If you want something bad enough, you will think of a way to make it happen. Learning how to promote yourself and your own business sounds a lot easier than it actually is. I know firsthand that the personal feeling of satisfaction is great and the payout even greater.
Since I am very much of aware of what the problem is (and in this case it's getting people to know who you are), I had to figure out how to get it done.
From a business perspective, I knew that you had to pick your brand and then run with it. For me, my business (Four Brothers Publications) is editing and ghostwriting. These are two of my passions so why not incorporate them into my business? The next thing is to update my website to reflect the services that I'm offering. Originally, my website was set up to be able to sell my book, but it wasn't until now that I really thought about selling "me". I had to determine what my hook was going to be...or more succinctly put, what is my selling point? What would make people want to do business with me?
I decided to pull on my previous unpleasant experiences with entrepreneurs in the past and do the opposite of what they did. You see, when you are in business for yourself, the thing that I've come to realize is that it's not just the product or services that you are offering that is of great importance. You are also selling an experience...and if your clients have a good experience, they will continue to do business with you, which translates to loyalty. They will also unwittingly become a walking, talking, breathing commercial for you. They will tell others about their experience with you. But this works as a double-edged sword. If you're client has a bad experience with you, they will tell twice as many people. I have my Facebook page for my business linked to my website and I'm now ready to start my advertising campaign for the business.
As for the book, I have PR cards printed and I'm going to several major cities with a friend and hand them out. I know that most of my cards will wind up on the ground, but if 5% of the people that I hand those cards out to like the synopsis on the back, hopefully, they will go to look for the book in a local area bookstore or go to my website to purchase it.
I have updated my press releases to target my specific audience. For instance, I know that two of the characters in the book are Christian, and they rely heavily on their Christian faith to get through some of the circumstances in the story. One press release will play up those characters and that angle of the plot, and then I will send those to church groups, even if the book overall may be deemed "non-christian". One of the characters is gay and there are circumstances that are specific to the gay community that are addressed within the storyline. As a result, one press release will play up his situation and it will be aimed at groups in and of the LGBT community. You have the urban fiction reading crowd; and since one of the characters is a dealer, I've written a press release to target that audience. Do you see where I'm going with this?
I'll let you know how I do...but the one thing that rings true to me is that failure is not an option for me. I've come too far and invested too much time, money and energy to stop now.
So my friend, stay true to your dream. Keep it moving forward at all times, and as I tell one of my clients on a consistent basis...'Do you to the 10th Power'!
Love and Peace,
J.L. Whitehead
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