Building Your Book Marketing Team

Congratulations! Your book is about to be published – a monumental goal to be celebrated. You’ve set aside your marketing budget for the coming year in order to promote your new book. But do you have a marketing team? Even if you have been traditionally published you will be largely responsible for the majority of your marketing efforts. Are you equipped to handle this? Do you have the time to do it all yourself?

Here are a few of the professionals you should consider hiring to assist in the development of a successful and memorable book promotion campaign. And if you don't find what you need here, check out my "Marketing 101 For New Authors" workbook here: http://www.gabriellefaust.com/marketing-services.

Initial Professionals to Hire

Graphic Designer

A freelance graphic designer can take the book cover designed by your publisher and transform it into a variety of marketing materials you will need such as bookmarkers, postcards, promotional items, and convention booth banners. Remember, while people may say they should judge a book by it’s cover, the honest truth is that most book purchases are initially engaged at first glance.

Website Designer

As with the promotional items developed by your graphic designer, your website will also need to be transformed to reflect the brand of your book. This uniformity across all marketing materials is vastly important as it lends credibility and professionalism to your reputation as an expert in your field.

Social Media Manager

Social media management can take two to three hours per day if properly maintained. Do you have the time for this? If you are a busy professional you may not. In this case you should consider hiring a professional Social Media Manager to handle your various pages and accounts. Their expertise will do wonders for your books sales.

Additional Support

As your campaign gains momentum you may find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into a flourishing book promotion campaign. If this happens consider adding the following professionals to your team.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants work remotely to keep your world streamlined. These professionals manage tasks like research, contacting bloggers, mailing out your books, and other administrative tasks. Two great resources for find a virtual assistant are AuthorsAssistants.com and the International Virtual Assistants Association .

Publicist

Hiring a publicist can easily be the most expensive part of your marketing plan. However, if you can afford this addition to your team a publicist will work to engage the media and bridge the gap between journalists and news outlets, and your book. A publicist can also assist in booking conventions, book signings, and speaking engagements.

Bookkeeper

Unless you’re a whiz at accounting, it would be a good move to hire a freelance bookkeeper to track the income from book sales, as well as your book tour expenses. Make sure the bookkeeper you hire is also a certified tax planner.

Interested in more about how to market your book? Check out my "Marketing 101 For New Authors" workbook here: http://www.gabriellefaust.com/marketing-services and be sure to keep an eye out for seminars near you!

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This article was originally written by myself, for Michelle Prince's moti