February 24, 2008

A Recurring Conundrum

     On occasion I find myself confronting a recurring conundrum. It’s one where it’s not about looking for the right answers; it’s about looking for the right questions.

     In this case, I’m talking about marketing, primarily promoting my writing and especially through the internet. The business and promotion end of things is often the most difficult for many writers, which is why so many of us don’t speak, market, or promote (or at least don’t like to)—instead, we write.

     Having said that, I have come a long way with the promotion aspects of marketing thanks to my friend Wayne Kelly at Onairpublicity.com. If it weren’t for taking his radio interview class last year I can only imagine how much of a dork I would have sounded like. (Any residual dorkiness you detect in an interview is purely me.)

     Trying to find time to market, promote, and run the business aspects of writing, while also working a full time job is indeed a challenge. I’ve been attempting to find the best ways to reach the most people and make sure my promotions budget gets the most bang for its buck. Unfortunately, there are plenty of internet scammers out there who prey on folks like me. Fortunately I haven’t wasted too much time and money on these scams.

     However, it’s left me searching for the piece of the puzzle to what feels like a gaping void in my marketing or promotion plan. Even if I could find the right folks to talk to, would I know what questions to ask? What works best, what works at all, what do I need, what could I do without, what should it cost?       

     I think I’m getting a little closer though when I realized I didn’t have to continue feeling around in the dark, I should just ask someone who knows. I recently asked my friend and mentor Wayne Kelly, who created his site, and I think I may finally be on the right track now. All I had to do was ask a knowledgeable friend about the right questions to ask. So, in the end it was simple. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask. Our networks are probably deeper than we think.

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