Writing a book – writers marketing plan

by Dale Darley | Jul 6, 2025 | Book Marketing

Need to promote you and your writing? A marketing plan is a must

For ALL businesses, a highly effective marketing strategy is a necessity. And yes, if you are a writer and you want to publish and sell your ‘voice’, you are a business – a personal brand.

To be successful you need good marketing and sales techniques.

You need to know who your customers are, what they value and you’ve got to let people know about all the wonderful things your “business” can provide to them.

“One of the reasons most people aren’t good at marketing is that they don’t understand it.”

Marketing is not just about business cards, pretty brochures and advertising. Marketing is everything you do to try to attract customers to your business and keep them.

Simple equation – Marketing = customers – profit = business

But first you need a marketing / personal branding plan.

Often when you ask a writer what he or she is going to do for a marketing / personal branding plan, they respond with “I’m planning to get a Blog and a ……”

Spending money on “marketing’ without doing your marketing homework is a complete waste of time. You need to do your planning. Then you need to implement, test and measure.

“Marketing is not an event, but a process . . . It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it is a process. You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely.”Jay Conrad Levinson

And it is necessary to the success of every business. Your writing business.

Your action plan – Marketing / personal branding plan

It takes 7 seconds for someone to form an impression of you and 8 steps to success.

Become clear about who you are
Identify your perfect customer
Build your confidence and banish fear
Communicate effectively
Package yourself and be remembered
Stay healthy and de-stressed
Promote your self effectively
Measure your success for repeatability

Simplicity is the key. Treat each section like a mini assignment, put it in your diary, find some quiet time, think about the point and reflect. As you do each section you will feel a sense of achievement, which will motivate you to complete all of the other stages.

How would approach this if you were creating a personal brand for a major client or friend?
What market research or preparation would you do beforehand?
What resources do you need?
Who would be part of your perfect branding action plan?
What are your milestones?
What is your measure of success?

Failure to plan is planning to fail.

Download the FREE Book Marketing Strategy Canvas here and start building your author business a better way.

Ready to take your author marketing to the next level? I help authors build sustainable marketing strategies that turn their books into business assets. Whether you need one-on-one strategy sessions or want to join a community of serious author-entrepreneurs, let’s chat about how to make your book work harder for your business.

Let your journal be a mirror reflecting your true self, unfiltered and raw, capturing the essence of your journey through life.
Dale Darley

Ebook - The Book That Won't Shut Up

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