Authors Assemble:
How to Make Marketing a Team Sport

Marvel is one of the most popular brands in entertainment today. It's had a run of success in the box office on par with the Harry Potter movies and the Pixar franchise. Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America all had their own solo movies leading up to the 2013 movie The Avengers. By building popularity as separate entities before mashing the heroes together in one super-sized film, Marvel practically guaranteed it would have a $1 billion-grossing movie. There was luck and a lot of hard work involved, to be sure, but by teaming up separate products into one massive brand, Marvel demonstrated a clear path to success in marketing for any industry. 

On February 28, I'm teaming up with 15 other authors who write non-fiction books for writers. We're each taking one of our books and lowering the price to 99 cents. As part of a live Facebook event, we're all joining forces to answer questions from students, aspiring authors and our peers on the subjects of writing craft, marketing and publishing. 

I'd be crazy to say we have the marketing sway of Earth's mightiest heroes, but all of us come from very different backgrounds and have unique fan bases. By working together to promote the event, we're bound to reach new folks with whom we never would have interacted otherwise. 

Being an author seems like a solitary enterprise most of the time. If you can find a way to leverage the power of multiple authors at once, through marketing, writing, editing, etc., you can turn it into a team sport. If your book is languishing in sales, don't get Hulk angry. Try reaching out to your peers. It might be your ticket to new fans, new friends and increased interest for even your backlist titles. Authors, it's time to assemble. 

Done with Authors Assemble? Go back to Creative Writing Tips.