PJ Nunn
It’s one of the 2009 catch phrases you’re bound to hear sooner or later. But what does it mean? Isn’t it oxymoronic? The whole point of marketing is to get lots of people involved, not just one. And as far as authors go, nobody made the NYT Bestseller List selling one book at a time, did they?
When it comes to making decisions, most of us like to think in terms of black and white. Complications arise with the recognition that life happens in living color. So while it’s fairly simple to devise an overall marketing plan that makes sense, the step by step implementation of that plan is filled with small details and decisions that aren’t so simple. It’s kind of like looking at a rainbow. If you’re far enough away, it’s easy to see distinct colors, but the closer you get, the harder it is to see where one color stops and the next starts. Get closer still, and you’ll lose sight of the rainbow altogether.
If your goal is to sell 100,000 copies of your new novel, that’s not hard to visualize. But if you try to envision 100,000 distinct and separate people who will buy the novel, you’ll not likely finish the task.
And honestly, I don’t subscribe to all the theories I’ve seen making the rounds. Take everything with a grain of salt (or salt substitute). My approach to PR, like my approach to life in general, is a lot more practical than theoretical. Not everyone can afford a $50,000 marketing campaign, and even if they could, not everyone who can afford one will be a smashing success.
Just like presentation is a huge factor in finding an agent to represent your novel, or better yet, finding a publisher to publish it, presentation is a huge factor in marketing. You don’t have to like it. You don’t even have to believe it for it to be true. It just is.
I’ve often heard authors insist that signing events don’t work, or radio isn’t for them. I hear them tell tales of the horrible publicist they used to have who took their money and didn’t do a thing for them. Alas, I’ve even had some accuse me of the same thing. I can’t speak for the others, but I can honestly say that I’ve never swindled anyone. In fact, the few that have complained over the years are usually the ones we invested the most time and effort in. Maybe it only seemed that way. The point is, even in marketing, there comes a time when the product or person who’s being represented has to cowboy up. The agent, publisher, publicist and whoever really only set the stage. The author and ultimately the book have to perform.
Almost every author I know wishes, secretly or otherwise, that all they had to do was produce the manuscript, then the publisher would take it from there. The PR department and sales force would do their part and books would fly off the shelves while the author types happily at home on the next novel. I’m not sure those days ever really existed, but they sure haven’t since I’ve been in the business the last decade or so.
But I digress.
So how does one to one marketing work?
One to one marketing doesn’t discount the value of an overall marketing plan to reach hundreds of thousands of people. Nor does it indicate you should reach those numbers one at a time. Marketing is always a numbers game. People won’t buy what they’ve never seen or heard so you’ve got to reach as many people as possible with information about your product. The first step in sales is to initiate a desire for the product in question.
Obviously some are easier to sell than others, but even items that are used every day and are considered needs still benefit from marketing. For instance, you might have used the same toothpaste for years, but if someone does a good enough job marketing another brand of toothpaste, you just might be tempted to buy it. But if you never knew there was another toothpaste that was practically guaranteed to make your teeth whiter, prevent decay and gum disease, and taste better, you’d never buy it simply because you didn’t know it existed.
So marketing, whether to one or one hundred thousand, is first about information. Select information. But there again, are you more likely to be swayed with a black and white bullet list of facts? Or a full color brochure that offers you a dream? To go back to the toothpaste, would you be more persuaded by a picture of plain, white teeth? Or a beautiful, laughing woman with a spectacular smile? Presentation.
Can you picture an unhappy signing event in which a lone author stood forlornly beside a card table three steps from the bathroom in the back of a bookstore? The scenario doesn’t prompt me to want to buy a book.
What about a busy signing event with a fairly well known author and a line of people anxious to get an autographed copy? Seems like a happier occasion at first, until you notice the author barely looks at the person in front of him, always glancing down the line to gauge how many are waiting and sometimes even misspelling the person’s name due to inattention.
How about some middle ground, where an author appears pleasant and relaxed, making small talk with customers who stroll by that often has nothing to do with her book, but sometimes deftly finding an opening in the conversation in which to insert some information, or perhaps to hand out a bookmark. To the practiced eye, she’s always in command of her time and attention but has cultivated a gift that makes people feel as if they have her undivided attention, and that she really listens to them.
Which of those three authors and situations is likely to linger in anyone’s memory long after the fact?
One to one marketing isn’t about the spectacular. It’s not about selling 100 books in half an hour. It’s about systematically creating a ripple effect that grows exponentially, starting with one. An author who’s willing to hone his or her skills can learn how to captivate an audience so that each listener feels like he’s had a personal conversation. Pie in the sky? Maybe a little. But I think you get the point.
I can set you up on a radio interview with a listening audience of 100,000 people, give or take a few. Will they all buy books? No. How many will buy books varies widely depending on what kind of impression the author makes during the interview. I can provide the host with a review copy of your book and the best promo pages we have. But once that’s done, it’s out of my hands.
The host may be one of the best, who thoroughly reads the book and takes time to carefully plan an engaging interview. Or he may be one of the typical who barely scans the book and promo and might jot down a question or two on a nearby napkin. He may want to talk about what happened on the news last night or an imagined alien invasion. OR he may be a substitute who’s never heard of you or your book but had to fill in at the last minute because the host woke up with laryngitis or whatever.
Regardless of all of the above, it’s your time to shine. And if you’ve practiced and honed your skills, you’ll be ready for anything and it will be obvious to listeners that you’re comfortable and knowledgeable and hopefully interesting and entertaining, even if the host is a jerk.
I only know one way to get that way. Practice. More practice. Practice interviews with friends and family. Practice interviews on smaller shows that don’t make you so nervous. Practice on all types of shows and different lengths of interviews. Always as if you’re talking to ONE.
Bottom line. One to one marketing is about living in the moment. Not being so busy chasing that 100,000th sale that you don’t take time to enjoy chatting with the person buying the 10th book. Or the 100th. Maybe one day you’ll have a line around the block waiting for a signed copy of your book. It’s much more likely to happen if you take time to look them each in the eye in turn and give them the impression that you have all the time in the world for them (even though you know you won’t let that happen).
Memorable. Memorable marketing is a better term than one to one marketing in my opinion, but I think we’re talking about the same thing.
Make your marketing in 2009 memorable – for all the right reasons.
Till next time,
