Steal this Marketing Plan

I did a deep dive into my business today.

I’m very disappointed in myself.

It’s like looking in the mirror and seeing a gut grow. I know how it got there.

I stopped running. Stopped eating right. Drank more beer.

All the things that got me into the best shape of my life, I quit doing them.

Same thing for the business.

I can complain that the algorthym changed or that the market shifted or blah blah blah.

I can also look in the mirror and see what I did.

Or what I didn’t do.

Let’s look at last quarter.

I did soft releases of four new books.

In four separate series.  I preach staying in one series until you master it and are making the money from it you want.

I didn’t practice it.

I launched at full price in a new genre where I have no presence and no list.

This worked for a couple of other writers. I wanted it to work for me.

It did not.

So it’s back to the basics for me.

That means running at least a mile but up to three every day.

Lock up your wives, I’m going streaking.

And for the business, it’s time to remember the basics too.

I have six series.

If I find 100 new readers for each series who do a read through/buy through on the books, I can make $5000 or more.

My biggest series is post apocalyptic zombies, BATTLEFIELD Z.

I have 12 books in the main storyline, plus 4 short novels in a spin off series.

I have 20k words done on book 13, and 15k done on book 14.

If someone likes the story and reads through, I make $22.35.

100 readers means $2200 in just the main series.

When I add book 13 and 14, it’s $26.

There are variables at play. Finding 100 readers ready to run through the whole kit and caboodle is hard.

Especially since all the junk food and genre hopping has left me with little marketing dollars to expend.

BUT I can join a FREE PROMO on Prolific Works and find new readers.

I can add my book to STORY ORIGINS and find new readers.

These are low cost options ($20) to gather email address for new readers.

Then I can update and enhance my follow up plan in an automated email sequence through Mailchimp.

Or I can do it manually on a calendar if I’m on the free plan.

Schedule 2 emails per week to new readers on a new list and assist them through the series and spin off books.

I can use the spin off books as promo gifts as a way of saying thanks.

And I can release book 13 and 14 in the middle of November to capture more readers.

A fussy librarian promo can garner downloads of those, and I’ve historically seen readers grab the free book and go back for the whole series at $2 per title every time I do one.

If I do it by Quarter, that’s 400 brand new readers in a series and $10k in revenues.

I have six series I can do this with, which means a back to basics plan is what has to happen.

If I was a brand new author with 1 or 2 books, I would still work to find 100 new readers per month while writing to build my backlist.

An idea I want to play with is FLASH FICTION FRIDAY, a brand new 2500 word story set in the universe (series) and released every Friday for a month or a quarter.

Grab a good cover from Fiverr, craft a cool blurb and pop it up on Amazon in KU or use it through the newsletter and Patreon as a reward for signing up.

At the end of three months, I’d have a brand new collection to release in that universe as a boxed set, or stories to break up and add to various boxed sets to create additional revenue streams.

Notice I didn’t talk about paperbacks on other websites (which you should do), or audio books (which I need to get done) or merchandise (posters from the book covers, adorable characters on soft tee shirts) etc.

This is just a plan for ebooks on Amazon. (Play in the bookseller that owns 60% of the market and once it’s mastered and you can lie off the earnings from one series, only then go wide)

That’s my back to basics marketing plan that is going to take less than $100 bucks per month.

It’s all about ass in the chair time, and fingers on the keyboard, and can be done around kids and work and school.  (I only have work and kid stuff on weekends, so I have an advantage.)

What’s your plan?

What can you do?

Am I missing something?