A Brief Analysis of BryonySeries Sales and Marketing 2022

Artists of all genres, overall, struggle to find people who will buy and appreciate their art, which are not always the same thing.

Ever since I published my first book, Bryony, in 2011, I have struggled to learn the mysterious ways of marketing and sales.

And I am a slow, clumsy learner.

But the more I talked to other artists, the more I learned they struggled, too.

We all know what low sales look like. We all know what wildly successful sales look like.

But many of us don't know how many pounds of marketing it takes to equal an ounce of sales.

And many of us don't know what an encouraging amount of sales are.

OK, "an encouraging amount of sales" is probably very individualized. 

But the beginning of 2020 was the very first year we felt encouraged. And we all know what happened in 2020.

So we used most of 2020 to study, learn, strategize, and revamp in a more focused, objective, and persistent manner than we had in the past.

The result is that we were encouraged at the end of 2021.

And we did much better in 2022, enough that we are celebrating in the spirit.

Don't laugh at the numbers when I share them. They are low by most standards, except ours.

If sales numbers are higher, you may leave this blog feeling good about your efforts (as you should).

If your sales numbers are lower, please know solid, happy readerships aren't built in a day (we've been slogging at this whole book thing for more than a decade now). We want you to know that after the first rush of selling to people you know, you can still sell the same books years later.

Still this is our best and most consistent year yet - and 2022 was a train wreck of a year for our family (and it ain't over yet, not for a few more hours).

But before I share numbers, I'd like to share some "What have you learned, Dorothy?" thoughts.

1) I have learned marketing and sales are two different species. Marketing lets the world know you have something to share. Sales is when the world decides that something is worth parting with some money to have it.

2) Sales only feels "icky" when the tactics are icky. Think of all the items out there people can't wait to buy. Think of all the items out there you wish you could buy. Think about that.

3) I will give Timothy total credit for coining the BryonySeries tagline: "A better reading experience." The full circle experience begins with the first hearing of the books to closing the cover after the final word. It led us to really ponder how do we, as a team of six, make that experience wonderful from beginning to the end.

4) Granted we cannot control whether or not customers will actually read the books they bought. We cannot control if customers will like what they've read. But we can control their experience of buying the book. After you write and publish the best book you can, put your efforts into the experience of buying for your customers. Make them feel glad they are taking your books home with them.

5) Except for the online sales, which are hidden behind a veil, every customer appeared happy when they left our table, bag in hand. This, above all, is what really encouraged us.

RESULTS

Books sold: 112 to the general public (not friends or family)

Additional books moved into circulation through donations by my family: Approximately 700

RANDOM NOTES

Our top selling book this year took three years to perform well.

Print versions of all titles substantially outperforms eBook on all sales platforms. So print is where we'll put our focus for 2023.

Reviews don't make a sales difference for us, which is actually a relief, so we don't have to put much effort into obtaining them. Organic reviews, sincerely given, ring more sincere, I think.

I've learned no venue is too unlikely for selling books. For instance, I sold books in bars twice this year. Hopefully this knowledge will expand my vision for new opportunities in 2023.

SALES

Top selling book: Nine Months of Kindness

Top selling BryonySeries book: Lycanthropic Summer

Top selling subseries: Bertrand the Mouse

Least performing book overall: Bertrand Gives Back

Least performing subseries overall: Before the Blood

Books most likely to encourage repeat sales from the same buyer: the original "drop of blood" trilogy (Bryony, Visage, and Staked!) Before The Blood (including all five installments: John Simons, Kellen Wechsler, Bryony Marseilles, Henry Matthews, Bryony Simons), The Phoenix, Call of the Siren

Venue least likely to result in sales - but it did: New Orleans North

Book least likely to sell - but it did: Before The Blood (one large volume of all five installments: small print on white paper)

Surprise sales opportunity: Christmas Market at Elder Brewing Co. in Joliet one week before Christmas Eve (many thanks to Cean Magosky for arranging it).

