Yes, I know. I can hear the groans… Marketing for writers is boring. You’d rather be writing. Paradoxically however, marketing can also be fascinating.
There’s a lot involved in selling your writing, whether you’re selling writing services, or are a self-publisher.
Firstly, let’s look at the “4Ps” of the marketing mix:
Marketing is simplistically defined as ‘putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.’
Marketing for writers: product, price, promotion and place (4Ps)
For many writers, marketing begins (and often ends) with “buy my stuff!” There’s a whole world of marketing beyond that. So, whenever you’re creating something to sell, it’s worthwhile asking yourself questions and answering them. (Write down the Qs and As.)
When you take a few minutes to do this, you’ll find that not only can you tailor what you’re selling more effectively, you can trigger better results.
Consider the 4Ps, and ask questions:
- Product: what are you selling? To whom? Why does your customer need your product?
- Price: what value does the product provide? Not only in dollars and cents, but also in other ways? (Consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.) How will you show your product’s value?
- Promotion: how will you promote the product? What channels (advertising, content, special offers etc.?) will you employ? How much is your budget? Does your product’s pricing make sense for your channels and for your budget? If not, can you change the pricing?
- Place — usually considered distribution. For writers, distribution depends on whether you’re offering a service, or a product (such as a book.) If a service, will you offer this service locally, or more widely? If a product, what kind of distribution do you want?
Do the above questions make you think?
I hope that they do, and I hope that the questions encourage you to look at what you’re creating and selling in a broader sense. If you do, you’ll realize that you have endless opportunities to sell your writing.
Marketing for writers: endless opportunities to sell your writing
As writers, we create what we sell. Challenges arise when we don’t understand what we’re creating and selling, and to whom we’re selling it.
If you don’t consider the 4Ps, you might set up as a freelance writer, and market to tiny businesses which will never hire a writer, because tiny businesses haven’t the need or the budget.
You may end up thinking that “freelancing” isn’t for you. In reality, an hour spent thinking and researching would have made targeting clients (and getting paid) much easier.
Similarly self-publishing authors who don’t answer the 4Ps’ questions can get stuck. They’d sell more books if they had a clear idea of what their product is, and who their audience is.
Set up your own copywriting business, and get clients, in ten weeks
In our Copywriting Pro: Build Your Copywriting Business In 10 Weeks class, you’ll use the 4Ps and much more.
You’ll create copywriting services which sell, and you’ll target those services to clients who NEED you, and who can afford to pay for your services.
Join us, we’ll have a lot of fun. 🙂
Social Media For Writers: Increase Your Sales In 15 Minutes A Day
You want to sell more of your writing. Chances are that you've tried social media, with minimal results. You believe that "social media doesn't work."
That's not so. It works, but you need to know how the huge social media networks, and the various advertising networks, operate to use them to your advantage.
Discover how.
More info →
Yes, You’re Creative: How To Unlock Your Imagination And Build The Writing Career Of Your Dreams
In this book we'll aim to increase your creativity to unlock your imagination and build the writing career of your dreams.
More info →
Resources to build your writing career
Check out Angela’s Writing Classes and Angela’s books for writers.
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