MARKETING TO-DO LIST FOR SELF-PUBLISHING

After some e-mail exchanges with a friend who also is planning to self-publish by the summer, I realized I needed a marketing plan.  I don’t usually plan things out on lists.  My normal modus operandi is to see what pops into my head.  I figure the ideas are brewing somewherein the recesses of my mind.  When something does appears I usually make a memo to myself. Sometimes on a sticky note tacked to my computer terminal.  Sometimes on the closest scrap of paper.  Right now I have fifteen notes scrawled in the margins of an instruction sheet for a colonoscopy, but that’s another story.

I sat up past midnight brainstorming a to-do list.  Now I’m at the age were sleep is more important than nightlife, so this was out of character.  Awoke sometime past six AM after dreaming I was being chased by a big dog.  Even heard him woof.  Probably a Freudian thing. Added a few more thoughts to my list.

I need to flesh out better areas.  Places for press releases. My friend suggested e-mails, but I don’t want to be a spammer.  Building list of potential book review sites.  The business card aspect will be fun.  Went to some websites looking for ideas. (That’s where the past mid-night came in.)

MARKETING TO-DO LIST FOR SELF-PUBLISHING

1.     Press releases.
2.     Websites devoted to promoting books.
3.     My websites
4.     Social networks
5.     Blogs and guest blogging
6.     E-mail
7.     Product Reviews
8.     Sales or giveaways
9.     Signing at Indie bookstores
10.   RSS Feeds
11.   Newspaper coverage, especially local
12.   Interviews
13.   Increase "hit probability" on search engines
14.   http://www.wikipedia.org
15.   Business cards
 
Suggestions are always welcomed!