Sometimes being an indie author feels like you’re drowning
in variables., especially when it comes to marketing, advertisement and promotion.
If I advertise on Facebook, will it bring me the exposure I
need? And what about Goodreads? Some have had success there, but will it work
for me? Maybe an online magazine ad might work. What if nothing seems to change
my sales numbers? What will happen if I get a bad review?
Unfortunately, all these variables don’t always add up to a
nice neat solution. Sometimes it feels very random and out of control.
Frustrating when all you want is the answer to one equation: how do I
effectively get my book into the hands of my readers?
I felt like I was drowning in variables when my book first
released. I debated on where to invest my few advertising dollars and time. I
read blogs, books and articles on how to do effective marketing and tried many
of the suggestions there. I tracked my progress and took notes on what
worked…and most of the time, what didn’t. In all that, I noticed that another
equation began to rule my thoughts: indie publishing + marketing = frustration.
As I tried to manage my frustrations, I realized that I’d
overlooked one important variable: freedom. Indie publishing gives me so much
freedom that if one of my variables doesn’t work, I am free to come up with
something else. I’m free to experiment. I’m free to be creative with my
marketing and maybe learn something new that I can pass on to others.
Sure, the equation doesn’t always work out, but the beauty
of indie publishing is that you can change the variables.
