An experiment in radical book marketing – 10 slots available, guaranteed results

SOLD OUT

I’m all set but I may try this again, we’ll see how the first round goes.

—————–

For the past year I’ve been experimenting with book cover design and design-based marketing, and have seen some big results with my own projects and those of my clients. I’ve been networking much more and am an active member of numerous author communities. I’ve also been attending a lot of meetups and conferences. This week Jim Kukral (of Author Marketing Club) invited me to speak about book cover design at an event he’s organizing in Cleveland this September, to share some of the results and the things I’ve learned about book cover design and selling books (the relationship between them, and subtle design changes and hacks that boost sales).

I just booked my tickets: I’m excited about it and preparing some great material.

Since I’ll be in Cleveland anyway, Jim mentioned I might want to check out “Content Marketing World” – a much bigger conference the same week. It’s a big deal, they even have Kevin Spacey speaking! At first, although interested, I balked at the price – it’s $1,495.00.

Although I’ve gotten comfortable with spending $500 for conferences, that price seemed “Way out of my league.”

I immediately thought, I can’t afford it.

But then I had an idea. Why not split the costs and share the benefits?

Fund my trip, and I’ll promote your books

The more I go to big events like these, the more personal relationships I’m building, and the more marketing and promotion skills I have at my disposal. That, mixed with my main business (graphic design) makes me a pretty powerful friend to have.

I’ve already written a guide to book marketing, and I offer custom marketing solutions to my book cover design clients, but so far I’ve been hesitant to offer any personal marketing packages because:

1. Success ultimately depends on your book, and I can’t guarantee sales for a sub-par product
2. I don’t want to charge a lot of money unless I can guarantee results

I know authors that spend thousands of dollars on book marketing, or are quick to spend a few hundred for advertising even if it doesn’t lead to more sales. Book marketing is necessary, but you have to have the right set of skills to do it well. And most people who are charging for it, don’t know what they’re doing.

I think I can do better

But rather than starting big, I’m going to test the waters by doing personal book marketing for 10 authors at only $150.

That’ll let me attend the conference in September, and I’m confident I can provide a ton of value for that price.

I’m so confident that I’m going to guarantee I can sell at least 100 copies of your book.

Here’s what you’ll get:

1. If I think you need it, I’ll remake your book cover, but you have to be willing to trust my judgment (I charge a lot of money for book cover design, so you’re getting a great deal already.)
2. I’ll make some banners, ads or headers, and research where to use them (and pay for advertising or boosted posts).
3. I’ll critique your website and sales page, edit your content and fix everything I can
4. I’ll focus on building up your reviews before we start marketing
5. I’ll help orchestrate your launch and free book promo
6. I’ll research blogs and websites that may feature a guest post, and help you write the articles
7. I’ll help you network with powerful players in your field or other authors
8. I’ll give you custom marketing strategies and a list of things you can do to continue selling books

What it won’t include:

• Tweeting about your book all the time
• Spammy material or emails
• Promotional garbage
• The other annoying stuff most other “book marketers” do

Book marketing is fuzzy business…. I can’t really be specific about what I’ll do for you until I know more about your book and genre.

But I do know I have the marketing experience and design knowledge to greatly improve your author platform and sales page; that I’m plugged into the online marketing scene enough to offer some premium advice and strategies; and that $150 is an insanely low price for the value I’m offering.

I’m only doing it to test my skills; if I decide to offer book marketing packages “for real” I would charge at least $500 for the same services. As a comparison, I charge $1000 to set up author websites. But I’m going with $150 because I want to exceed expectations and earn some glowing reviews.

Normally I would screen projects first and only work with books that have potential, but I want to challenge myself and even the playing field, so I’ve decided to work with any author, any book. I’ll give it my best shot. If you don’t sell 100 copies during the time I’m promoting you, and don’t feel I’ve done all I can to promote your book, I’ll give you a refund.

[su_button url=”ttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SKKGVJW9TQ6N2″ background=”#efa32d” size=”7″]Fund me! ($500 worth of book marketing for $150)[/su_button]

I’ve got to book my spot asap, so the deadline for this is April 30th, however I’d be surprised if the spots last that long: I have about 5,000 people on my list, and once I let them know about this deal, I’m sure the 10 spots will sell out quickly.

The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle tour. Totally free. Get it here.

Derek Murphy

I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.