MAP Group Member, Tom Rizzo, author of Last Stand at Bitter Creek, submitted the following article that offers a unique approach to book marketing.
Spock’s
Mind Meld and Book Marketing
By
Tom Rizzo
The biggest challenge of
any fiction writer is to finish the story.
Writing The End—however—only means The Beginning . . .
of the next step: Marketing the story.
Fiction
needs an audience. In order to find
an audience, you have to find ways to engage potential readers. Building
rapport with your target market, and beyond, can mean all the difference
between sales success and sales failure.
Most
writers of fiction, no doubt, consider marketing as an unpleasant task, and have been known to hold their noses to avoid
the stench.
Like it or not, marketing
is an essential first step. And, if we’re going to be honest, successful
writers always keep marketing.
Social
media, of course, is a strategic component of the marketing strategy. If you’re unfamiliar with the best approaches to
social media, never fear. There are tons of information available on the
Internet—much of it good, and most of it free.
When
it comes to marketing, writers really own an advantage. Marketing works when the right words work. The
truth is that you don’t have to be a professional writer to be a great
marketer, but writers can claim a head start because of their skill with words.
Establishing
a bond with potential readers requires a
clear, focused, and strategic approach to writing.
Keep in mind—and this is
important—the most effective connection is best made from a customer’s perspective.
In this case, your readers are your customers.
Mimic
Mr. Spock's Mind-Meld Principle. Remember Spock, the extraterrestrial humanoid in TV’s Star Trek?
Spock,
and others from the planet Vulcan, practiced what they called mind-meld, a technique allowing them to share thoughts,
knowledge, experiences and memories with other individuals. Mind-meld was
Spock’s technique of communicating mentally, even to the point of expressing
intimate thoughts.
Without
getting into a lot of Star Trekkian logic, you—as a writer—must try to find a
way to establish a mind-meld with
potential readers—not only of your particular genre, but others you may want to
lure into your corner of the imagination.
You should focus on the
reader’s needs, wants, and desires.
One
way of making a connection—a bond—is focusing the words you write, and the word pictures you create, on a reader’s needs,
desires, and wants. A little mind reading helps too, if you have this
particular talent.
Keep
in mind, there are many businesses that fail to achieve an effective mind-meld with their customers because their sales and
marketing writing lacks emotional focus. They often fall into the trap
of telling too much about themselves, and their products without taking
into consideration what the buyers are seeking.
Keep
the conversation directed on your reader-buyers. Ok,
you’ve written a great book. So figure out why it will appeal to
readers, and why they should read it, why they’ll enjoy it, and how
it will satisfy their desire to escape from their own reality.
Those readers you’re
trying to attract to buy your book are more interested in themselves and their
priorities. Not you.
Your
mind-meld marketing copy should do as
much as possible to establish your credibility, and your promise to deliver a
piece of riveting entertainment.
Readers
– buyers - want to know who you are,
and why your story will interest them before they shell out a buck or two or
three for a novel. They want to be convinced that buying—AND READING—your book
will be a worthwhile investment in time and money.
Help
your potential readers walk in the shoes of your characters and feel their fear, conflict, love, joy and a
range of other emotions so they’ll want more of what you create.
Create
a mind-meld for future sales.
