Episode 162 - Book Marketing Lessons from Beyond the Book World with Gary Zenker
November 29, 2022
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I talk with Gary Zenker about BOOK MARKETING LESSONS FROM BEYOND THE BOOK WORLD, including what authors can learn from comic books and tattoo artists, how to drive interest for the next offering, the importance of not taking your reader out of the story, not wasting your best vehicle (your own books), the flexibility indy authors have in experimenting with promotional approaches, and how sometimes it's not about selling.
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By day, Gary Zenker is a marketing professional, banging out marketing plans, business plans, and copy for B2B and B2C clients. By night, he takes the lessons of human behavior and crafts them into flash fiction stories. His work has appeared in over a dozen print anthologies and on-line sites. His non-fiction columns on writing and various marketing topics have appeared in a variety of publications. He founded and continues to run the Main Line Writers Group and the Wilmington/Chadds Ford Writers Group to help local authors better their craft and reach their publishing goals. His party game WritersBloxx, helps others bring their stories to new audiences.
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"I always wring my hands when I go, oh, and what did you put in the back of the book? Did you put ads for your other books? Did you put anything that links them back to you in some way? And most people say no. I want to pull out what's left of my hair. You've got the best vehicle you could ever have. Why aren't you using that?" —Gary Zenker
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Links
Gary's Links:
WEBSITES:
www.GaryZenkerStoryteller.com
www.NoirInABar.com
www.ZenkerMarketing.com
www.MainLineWritersGroup.com
SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.facebook.com/gary.zenker
https://www.facebook.com/gary.zenker]
Matty's Links:
Affiliate links
Events
WEBSITES:
www.GaryZenkerStoryteller.com
www.NoirInABar.com
www.ZenkerMarketing.com
www.MainLineWritersGroup.com
SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.facebook.com/gary.zenker
https://www.facebook.com/gary.zenker]
Matty's Links:
Affiliate links
Events
I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Gary! At the end of our conversation, I summarized the message as being that any way that you can expand the interaction you have and deepen the interaction you have with the people that you want to reach is our goal as authors. Which of Gary’s great ideas about ways you can do that most struck your fancy, and how might you act on that idea? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Please post your comments on YouTube--and I'd love it if you would subscribe while you're there!
From the Intro: Book Cover Redesign
In the introduction to this episode, I shared some information shared with me by John Gaspard about his experience with a book cover redesign ... more detail provided here!
I was just listening to your latest episode and thought you might like to hear about my own adventures in re-doing covers for a cozy series.
I started the series — The Como Lake Players mystery series — using a female pen name, just to see if that made any difference in sales (the books also have a female lead, so it sort of made sense). I’ve attached the First Version.
I didn’t get a lot of traction with the first covers (which I had done via 99 Designs), so after a couple years, I handed them over to my usual cover designer (who does all the Eli Marks books and my filmmaking books) and he came up with a fun retro look. This is the Second Version (attached), still with the pen name.
Earlier this year, as I was entering a big cozy promotion, I took a hard look at all the other books in the promotion and came to the realization that my Como Lake Players series covers simply didn’t seem to fit. I needed something brighter and flashier.
So I went back to my cover designer and he produced the Final Version. (Also attached)
I also dropped the pen name. I did it for this reason: I had built up such traction with the Eli Marks fan base, that it seemed silly to not build on that with this second series. My readers seem to agree, as sales for the Como Lake Players series have gone up. Was it the new covers or the switching out of the pen name? I think it was a little of both.
Anyway, I’m glad I did it and the new covers have pretty much paid for themselves in the first three months.
I started the series — The Como Lake Players mystery series — using a female pen name, just to see if that made any difference in sales (the books also have a female lead, so it sort of made sense). I’ve attached the First Version.
I didn’t get a lot of traction with the first covers (which I had done via 99 Designs), so after a couple years, I handed them over to my usual cover designer (who does all the Eli Marks books and my filmmaking books) and he came up with a fun retro look. This is the Second Version (attached), still with the pen name.
Earlier this year, as I was entering a big cozy promotion, I took a hard look at all the other books in the promotion and came to the realization that my Como Lake Players series covers simply didn’t seem to fit. I needed something brighter and flashier.
So I went back to my cover designer and he produced the Final Version. (Also attached)
I also dropped the pen name. I did it for this reason: I had built up such traction with the Eli Marks fan base, that it seemed silly to not build on that with this second series. My readers seem to agree, as sales for the Como Lake Players series have gone up. Was it the new covers or the switching out of the pen name? I think it was a little of both.
Anyway, I’m glad I did it and the new covers have pretty much paid for themselves in the first three months.
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Version 1
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Version 2
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Version 3
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NOTE: After several years of trying to cover the costs of producing the podcast with earnings from patronage and sponsorships, I finally had to acknowledge that, for now at least, The Indy Author Podcast is more a labor of love than an income stream. As a result, I needed to find ways to reduce my expenses, and the expense I finally decided to eliminate was the editing of the transcript.
However, it's valuable for me to know that you were looking for it! If you miss the transcript, please click here to drop me a note!
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When AI transcription improves to the point that it doesn't require the time and expense of a human edit, or once my earnings from the podcast enable me to cover the costs of a human editing, I will resume that offering!
However, it's valuable for me to know that you were looking for it! If you miss the transcript, please click here to drop me a note!
If you'd like to become a patron of The Indy Author, please click here.
When AI transcription improves to the point that it doesn't require the time and expense of a human edit, or once my earnings from the podcast enable me to cover the costs of a human editing, I will resume that offering!
