Outrageous or Any Other Marketing Plan For the Not Yet Famous

This week's title and topic are pretty daunting to me. I've got the "not yet famous" part accomplished, no problem, but the marketing - any marketing, much less outrageous marketing - isn't my most polished aspect of being a published author.

I took Marketing 101 in college, but that was so long ago I barely remember it. I think the class mostly centered around a big group exercise to revive a failing automaker or something. All I remember is being bored. I have actually contemplated offering myself up to a marketing class at some local college (figuratively speaking LOL) as a case study, in hopes they'd generate some cool ideas.

I belong to a wonderful author's loop created by NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Marie Force, where independent and hybrid authors are extremely generous in sharing ideas about what has worked for them. That loop is almost like drinking from a fire hose, so much great information. I'm better now at sifting through the suggestions without getting paralyzed by indecision and I have tried some things but wowza...I had trouble figuring out what to bring to RWA last year as swag for my table at the book signing! The basic simple stuff of marketing! So clearly I'm not yet in the bigger marketing leagues.

I've done Goodreads giveaways and Goodreads ads, both of which worked nicely. I have a book trailer (which I'll be oh-so-cunning and embed here for your pleasure LOL). I have an audiobook version of my award winning, best selling SFR novel. I've done promoted FB posts. I've bought ads in AudioFile, RT, at Night Owl, at DragonCon. I've done blog hops, giveaways, cover contests, been a panelist...I tweet, I blog...I do Weekend Writing Warriors 8 sentence excerpts weekly...

As Marcella said in her WW post, I've pretty much decided whatever marketing I do has to be fun for me. And feel right to me to be doing. Oh, and fit my budget because part of the "not-yet-famous" is "no-big-budget" for promo! And, may I note, I truly love twitter. Yes, I am a twitteraholic to the nth degree. I also enjoy blogging (not blog tours so much, which are HIGH pressure since I have a day job).

And of course the single biggest piece of marketing advice I've adopted, which you'll hear from everyone, starting with Marie Force and all my fellow Word Whores, is write the next book. And then the one after that. Which I am doing!