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[divider top=”0″]Staring at a blank sheet of paper, wondering where to start? Here’s a simple checklist for a digital marketing campaign — not in detail, just a mile-high view of a ‘to do’ list. But it will give you a flavor of what a digital marketing campaign entails, and give you a starting point to develop your own.[/note]Ebook marketing campaign plan
There are many variations in online campaigns for ebooks, just as there are for print books. Important differences include how to market fiction versus non-fiction, or sell to consumers versus business or education. And, of course, there are big differences if you’re marketing a digital-only publication rather than digital and print editions.
If you’re starting from scratch without an existing digital marketing ‘platform’, it can seem like a big mountain to climb. But it’s the ultimate democratic process. Anyone with an internet connection can succeed, and individual commitment and excellence plays a large part compared to money or organisational size.
Jobs to be done: A checklist for a start-up, digital-only campaign
So here’s a checklist of jobs to be done. It’s a start-up campaign for a digital-only edition — no print component. If you’re adding a new title to an existing marketing platform, some of these tasks will be reduced or unnecessary — showing the value of building a platform that can be used for future projects.
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[heading style=”2″]CHECKLIST[/heading]
Platform-building: Part 1. Find the influencers in your chosen market
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- Bloggers
- Influential social networkers
- Influential members of reading community sites
- Special-interest sites
- Influential reviewers on ebookseller sites
- Online media
Platform-building: Part 2. Connect to these influencers and build your network
- Set up a blog
- Set up a social-network presence – Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn
- Build an email database
- Self-promote: Market your content and make connections
Discoverability: Make your ebooks stand out online
- Great covers that works online
- Excellent metadata
- Search optimisation
- Web presence (website, blog or other online hub)
Launch: Build buzz, build demand … launch
- Give away full copies and samples
- Obtain advance reviews
- Teasers, mentions in social media
- Testimonials and endorsements
- Generate pre-orders
- Post articles and news releases online
- Guest blogs and blog tours
Merchandise: Boost your ebook presence in ebookstores
- Pick the right categories
- Experiment with pricing and deals
- Encourage user reviews and ratings
- Provide samplers
- Fine-tune metadata
- Get on bestseller lists
- Build and maintain author pages
Maintenance: Keep it alive
- Work and expand your networks
- Open new niches
- Fresh offers
- Competitions and incentives
- Write articles and news tie-ins to continually revitalise your book/author profile
- Performance-based online advertising
- Sell directly
- Sell through affiliate marketing
- Produce more ebooks and cross-promote
Measure: Test, analyse and improve
- Test — offers, prices, metadata, keywords, ads, etc.
- Measure and compare results
- Fine-tune and improve
- Re-run
- Test again
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Now it’s time to put it all together and create your own digital marketing plan.
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