Setting Goals For Your Role of Marketer

I read today that bookstore  (brick and mortar stores) sales were down 21.5% in November and my first thought was “Well there you go! Another reason that authors and authorepneurs must get more creative and more active in promoting their own books and broadcasting their own message.” Book sales are tough but they are nigh impossible these days without a solid author platform.

 What is an author platform? An author platform refers to the authorpreneur’s ability to market their work. An authorpreneur uses their personal and professional visibility (email lists, Christmas card lists, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, bookclub, billboard, whatever else they can think of that is outward bound) to connect with an audience of potential readers. The strength of an authorpreneur’s platform is measured by their ability to use their influence and reach in order to sell books and boost their writing/speaking/consulting/product selling/message promotion career.

 As we’ve focused this month on your authorepreneur goals for 2021 we identified two or three authorpreneur roles. Let’s take that one step deeper and let’s say one of those roles you defined is that of marketer--you’re marketing yourself and your message-- and you’re trying to figure out what kinds of goals you should land on. You can apply this strategy to any role you defined. 

Here are some suggestions to help you eat that elephant one bite at a time so that you aren’t paralyzed by the task at hand.

ROLE: Authorpreneur Marketer

Goal for the year: I will increase my following on social media platforms by 12,000.

(TIP: write it as X to Y by When. X is where you are today. Y is 12000 new followers. WHEN is 12 months from now.)

Goal for the month: I will add 1000 new followers this month through the following channels: FB, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

(TIP: List the action items that you will use to reach your goal for the month.  For example, to reach the monthly goal of 1000, I will post valuable content each day, reach out to 30 new people by requesting a connection, following, or adding valuable comments to their post.)

Goal for week 1: I will spend 1 hour daily adding content specific to my message on FB and Instagram. I will spend 30 mins daily connecting with my potential audience on LinkedIn.

(TIP: Establish a time to do this. Put it in writing in your planner or on your calendar.  Don’t leave it for the end of the day when you’re tired.)

Goal for week 2:  I will continue to add content to social media and this week I will engage, respond to, or validate every single new follower on FB, IG, and LinkedIn.

(TIP: Evaluate your message. Stay on your clearly defined message. Finetune your message to capture the audience you want.)

Goal for week 3: I will continue to add content to social media and this week I will engage, respond to, or validate every single new follower on FB, IG, and LinkedIn.

(TIP: Look for trends. What got a lot of response? What didn’t?)

Goal for week 4: Continue to add content and to respond to your followers. Review what is working and what is not. Have you expanded your following by 1000? What worked what didn’t work. Establish a plan for next month. 

Remember, this is just a suggestion. Do what works for you. If you’re new to goal setting or your fears are hanging over you like a black cloud, then I recommend creating a goal so small that it is impossible not to achieve. From there you build your goal-setting muscles. Soon you’ll be bench pressing the example I suggested in this post.

Call Juxtabook if you need help on how to launch your book and your business. We have had decades of experience in the book industry. 

On a side note: I am heartbroken for every independent bookstore out there that is struggling to hold on. Let’s all support our indies! Small businesses and locally owned businesses make our lives and our communities a better place.