Marketing plan essentials

Recently I've been reading lots of comments on social networking sites from self published authors and business start-ups. Many read something like this "Help, I have a new book/new product and I don't know where/how to sell it. What do I do?"

Back in Marketing 101 in graduate school, I learned the 4 "P's" of marketing, and have been applying them through my businesses at www.nextdecade.com and www.barbarakimmel.com ever since.

1. Product-what is my product? If you can't clearly describe it in 3 sentences or less, go back to the drawing board.
2. Place-where is the best place to market my product? Start with your immediate circle of influence and work your way out. Think "concentric circles".
3. Price-what is the best price for my product? Don't be arbitrary. Look at your competition and set your price accordingly.
4. Promotion-how am I going to publicize my product? This is where you need to either become a publicity expert or hire one. Without publicity, the world will not know your book/product exists. Don't be fooled into believing that you need to spend thousands of dollars to get exposure.

Welcome to my blog

Good morning all aspiring nonfiction authors, published authors and entrepreneurs.

Today I will begin blogging about book publishing and affordable publicity for authors and entrepreneurs. Occasionally, I will blog about other topics of interest to me (and hopefully my audience).

Just as a little background, I have an MBA in Marketing and 20 years of experience as a nonfiction book publisher, author and publicist. You can read more about me and my company at www.nextdecade.com

Thanks for stopping by. Barbara