Developing a marketing plan for your book can be frustrating if you don’t know exactly where to start. Fortunately, whether you’re creating a marketing plan for a restaurant, a new skincare cream or a roofing company, the core elements of the plan will never change. As long as you have some of the basics down, you’ll be able to assemble a solid plan that will help you market your book and help you achieve amazing results. Here’s a summary of what you need to consider before putting pen to paper.

1.  Research Your Consumers

You need to know what people are buying, where they’re buying and how they’re buying. Selling what people want is what will get them to purchase. Hit the web and look at historical trends for books in your niche. Look for commonalities among them like simple plot line, memorable characters or outstanding publicity blitzes. Use what you learn and apply it to your own plan.

2.  Make It Easy to Distribute

Even though you’re an author who’s created something tangible that you can touch, hold and keep, most of the world is electronic based. This means you’ll need to come to your audience and make your book searchable, portable and shareable. Do this well and your book has the potential of becoming a viral phenomenon.

3.  Create a Sense of Urgency

As your gathering and researching for your marketing plan, consider creative ways to make your book a stand out from others. There’s quite a bit of competition so start getting clever about how you’ll sell your product. Think about promoting a limited quantity available or only allowing people to purchase if they buy two at the same time. There are many unique ways to get consumers excited and compel them to act.

4.  Set A Budget

Once you get your creative juices flowing you may find yourself with an arsenal of great marketing  ideas and strategies for your plan. Unfortunately, they’ll all probably come with a price tag. Decide what you can afford to do and what you can’t and get realistic about costs. Your book needs a website, but anyone who’s offering to build you one for less than $500 highly questionable. This is an instance where you get what you pay for.

5.  Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

Whether this is your first book or your fifth, it doesn’t hurt to connect with a successful peer and ask them for advice and insight. People love to teach and share with others. Send an email or pick up the phone and ask others what made their marketing plans a success. Use what you learn to focus your own book marketing plan.