What is a marketing plan?
The marketing plan is a key part of an overall business plan. Generally, we think of a 'business plan' as a document corporations and small businesses develop to secure funding from investors or financial institutions. A good marketing plan focuses on customer need for the product or service and the strategies the company will implement to serve those needs within their available budget.

Why would I need one?
If you're a Romance writer; you may be wondering why I think you'd be the slightest bit interested in a dry concept like a marketing plan. Well, like it or not, if you want to be a successful novelist you have to get out there and sell yourself and, in turn, generate interest in your product: YOUR BOOK.

Yes, the baby that you nursed and worried over for so long became a commodity in the marketplace as soon as you, or your agent, started shopping it around. Now that's it's been accepted, the real work begins and, unless you have large sums of money to hire professional publicists, you're almost on your own here.

You're in for a disappointment if you think a publisher will spend big sums of money to market books by entry level or mid-list writers. Like everything else, book publishing is all about money - making it - and not spending it without knowing that the return is guaranteed. Big names pull in big sales, so that is where the marketing dollars go. You need a plan so you can determine your target market, your advertising and promotion strategy, and the estimated costs of your marketing campaign. Then you will be prepared to supplement any marketing efforts your publisher makes for your book.

So how do I get started?
Your plan doesn't have to be as formal as a corporate plan. Keep it simple so it doesn't get overwhelming. The information that follows is by no means a comprehensive discussion of marketing theory but should be enough to help you get started.

Market Research
If you're genre is Romance, the Romance Writers of America have a public page of industry statistics with demographics for the genre. You'll find sales stats, writer and reader demographics, and information on trends as well as reader expectations. The time consuming, expensive part of your marketing plan's research has already been done for you.  Bookmark this page http://www.rwanational.org/statistics.stm , study it and refer to it as you develop your own personal plan.

Who Would Buy A Book Like Mine? - Your Target Market
Build on the research already done by RWA and continue to develop your target market. Starting with your own contact lists, make note of everyone you can think of who would buy your romance novel. Think creatively here; try to generate reasons that may not be immediately obvious as to why people might buy your book.

Look at your book's theme, characters and setting, is there a tie-in to some particular business or location? Brainstorm on every possible person, business, city or group that might be interested in some aspect of your book and its theme. For example: A book with a setting in a seaside holiday resort just may appeal to motel owners. Can you get your books into the motels to be sold to tourists that come to visit?

This isn't an immediately obvious target market, but on a rainy day many of the guests may just pick up a book they normally wouldn't read. and you may hook some new fans. Brainstorm with your writers group or friends and you may be surprised what unexpected markets you can target.

Marketing Strategy
What kind of advertising and promotion will work best and how much can you afford to spend?

Your book might be the best thing ever written, but it will not succeed unless people read it and enjoy it. You're actually going to be marketing two things, your product or book, and your brand, which is you.

Brand recognition: Who are you and why should I buy your book?

In order to bring your book to the attention of the public, you have to stand out from the crowd of other new authors. How are you going to get your name out there?

Susan K. Perry, a social psychologist and author of the bestseller,
http://www.BunnyApe.com

Writing In Flow was asked what type of self-promotion she found to be most effective.

"For a nonfiction book, anything that gets on the Internet stays there a long time and is helpful over the long run, so every minute you invest in getting the word out plays off eventually. For a novel, you want to find a way to get some media attention quickly. And finding ways to meet your would-be readers personally is very beneficial. It's enormously helpful for book sales when the author is seen and heard as a live human being."

Asked what advice she would give new authors setting out to do their marketing Susan remarked:

"Be prepared to take the initiative when it comes to promotion. And follow up on everything. The squeaky (but pleasant) author gets reviewed and asked to speak."

Once you've completed your preliminary brainstorming and recorded your results, you need to set timelines and figure out costs. Go over your estimates and decide what you can afford in terms of time and expense. Only then will you be in position to start implementing your plan. Of course, you'll also be writing your next best seller. Good luck!