When you mention book marketing to many first-time authors in the business genre, they rightly think of media interviews, coverage on news sites, posts on blogs, and visibility on social media. Each of those is valuable and can help with book promotion, but a person's professional network of business colleagues is often overlooked. A surprising amount of effective book PR still occurs by word of mouth, and people who know you can get the ball rolling. Because publicity is incremental, you need to begin somewhere, and your professional network can be it – people who know you will take an interest.
The most influential book marketing campaigns are well planned and begin long before a book is launched. Therefore, you want to start compiling a list of people to contact well before your book's publication date. As you begin contacting them, try to offer something of value from which they can benefit. If you do and help them, they'll be more likely to help you later. Avoid the hard sell when you reach out about your book, likely three to five months before its publication. It's acceptable to mention that you have a book coming out soon and want to keep colleagues updated.
Questions can be powerful incentives for people to help you, such as asking if the person you're contacting can suggest others who may be interested. If you've rekindled a reciprocal relationship with them where you each offer assistance, you might be surprised by the help you'll receive. If not everyone replies to your emails, don't take it personally. Not everyone puts time into networking, even though it's generally advantageous. You might also try several different email text options at first. It's a well-understood direct marketing technique to test some possibilities before mailing your list and selecting the best.
Nearly everyone responds well to genuine enthusiasm; if you choose your words well, people will want to share in your excitement. There's a fine line between confidence and the hard sell in some cases, so take a few days to perfect your message; write, walk away, and come back to reread it. Once you're underway with your book marketing campaign after the launch, you can ask for shares and posts on social media. If some of your business contacts have extensive networks, a couple of shares can give you a big lift. It also depends on whether their followers have a genuine interest in your book's topic. If they need the information and find it beneficial, they'll be likelier to order copies themselves.
