BryonySeries: Meet B.L.O.C.K.S.

When the world shut down in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebekah suggested she and I use this time to really dig into the study of sales and marketing - and then apply our knowledge to the BryonySeries and WriteOn Joliet.

We took some online classes and workshops AT THE SAME TIME as our morning walks (the only time available to watch the videos together), formed a business relationship with two mentors that has grown over time, and took baby steps in executing our newly-learned knowledge and skills.

And we've done this while continuing to create new products for the BryonySeries, WriteOn Joliet, and selected clients, working our day jobs, and navigating several very challenging years.

I'm not sharing this because we're so amazing. I'm sharing it because doing all this well is simply not possible, not if we wish to keep growing.

So as Timothy and Daniel were finishing their Master of Business degrees this spring, Timothy suggested I back off SOME of the sales and marketing for BryonySeries and let him and Daniel help, especially since I tend to prioritze the sales and marketing for WriteOn Joliet over BryonySeries.

Now Timothy and Daniel had heard about our mentors but hadn't actually interacted with them...yet. 

The first step was inviting Timothy and Daniel to join a pitch and idea session they were hosting - and the second step was a one-on-one meeting.

And, in Timothy's words, he and Daniel "failed" the elevator pitch during Meeting Two.

After some reflection, Timothy realized the problem. The BryonySeries brand and the BryonySeries products were two different "things," which needed separate identities.

They easily could discuss the products. But they couldn't easily summarize their spirit, i.e. their brand.

To succintly explain these products, Timothy needed to identify and then clearly communicate the brand. 

Back in 2010 when Sarah created the first BryonySeries website, Sarah wanted to create an author page, which I refused. Rather, I wanted a page that showcased the creative talents of everyone who contributed to the products in some way.

As Timothy analyzed the branding in the BryonySeries, from collaboration to result, he saw these six key areas, which we've manipulated in all our projects as one manipulates building blocks.

This led him to create three cards, which are at the bottom of this post.

The first shows our building blocks.

The second card has both elevator pitch and mission for B.L.O.C.K.S.

And the third card, which I don't have in shareable format yet, pulls out three distinct areas: Sue's Diner, BryonySeries books, and Midnight Ink, the platform where Rebekah and I edit and format books for select clients at more-than-afforable prices.

The fourth card is the BryonySeries logo, which you've likely seen.

Timothy and Daniel then remet with our mentors at the beginning of this month to test out the B.L.O.C.K.S. 

And BAM! They nailed it!

So Timothy worked with the wonderful Kent at Fast Printing in Joliet to create these three cards.

And then Timothy and Daniel softly rolled out B.L.O.C.K.S. this weekend at New Orleans North and the Porch & Park Music Fest to nearly one hundred total attendees.

We had a slight uptick in visitors both days on our website, which is encouraging.

Now, we obviously have more work to do before the rollout is completed. And the real sales and marketing work will begin anew and in earnest. 

Also everyone is still very busy.

But we now have a brand that explains our mission.

And that can lead into a deeper conversation about our products.

Happy Monday!

Instead...

One of my favorite weekend pastimes is writing fiction.

This weekend, after coming off an intense mental workout where work writing was concerned, I gave my mind a break.

So instead of writing fiction, I chose to

* Read a book and a half

* Get a badly needed trim for my hair

* Format a book

* Watch an Asian drama with Rebekah

* Catch up on some miscellaneous marketing for WriteOn Joliet

* Catch up on some miscellaneous (non-writing) work for the BryonySeries with Rebekah

* Walk and work out

* Run a few errands

* Take a ride to New Lenox with Daniel for video, photos, and a couple quick interviews

* Read through some of last week's writing for two novels in progress (because I couldn't stay away completely, ha ha).

What about you? How was your weekend?

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.

Building a Marketing Plan

Ever since one of my readers mildly chastised me for my laxity in marketing, I've mulled on ways to do more. By nature, I am not a saleswoman, but I have since learned one important distinction.

Marketing is not sales. Marketing is making one's product known in the hopes it leads to sales.

So I've spent a couple years researching ideas. The research was sparse at first and has grown in frequency. During this time, I've learned something else.

What seemed to be a good way to market even two years ago may not be relevant today, leading me to also realize that today's ideas may be passe tomorrow. The bad news: there is no one sure answer. The good news: free choices abound.

So this past weekend, I opened my idea file, chock full of the ideas I've collected, and created an in-depth marketing plan for 2017. As I worked, I learned more things (If anything, this has been educational, right?).

I did not use every idea I collected. Rather, I focused on the ones that appeared useful and within my abilities.

One: I have so many ideas, I probably can't check them all off this year, much less implement them.

Two: I really have done very little in the way of making potential readers aware of the series.

How do I know this? My revised plan is divided into seventeen sections, all with their own subsections.

It's basically divided into goals and ways to build awareness. Two goals are very important. One is to spend no money (although I'll probably have to spend a little). This goal is paramount to me, as I wish to pass on valuable strategies to authors, with the assumption most of them/us don't have the marketing budget of top New York publishing houses.

The second goal is, of course, finding and connecting with potential readers in authentic and non-spammy ways. Nothing turns me off faster than insincere and pushy sales tactics, and I don't want the BryonySeries to smack of it.

Rather, I want my efforts to resemble the way I wrote and shared stories in my childhood. I reveled in the creativity and then asked my friends, "I wrote this. Would you like to read it?"

The Marketing Challenge...

...especially for an author (me) who has chosen the hard way to publish (as if other ways are easy).

I have self-published (without backing of a traditional press) a literary-ish (difficult to market even for a traditional press) gothic-ish (a dead genre) trilogy.

So how do I connect readers to the reading? What has worked? What has not worked? What won't I do?

Won'ts/Not worked:

1) Blow up my social media feed with exhortations to buy my book or follow me because I'm an expert in "this" or because my writing is so "that." Social media is meant to be social, not MEdia. There's plenty of that online already. It turns me off. I'm sure it turns others oof, too.

2) Keep doing the same thing over and over and over if it's not working. Example: craft fairs (unless I ever auxiliary craft items to sell, in which case craft fairs would be a marketing opportunity for me). One member of WriteOn Joliet says she does well at craft fairs. I have not.

3) Author events that aren't part of a larger event. Example #1: Coming into the venue where I am the only draw. I'm sorry stunning enough for people to take a chance (I hear objections from loved ones, but it's true). Example #2: I did well at Indie Author Day at the Plainfield Public Library. Organizers planned conservatively (a small room with about fifty chairs set up for the author panel). The day consisted of a one-hour author panel and then one hour to browse the authors.

4) Paying an exorbitant price for table space. I almost never make the money back. Exception: My mother paid almost $300 a few years back to be part of a three-day craft fair at a local mall. We did well the first two days and almost made our money back.

5) Spend so much time marketing that I lose sight of writing.

What's worked:

Consistently? Nothing.

Moderately: Again, being part of a larger event.

Ironically: random online purchases (go figure), especially overseas. This last doesn't surprise me, as that had been my hunch when I began the series.

And yet: I have a small tribe of extremely devoted fans (i.e. not my family and friends) that LOVE this series and exhort me to push the marketing.

The challenge:

Finding ways, and then encouraging, other authors to find their ways, to connect their books to the right readers. I have a hunch some of it might be genre specific, but that's okay.

I'll keep you posted of my progress (or lack thereof...)