Book Marketing and "The Rule of Seven"

Writers often ask how I market my novel. Questions about the effectiveness of specific promotions are difficult to answer. Because I often run multiple promotions at once, the source of an uptick can be hard to define. What I have found is that a multi-pronged approach works.

There is an old marketing adage called The Rule of Seven. If you’re unfamiliar with The Rule of Seven, here’s a terrific explanation by Andrea Stenberg. Essentially, readers need to see your message – hear about your book – 7 times before they feel comfortable enough to buy from you.

With indie books this is especially true. Unfortunately, many people still believe the old stigmas associated with self-publishers and self-published books: our books are second rate, not up to snuff. (My recent article, ‘Sticks & Stones: The Changing Politics of Self-Publishing“

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"Censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates in the end the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion."

Terri Giuliano Long2016-12-17T15:43:23+00:00November 12th, 2012|Categories: Publishing|Tags: book marketing, publishing|

About the Author: Terri Giuliano Long

Terri Giuliano Long, a frequent guest blogger, with appearances on hundreds of blogs, is a contributing writer for IndieReader and also wrote for Her Circle eZine. She lives with her family on the East Coast. Her debut novel, In Leah’s Wake, winner of the Global eBook Award, Popular Fiction, and Indie Discovery Award, Literary Fiction, has sold over 130,000 copies worldwide.

2 Comments

Kimberly November 17, 2012 at 9:47 am - Reply

I manage a bookstore and on our blog (BrainfoodVenue.tumblr.com) I have a page for author resources, and I had to add this article to that list. Our bookstore carried primarily independently- and locally- published books, so a lot of our authors don't have a whole marketing team behind them– but the better their books are marketed, the more business I have. Thanks for providing such a valuable resource for my authors!
- Terri Giuliano Long November 18, 2012 at 1:53 pm - Reply
  
  Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Kimberly! I'm thrilled you found the article so helpful!