Surprise marketing opportunity: media blast from Timbers of Shorewood for WriteOn Joliet, of which I'm co-leader.

Surprise sales opportunity: Willow Fest, where Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, sold seven books authored by me and four authored by him. I wasn't even present.

When a Good Book Comes to You

From time to time, authors who are better at book marketing than I am point out I'm not assertive enough or that my marketing efforts are too soft.

That's probably true and also probably stems from two experiences: I myself tend to back off when I sense someone is trying to "sell" me something, and I really like the thrill of discovering a new book.

The first reason needs no explanation. I'll expound on the second in future posts.

But of the second, I will say that the "thrill" is not the thrill of the hunt but of the rainy afternoon, poking around in a dusty attic type of thrill, of finding a wonderful book that's just sitting off to the side, waiting to be found.

The joy of picking up such a book, of flipping through its pages, of becoming acquainted with the story and style, and then finally losing myself in someone else's words and hard work until I forget I'm reading is a joy that's unmatched.

With that in mind, I'd like to share one such book from my childhood. This post would not have happened with my WriteOn Joliet co-leader Tom Hernandez creating a special monthly blog for 2020: Writers are Readers.

In this blog, Tom Hernandez invites WriteOn Joliet to share a book they've enjoyed but also add how that book influenced their writing, too.

My turn is this month, July, which, ironically, is also the month of my birth. So I'm especially honored to share a book that brought me (and my sister and my children) many hours of re-reading happiness.

And it renews my goal to strive very hard to do the same for anyone who's reading, has read, or will read my words, too.

Here is the link: https://www.writeonjoliet.com/post/writers-are-readers-nanka-of-old-bohemia

Have a wonderful Monday!

For Anyone Who Is Trying to Build a Brand

If you're an artist or entrepreneur or a nonprofit or anyone who is trying to build a foundation and following, this post is for you.

If you're reading this post, you may be long past believing in "if you build it, he will come."

More than likely, you have already put time and effort and heart into a project you know will impact the world, even in a small way, and then, when it's time to harvest some of that hard work, no one comes.

Unfortunately, I don't have any surefire tips or techniques to guarantee success or speed up the growth.

But I do have words to encourage you.

First of all, you are not alone. I'm sure you knew that.

And before I get to the real encouragement, here are some hard truths.

1) It takes more marketing than you can probably imagine right now to build a reliable, trustworthy brand.

You may know people who can SELL better than you. But to build a following for your product into one where customers seek you out is really, really hard to do, and even major brands (think Walt Disney and soda) had lean years where they lost money and still struggled to complete.

In 2012, when I did a book signing in Darien, the manager told me it was getting harder and harder to get people through the door for events.

Once upon a time, he said, he only needed to buy a small print ad in the local newspaper and hang up a flyer. That was seven years ago, and it's only become more challenging.

But the Darien store is still there. And thriving.

The methods must change with time. But being amazing should not.

Here's one small business that stuck it out during the building years (the first ten) and is now enjoying what the owner feels is success.

One book publisher even showed the pre-marketing efforts to create buzz for a book in this Goodreads case study.

2) It takes more time than you think.

In 2015, Time magazine reported on research that said the average business, no matter what the business, had a life expectancy of ten years.

In the same year, the Washington Post said more businesses die than are born.

Speaking of time, people today have more access to more information and more targeted information, along with less time to consume it.

You have a lot of competition for people's time. What are you doing to rise to the top?

3) Overnight success is a myth.

A few years ago, I read a lengthy post by Amanda Hocking (which I can't find now), which detailed all the marketing she put into her Kindle books at a time when Kindle was new, and books were easier to find.

In the post Hocking mentioned how a relative had provided the money for her to give away A LOT of free books (hundreds of dollars, perhaps $1,000, if memory serves me right), to people who might potentially review them.

Just so know.

Now for some encouragement:

1) Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may appear.

But don't stop there. Analyze it to see what worked and build from there.

Here's a recent and personal example.

