TPC BOOKS TOP 10 DIY BOOK MARKETING TOOLS OF 2010

OMAR LUQMAAN-HARRIS

PARTNER – THE PANTHEON COLLECTIVE WWW.PANTHEONCOLLECTIVE.COM

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/TPCMARKETING

ABOUT THE PANTHEON COLLECTIVE (WWW.PANTHEONCOLLECTIVE.COM) Three powerful individuals have joined forces to shake up the publishing world.

Their MISSION: to empower and inspire (aspiring) authors to take control of their destinies and make their dreams come true.

Their PASSION: getting their work (and the work of others) out into the published universe.

Their STRUGGLE: overcoming individual issues (personalities, distance, interpersonal relationships, finances, day jobs) for the good of the collective, while balancing their roles as productive authors and creators.

Their OBJECTIVE: successfully launch four books in twelve months while documenting every moment both wonderful and difficult.

FOREWORD Welcome to TPC Books Inaugural Top 10 Do It Yourself Book Marketing Tools of 2010!

We compiled this list because our mission is to empower and inspire (aspiring) authors like you to take control of your publishing destiny and make your dream come true!

This list, while not exhaustive, is the result of our trial and error from publishing two novels in 12 months.

Also, don’t get too wrapped up in the order. The point is you need to be doing all these things and more to get your book out there!

The Pantheon Collective is (from left) James W. Lewis, Omar Luqmaan-Harris, And Stephanie Casher

WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT Saving you time

Saving you money

So you don’t repeat our mistakes

So you spend your time and money on things that move books

So you can be wildly successful

And help someone else like we’re helping you!

THE LIST

10. Market Research

9. Website Building

8. Search Engine

Optimization

7. Blog 6. Reader Community

5. Online Retailer

4. Ebook formatting & distribution

3. Book Trailer Site

2. Social Media

1. Ecommerce

# 10 BEST DIY BOOK MARKETING RESEARCH TOOL

“BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU KNOW

BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA!”

WHY THIS MATTERS

True, there’s no hard and fast rule that you have to perform exhaustive market research to successfully sell thousands of books. But its also true that there’s no way you will be able to find and satisfy your niche or audience until you understand some basic things about them. And to understand, you must ask them. Or ask someone who’s been there…

WHY THIS MATTERS

Now, you may be thinking to yourself that you can learn more by doing, but that is a fallacy. You learn more by not doing. Not doing the same things that didn’t work for those that came before you.

WHY THIS MATTERS

As Albert Einstein once famously said, “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

Precise market research is one step in the book marketing process you can’t afford to skip.

WE COULD HAVE JUST NOMINATED THE INTERNET…

…But that would have been more than a little lazy. Yes, there is more information to be found there than there are Galapagos baby turtles scrambling to the ocean, but just like those turtles, will you instinctively know what to do when you dive in?

CRITERIA FOR NOMINATION – 100 POINT SCALE Free or Paid Access (we prefer free, you are doing it yourself after all!) (20 points)

Source: (25 points)

•  Credibility (20 points) •  Reviews (5 points)

Information: (55 points)

•  Breadth (10 points) •  Timeliness (15 points) •  Relevance (20 points) •  Accuracy (10 points)

AND THE NOMINEES ARE… •  http://www.bookstatistics.com

•  http://www.pubtrackonline.com

•  http://www.bookmarket.com

•  http://www.slideshare.com •  http://www.publishers.org

BOOKSTATISTICS.COM – 80/100 Free or Paid: Free (20 points)

Source:

•  Credibility: It doesn’t get much better than the Godfather of Self-Publishing: Dan Poynter (20 points)

•  Reviews: He’s your favorite publisher’s favorite publisher! (5 points) Information:

•  Breadth: A near endless list of info (10 points) •  Timeliness: Last updated in 2008 (5 points) •  Relevance: Great info for publishers, just a little outdated (15 points) •  Accuracy: Undisputed (5 points)

PUBTRACKONLINE.COM – 61/100 Free or Paid: Paid (0 points) Source:

•  Credibility: Comes straight from the industry source - Bowker (20 points)

•  Reviews: Nice information, if you can afford it! (1 point) Information:

•  Breadth: Monthly stats based on responses from 36,000 book buyers (10 points)

•  Timeliness: Doesn’t get better than monthly data (15 points) •  Relevance: Need to evaluate cost vs. value (10 points) •  Accuracy: Undisputed (5 points)

BOOKMARKET.COM – 80/100 Free or Paid: Free (20 points)

Source:

•  Credibility: John Kremer is right up there with Dan Poynter (20 points)

•  Reviews: 17,106 Twitter followers can’t be wrong! (5 points) Information:

•  Breadth: An amazing font of information (10 points) •  Timeliness: Unfortunately very dated (5 points) •  Relevance: Follow him on twitter for the current info (15 points) •  Accuracy: Undisputed (5 points)

SLIDESHARE.COM – 75/100

Free or Paid: Free but requires registration (15 points)

Source:

•  Credibility: Need to investigate authors (5 points) •  Reviews: Great way to avoid recreating the wheel (5 points)

Information:

•  Breadth: Plenty to choose from (10 points) •  Timeliness: Usually current (15 points) •  Relevance: Found data projecting industry trends to 2014 (20 points) •  Accuracy: Information clearly cited (5 points)

PUBLISHERS.ORG – 95/100

Free or Paid: Free (20 points)

Source:

•  Credibility: Thirty years and as the leading trade association representing the U.S. publishing industry (20 points)

•  Reviews: Great resource (5 points) Information:

•  Breadth: Focused resource for industry stats (5 points) •  Timeliness: Updated monthly (15 points) •  Relevance: As relevant as right now (20 points) •  Accuracy: Information clearly cited (10 points)

MEET OUR 2010 WINNER!

WHY PUBLISHERS.ORG WINS Not trying to SELL YOU ANYTHING!

Wealth of market information given away for free

Credibility/trustworthiness of the source

Constant updating Breadth of knowledge…good for non-fiction and fiction author/publishers alike

WWW.PUBLISHERS.ORG YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP

THE WINNERS

10. Publishers.org

9. Wordpress

8. Hubspot

7. BookMarketing

Maven

6. Goodreads

5. Amazon

4. Smashwords

3. Youtube

2. Facebook

1. Paypal

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!

#9 BEST DIY WEBSITE BUILDER