Creating a Marketing Plan for Your Christian Book

The work of marketing your book begins with a solid marketing plan. Don't fall into the trap stated in this classic saying, "those who fail to plan, plan to fail." You must plan out how you want to market your book or you will have a hard time moving it anywhere. An important thing to remember when creating a marketing plan is that it must work for you within your time, energy and budget constraints. Just because something worked for your best friend doesn't mean it will automatically work for you. You and your book are unique and it will take a unique plan to put your message out into the world.

Set aside some time to work on your marketing plan following these four basic steps:

1. Write down your goals. What are you trying to accomplish with this book? Perhaps your goals are as simple as selling your book to family and friends. Or maybe they are as lofty as becoming the next Karen Kingsbury and selling thousands of books every year. Whatever your goals are, be honest with yourself and make sure they are realistic and achievable. If your goals are too high you will become frustrated and sabotage your own marketing plan.

2. Determine who your target audience is. The Christian genre is wide and far-reaching so just saying "Christians" is not enough. Define other demographic information such as gender and age as well as more specific characteristics about your target audience. For example, if you're writing historical fiction you wouldn't want to make young children part of your target audience. Knowing details about your target audience will help you decide where and how to sell your book to readers.

SOURCE: Crossbooks | a division of LifeWay