action steps, and checklists.) 

I have yet to meet another author who cheers when they think about marketing. In fact, for most of us, our first response is 😟 eek, that’s something I don’t know how to do and don’t want to do!

Does that sound like you? 

I get it. I have said those words—but not anymore! 

I have been blessed with wonderful writing mentors over the last few years and as I learned from them, I realized three misconceptions I needed to change to be a successful writer.

1. I can’t call myself an author because I haven’t published a book.
2. I don’t want to “sell” myself.
3. I don’t have to work at marketing because God will take care of selling this book for me.

I have reset my thinking on those three misconceptions, and now I feel FREE and CONFIDENT in the call of God on my life. Let me explain:

1. The sooner you call yourself an author, the sooner your YES will be to God. I remember the day someone asked me, Becky, now that you are retired from your pastoral position at church, what are you doing with your time? I choked out, I am writing devotionals and Bible studies. That was true, but it wasn’t until I responded, I am an author that I sensed I was confirming the call of God on my life for this season.
2. My next misconception hurdle was to get over the fact that telling others about my book wasn’t “selling myself”. Marketing is sharing what I love with people who will appreciate hearing about it. I’ve identified WHO my reader is so why wouldn’t I want to tell her about this book God is empowering me to write?
3. The lead pastor at the church where I served repeated this phrase in many of his sermons, God has a part, and I have a part. Those words are drilled into my heart as I realize that there is “work” for me to do and God creates and implements his will through my actions. There is a partnership between God and me to win the battle together. Proverbs 21:31 says, the horse is ready for battle, but victory rests with the Lord. I have the responsibility of planning and preparing the resources, and God oversees the outcome. With that in mind, now I ask God, what should I do about marketing? What’s my next step? What are you giving me the capacity to handle for this book launch? I do my part by following the leadership of the Holy Spirit and then I trust God with the outcome

Now that we have settled on the fact that marketing is a vital part of writing and publishing let me give you 4 coaching tips that will equip you to move forward.  

Tip #1 Change Your Mindset and Have Fun

When you think about marketing, put a smile on your face!

Remember, this is the book God has called you to write, and he has helped you in every step. Now, you get to tell your reader about how this will transform her life.

Start with one of these three ideas:

• Throw a Launch Party. Recruit a few ideal readers and have them share your book with the world. (We cover the how-to’s of launch teams in detail in the FINISH! Coaching Course.)
• Don’t just make a great offer—communicate in such a way that people say, yes, this is exactly what I need!
• Show up where you find your reader. Do you find your ideal reader at a women’s conference, community Bible study, or on one of the social media outlets? Do they listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos? Go find them and share your book.

Tip #2 Establish an Online Presence

Early in my writing career, I implemented two marketing strategies that brought increased engagement and more sales: a website and a newsletter.

Build a Website

Your website should be the hub of all your book marketing efforts. You can design this yourself or use a template through your email marketing platform. Or you hire someone to do this, although that can get expensive. Your website design should be attractive, easy to navigate, and include information about your book, including a synopsis, reviews, and a call to action.

Write Newsletters

When I made the commitment to consistently send a newsletter to my email list, my readers and I established a strong relationship. That, inevitably, increased book sales because they learned to trust me, as I consistently gave them value in my writing.

The turn-around point for me was encouragement from a successful bible study ministry leader. In a roundtable meeting with this ministry leader and a dozen authors, I made the comment, I don’t want to bother my readers with too many emails in their inbox. The ministry leader completely disagreed with me and set my thinking straight:

Your email subscribers can unsubscribe at any time, so don’t worry about filling their inbox. They want to develop an online relationship with you, so make a commitment to them and announce it!

After that meeting, I did exactly that! 

I considered my season of life and decided that I had the capacity to send a newsletter every other Saturday, and I could keep that commitment for at least two years.

Write the newsletter showed up on my calendar every other Monday.

I kept that commitment for three years and now I am sending my Flourishing Life newsletter once a month. My readers are still fully engaged. These newsletters have an average open rate of 50%, which is well above the standard “good” rate of 15-33%.

Now I am starting a second newsletter, to the Finish, for my FINISH! Coaching business. I am committing to a bi-monthly newsletter. Again, it’s on my calendar every other Monday and I will stick with that discipline until I have established a strong reader base.

One reader wrote me a note which expresses the sentiment of many of my Flourishing Life tribe: I look forward to your emails. I am bombarded by emails, but you are one of the few people whose emails I make it a point to read. I have a label with your name on it so I can easily find everything you send

Tip #3 Rewrite your content

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received about marketing was to reuse my book’s content as its own marketing.

Your book isn’t just one piece of content—it’s 1000!

Repurpose snippets of your book into micro content (short-form content that is easy to understand, and the reader can consume quickly).

Here are some examples of micro content:

• Social media content
• Headlines
• Quick facts
• Page titles and taglines
• Email subject lines

Grab your reader’s attention and encourage them to follow your link to see more information in your long form content: blog, lead magnet, newsletter, YouTube video, and sales marketing email.

Tip #4 Define Success

What is your definition of success?

Have you ever questioned what the word “success” means specifically for you and your book writing?

The “world” defines a successful author by measuring influence, popularity, and the amount of books. 

As you decide what success looks like for your book, make sure it lines up with God’s definition of success.

God’s definition of success is walking in God’s way and using the gifts he has given you to further his kingdom on earth.

I believe success in my writing life is:

• when I am relentlessly obedient to the Word and will of God
• when my writing is empowered and led by the Holy Spirit
• when all that I do is motivated by love
• when I work diligently to fulfill the call of God to write this book

Action Steps and Questions to Ponder

1. Start calling yourself an author.
2. Decide on your definition of success with this writing project by writing down your goals.
3. Determine that marketing is your responsibility.
4. Start sharing the story of your book with others. (With a smile on your face and excitement in your voice!)
5. How are you building your email list and your relationship with your readers?
6. Choose one way to show up for your reader and stick with it until you get really good at it, and you have built a relationship.
7. What commitment can you make for the next two years?

It is possible to FINISH! the book God has called you to write, but maybe you are looking for advice and accountability. I would love to work with you. 

Join the next FINISH! Coaching Course Cohort Group

 Let’s finish your book together! Becky