Last week WriteOn Joliet held a pre-National Novel Writing Month at the request of a local library.

In addition to social media marketing, we sent out a news release (which the local Patch ran) and bought two print ads in The Herald-News.

We had ten authors prepare handouts to share tips for writing in particular genres to attendees.

We had four attendees who left very happy and satisfied. We had a few book sales.

Some people might call it a flop.

But one of the library's managers personally greeted every author present and shared some of the struggles of marketing events, even for the library, which has more resources than we do.

Sometimes, even the library has little to no attendance at an extremely well-publicized event. And to be fair, we were up against a major event at the Rialto Square Theatre, which gobbled up the limited parking in the downtown area, where we held the event.

One author that night shared how she, even though sales are often small at the events she attends, is finally seeing brand recognition. Potential customers now know her name and what she is selling. That is a huge accomplishment.

BTW, her name is Holly Coop. You can find her books here.

2) Play the long game.

This past year, WriteOn Joliet has held an Author of the Month program at The Book Market in Crest Hill. 

We put some marketing behind the effort. Each author received a customer flyer, a local media blast complete with a customized news release, and some ideas for additional targeted marketing.

Every author sold (and some sold extremely well) and one author had The Bugle come out to write a story about him.

Since that link appears to be broken, here is Dale Hansen's Amazon author page.

The owner at The Book Market is very happy with us (partly because we are providing free monthly marketing on a small, but consistent, scale).

For example, the owner, Janet Staley (a very nice woman who believes in books and and reading), recently had an author call her saying, "I hear you do book signings. Can I do one, too?"

If our writers desire it, we may offer the program again in 2020.

A few related "by the ways:"

Our release party for our third anthology is from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at The Book Market. Stop out, grab a bite of chef-created refreshments, meet the authors, and flip through some books.

WriteOn Joliet also has a new partnership to help with marketing its authors. More on this later.

WriteOn Joliet is hosting James Finn Garner at 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Black Road Branch of the Joliet Public Library.

The event is free and open to the public

The overall message to this point is that most people give up way too soon. Don't be one of them.

3) Be confident in your goal.

It really isn't you. It's them. Most people have not heard of you or your brand.

Seriously. As much time and effort as you have put into marketing that brand, most people really have not heard of you. Or if they have, they don't remember you.

This isn't a call to be spammy.

It's a call to be persistent.

Grow in knowledge and truth.

Leave people feeling happy they met you. Let them feel the time they spent with you added value to their day. That feeling will stick with them more than hounding them to buy products.

In fact...

Be like Edison.

A Year of Studying Marketing: What Have You Learned, Dorothy?

I spent part of last Thanksgiving weekend (2016), writing a comprehensive marketing plan for the BryonySeries, to which I've added (and even subtracted) a few ideas.

I have also spent a good portion of this past year studying this elusive thing called marketing, especially marketing for authors and their books.

I wasn't completely clueless. I'd written some marketing plans for the series in the past and had some experiential ideas on what did and did not work and where I did and did not want to go as I fielded my options.

Let's face it. Marketing books today is hard. Reading is down, titles are up, people are spam-suspicious, fake news and slush abounds, and the hot-new marketing trend of today quickly becomes the tired glutted gimmick of yesterday.

How does a guppy author make a noise in a deep ocean of big fish?

I'm still working on that answer.

But I've learned a few things along the way: some basic SEO. Branding. Ways to expand the reach without acting pushy. How marketing is different from sales and different from advertising (while being part of the same pie). Why free is too cheap. What does, does not (and what might) work in collaboration. How to write a better and more effective marketing plan.

I'll expand on these thoughts in the coming weeks.

I already knew writing comes with no guarantees,and I already knew I picked the most difficult type of books to write and self-publish: literary fiction.

However...

Quitting ensures you don't reach the finish line.

Writing, whether the writer publishes in a traditional arena or a self-published one, is an extremely long-tailed business. Perfecting the craft and persistence helps to win the race.