To many authors, marketing and promoting is something very difficult to do. No matter what publication journey you are on, marketing and promoting is primarily up to you, the author.
Where can you start? The first thing about marketing and promoting that you need to figure out is your PR PERSONALITY!
You do have a PR personality. Believe it or not.
Me….I’m very outgoing. I love being with other writers, readers, and just about anyone. This makes me an extrovert personality, which is an outgoing overtly expressive person! Me?!!! OVERTLY EXPRESSIVE???!!!!!
The other side of the personality coin is the introvert, which according to MR. WEBSTER means a shy, reticent, and typically self-centered person.
Your PR Personality is the first thing you should recognize before you can create your marketing and promo plan. After all, you do need a plan. You are your marketing and promoting department.
You need to know what marketing and promotion personality you have before you can start developing your plans. Why? Because your personality will drive the direction of your marketing and promotion efforts. It’s all about knowing your strengths and weaknesses…and working toward the former.
Here’s a short quiz to help you determine your personality strengths.
Personality Quiz
1.Do you consider yourself a people person with a lot of friends?
a.❏ Totally. The better question would be…who ISN’T my friend?
b.❏ Not really. I have a few friends, but I usually only talk to them one at a time.
2.Do you consider yourself an…
a.❏ extrovert.
b.❏ introvert.
3.What room in your house do you like to spend more time?
a.❏ I love spending time in my bedroom because it’s my space and it’s quiet.
b.❏ In the living room, of course, because that’s where the action is.
4.Are you loud or quiet?
a.❏ Totally loud, baby!
b.❏ Definitely more quiet.
5.You’ve had a long day. To wind down, you prefer to:
a.❏ hang around at home, listen to music, and just have quiet time.
b.❏ get my peeps and hit the town.
6.How does the idea of talking to readers at a book signing make you feel?
a.❏ Scared out of my mind.
b.❏ Excited! Can’t wait to get around all those people.
7.There’s a conference coming up and they need speakers. What do you do?
a.❏ Dodge the incoming phone calls from the conference coordinator.
b.❏ Jump at the chance. Who cares if I have nothing to say? I can bluff my way through.
8.In school, there were collaborative learning groups. How did you feel about them?
a.❏ I would much rather work on my own.
b.❏ Groups are AWESOME!
9.Your local writing chapter has board positions to fill. What do you do?
a.❏ Decline the offer. I don’t like speaking in front of groups.
b.❏ Jump in and volunteer to be president.
10.If you’re invited to join a critique group, what do you say?
a.❏ “I’d rather just critique one on one.”
b.❏ “I’d love to. How many pages can I bring?”
So how’d you score?
More As than Bs? You’re in introvert.
More Bs than As? Extrovert alert!
File this away as you pick tools to stuff in your toolbox. You don’t want to set yourself up for failure by choosing tools you won’t be comfortable using.
What are some of the marketing and promoting tools for each personality? Let’s look at a few:
| Extrovert: | Introvert: |
| book signings | blogging |
| conferences | teaching on line classes |
| teaching in person classes | join writing groups on line |
| join local writers groups/critique group | social networking |
| social networking | holding contests |
| Kindle boards | Kindle boards |
These are just a few suggestions to get you thinking about things you like to do and don’t like to do. This is your career. Pick things that you like to do, not the things you think you should do. If you do what you like, your success will follow.
Maybe you like to do some things that are a mix of both personalities. That would be the perfect blend. But most of us are one or the other.
Which one are you? What are some things you like to do or think you’ll like to do to promote your book. For more tools for your marketing and promotion toolbox, you can check out the non-fiction book I’ve co-written: The Tricked Out Toolbox~Promotional and Marketing Tools Every Writer Needs.
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Tonya Kappes is an Amazon Movers and Shaker, and self-published International bestselling author. She writes humorous cozy mystery and women’s fiction that involves quirky characters in quirky situations. Splitsville.com, the first novel in the Olivia Davis Mystery Series, is a double finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Mystery and Humorous Categories. Carpe Bead ‘em is a finalist in Amazon’s eFestival of Words in the Women’s Fiction Category. You can learn more about Tonya on her blog, Twitter, and her Amazon.com Author Page.
A fun questionnaire. What happens to those of us who land in both? Because of some health issues I'm doing most of my networking online, though I continue to help chair a large critique group once a week. Thanks for helping us see what our personality might be. I have 9 ebooks at Amazon so it takes a lot of work to promote them without shouting about it.
Thanks, Velda! Being both is the perfect combination. With nine books out, I'm sure you are doing a great job spreading your brand. Are they in the same genre or different? When an author has so many books, their brand is what should be able to carry their name.
Tonya, this has to be the most precise, concise and simple guide for all writers and authors. You have summed-up in a few words how people can excel with their own capabilities and excel. Well done!
Thanks, Jeff. I'm so glad you stopped by.
Good synopsis. This confirms I am definitely an introvert. The only thing on the 'e' side I like is reading in front of people.
Definitely an introvert here although I prefer the phrase 'self-contained'. 😉
My activities match my personality type as well so I'm relieved to know I'm doing what comes naturally!
Oh, Meeks – I wish there was a 'like' button for your comment!
🙂
Great, Meeks! The best marketing will come from those who know what they are comfortable with. You just have to be comfortable with something.
Thanks Tonya
You are so welcome, Jen! Thanks for stopping by.
I always loving reading posts about marketing. There is SO much to learn!!
Thanks for a great post 🙂
Melissa, marketing is so much fun for me to teach. I'm a combo of the personality quiz and a lot comes natural to me. There is so much out there for everyone, we just have to be comfortable with what we do and we will succeed.
I'm getting introvert tattooed on my forehead.
JD, Take a picture of that!!