Listen to the podcast

On January 24, 2025, Kasie and Rex were joined by Dr. Anna Fitch Courie whose new book is about to hit shelves and need some marketing. In this episode, we get into strategy vs. tactics and talk about what works for selling books. Here are the show notes:

Theme for the day

Marketing for nonfiction and fiction

Agenda

• Quick Catch Up with Anna Courie
• The new book
• Marketing tricks and tips
• What works and what doesn’t

Segment 1

Anna Fitch Courie is with us today to promote her new book, Walking With God. She’s here to talk about the book and her marketing plan with it. If you don’t know Anna, check out her website here.

Let’s start with the book. Then we can talk about your path to publishing, as far as your publisher and what they’ve done for you as you’ve grown the list. Then we can get into specific tactics and resources on marketing.

Segment 2

Feeling certain that last paragraph took us to the first commercial, I’m going to guess by this point we’ll be ready to talk marketing in general and what writers can expect from their publishing partner. 

What is the value proposition for the publisher? What are they bringing to the table? What did your (Anna) publisher have that you couldn’t get without them? Rex? Kasie?

We can Monday Morning Quarterback all day long a bout what the publisher should do, but writers know that publishers do the least they have to to get the book to sell. That’s why the big name authors, Michelle Obama, Brittney Spears, are big gets for a publisher. Those books almost sell themselves with a built-in fan base and a TON of media outlets clamoring to review and discuss and interview the writers.

But what about the regular writer? The one with a small MOUNTAIN to climb when it comes to getting noticed in the wide, wide world of publishing? What should a writer do?

In strategic management, we talk about “Where can we win?” It’s a question companies ask to determine the strategy of the firm. What is our product? Who is it for? Where can we position it to help those people find it and choose it?

There are strategies and then there are tactics. Tactics are things like email lists, book signings, book funnel giveaways and obtaining reviews on Instagram tours and the like. Those tactics are my publisher’s specialty. She (Alexa) is really good about that. Everything from cover design to launch tactics, Alexa’s got it.

The tougher part is the strategy and that’s where we have to look at the product creation itself. Did we build a product for a market? Or did we follow Toni Morrison’s advice and write the book we want to read? If it’s the first, we know the market and we know how to get the book to those people. If it’s the latter, we need to define the market and then find the channels used in that market. I don’t have to tell you, that’s way harder.

So, let’s talk strategy. Alexa and I had one for GenX book clubs. We wanted to find book club women who were looking for something edgier than the NYT Bestseller. Something where I could show up and answer questions. Something where they could/would discuss the content of the book because that was what I wanted. I wanted to dig into the conversation. Was that a good strategy? Sure. Until Covid.

Where can we win?

Segment 3

So let’s get into tactics. These are the activities and tasks that you perform to support the strategy. Get in front of the right audience, share the write message, generate the right interest, and sell the books. This is Rex at the Horror Con events.

Beyond events, what are the digital tactics you find to be most fruitful?

Is it true you must be a slave to social media for it to be effective?

How engaged should a writer be with other writers via things like Goodreads or Amazon reviews?

What events are the most fruitful for book sales?

Can we establish expertise and become faculty at events and sell books that way?

Segment 4

We’ve probably already talked about plenty of stuff that wasn’t on this set of notes, but I thought I’d leave this open anyway to enable ad hoc or spontaneous conversation.

Don’t forget Kasie and Rex will be at Hops and Shops on February 15th from 12 until 5 drinking beer and selling books. Come out and hang out at Columbia Craft 520 Greene Street downtown.