Infographic: The 5 Most Important Questions to Ask Your Book Marketing Team

by Penny Sansevieri | Mar 22, 2022 | Book Marketing Basics

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In my experience, the very best book marketing campaigns are created and executed when the author and the marketing team are all on the same page about goals and expectations.

Of course, your book has to be amazing, and the readers have to resonate with it – but finding those readers and making those connections is critical, and a good book marketing plan is the first step in getting to the next level with your brand.

So I wanted to compile a list of 5 questions you should be asking any marketing team you’re considering working with to ensure that your time together will be productive and in your book’s best interest.

Goals

Having appropriate goals for where you are in your authorship career is the best book marketing strategy you can employ – because it keeps you focused on the next right thing. And each right thing will add up to bigger things if you keep at it!

Responsibilities

I encourage you to get a good understanding of where your marketing team’s work starts and stops because they probably work with a variety of authors with varying levels of publishing knowledge – and I can tell you from experience even the best book marketing teams can’t prepare for each author’s unique needs entirely. These things need to be figured out early in the process.

Production Details

There are many moving parts to producing, releasing, and promoting a book, so don’t make assumptions that your book marketing team (or your publisher) will handle everything for you from the beginning until the end of time.

First Steps

If your book is a way out of releasing, perhaps you’ll want some coaching, a cover update, or a website clean-up. Just remember, if you’re open to making the most of your investment, please ask and be open to what they recommend.

Learning Opportunities

Many authors are new to publishing and marketing, but similar to the above, most book marketing firms have pretty clear lines about how much education they provide along the way, and you should be prepared to all go in.

The best marketing collaboration you can find will include an individual or team that’s honest about their recommendations, the work they’ll be doing, and what your expectations should be as well. These five questions can lay a solid baseline and set your marketing strategy on the path to success.

Were you surprised by any of these questions to ask a book marketing firm? Let me know down in the comments anything you learned. Also, feel free to share the infographic on your social media or with fellow authors!