First, an introductionI am a digital strategist, author and cartoonist living the digital life since dial-up was all the rage. !In 2007, I launched a podcast called Stuttering is Cool which is still going strong today with listeners in over 50 countries. !In 2013, I decided to create an illustrated self-help book of the same name. !Since I self-published, I had to market my book all by myself.

1. Created buzz 2. Developed useful infographics 3. Determined a hashtag strategy 4. Produced engaging photo memes 5. Found opportunities for "in the moment" content 6. Shared community stories 7. Reminded audience about my book 8. Wrote articles for third party sites 9. Spoke at events 10. Cross-posted, then cross-posted some more

So with that, I present to you: 10 things i did to market my book

My manifesto and guiding principles: Be Social. Be Human.Otherwise, you will only be annoying people.

Since I’ve already had a community that I've built with my podcast since 2007…

1. I created buzz with progress reports

I wrote blog posts and shared progress photos to get conversations going

When my book was complete and ready to promote, I planned things out first. !I asked myself 3 questions…

i) Who is my audience?

ii) Where is my audience?

iii) What problems do they need solving?

Answering these questions allowed me to plan the content that I needed to create that was appropriate to my audience

I also: a) looked at the search terms people were using to find my website b) assessed topics people were talking about in stuttering forums

2. Infographics

I also added information about my book at the bottom.

I created and posted an infographic each month on the theme of an associated holiday

I also featured members of the community

and started creating a hashtag meme. !Speaking of which, this brings us to…

3. Hashtag campaigns

My goal was to encourage others to step out of their comfort zones, share their stories and encouraging others in the process.

4. Photo memesTo spread brand awareness, I asked readers to share photos of their copy of my book in their part of the world.

RomeBoston

My friend, Brian, pointing to the caricature of himself that I included in my book. Have I mentioned that I included caricatures of my friends in the online community in my book?

Toronto

5. In the moment postsUsing a bit of humour as well

Taking my book out to dinner Taking my book on a date

6. Shared stories from the community

My book was also recommended by for inclusion in the public library system in Guelph, Canada and Ra’anana, Israel

My book as a conversation starter

My book being donated to a school library and given as a gift to a speech language pathologist

7. Reminded my audience that my book was for sale

“Preparing my next batch of book orders… order now and get your copy in the bunch” followed by a link

“Here’s a photo of my ‘Saturday morning post office’”

I shared incoming posts with reviews of my book.

8. I wrote articles for third party websitesMore brand awareness and good for SEO

9. I spoke at eventsSuch as the National Stuttering Association conference in Washington, DC.

And PodCamp Toronto.

(Canada’s largest free digital media conference)

Ok, speaking at events isn’t actually content marketing but it does help raise your profile and you are able to meet and socialize with people face to face (and they may talk about you on their digital channels).

10. Crosspost! Crosspost! Crosspost!For example, an episode of my podcast related to dating was posted on SoundCloud and…

Stuttering is Cool Facebook page Google+TwitterPinterest

Tumblr

This was to tap into different audiences on different social networks. It’s also good for SEO.

I also ensured that all my postings were visual and easy to interact with.

Be social. Be human.

Always remember:

The End.

by Daniele Rossi danielerossi.ca @danielerossiall rights reserved