Indie Artists and Authors.
I have been extensively discussing things that indie artists can learn from the music industry and from the world to become successful, however, today I am going to discuss a few things that the world can learn from the indie music industry. There’s lots of advice available online discussing the all-important foundations of book marketing, such as great metadata, having a social media presence and speaking at events. In my experience, though, authors often want to get creative and stand out from the crowd by doing something a bit different, just like indie artists. So here are a few things that I think authors can learn from our indie artists and benefit by looking at people outside their usual sphere of inspiration:
Experimenting with Free Content
A lot of indie artists have been releasing their music on their own website, allowing fans to download it for as little or as much money as they wanted. This has enabled them to earn a lot of money and keep it all for themselves, if the album becomes a hit, without having to share it with publishers and record labels. It is interesting, as an author, to explore ways of being experimental with free content, from putting up a free story that readers can download from your website, to putting the whole book on the site. As a result, you might have a lot of people willing to buy their own copies after realising what an amazing book it is.
Social Media and Street Advertising
A famous artist announced her latest album with a giant, golden truck that toured across the US. She also promised fans a retweet if they shared a picture of it. This happened at a time when people were not used to seeing a giant, golden truck in their street, advertising something. It was a unique idea that generated a great deal of excitement with fans. Even as a debut indie author with a much smaller budget, you can make use of the streets to be unique with your marketing. Consider commissioning some street art, or take inspiration from other ideas around you. It could be interesting to see an author use the street for advertising an upcoming book, as it is a relatively unused space for book marketing.
Personal Connect
I have always emphasised on the importance of connecting with the audience at a personal level for indie artists. As discussed in my blog Music Festivals, it is very important to be active on social networking sites. Uploading glimpses of your recent work, or just circulating ‘behind the sets” photos and videos to keep the followers active and your profile trending on social media is a good way to advertise your work. Maintaining an active website is a good idea. Adding pictures on your website to make it interesting, make sure they are nice and clear (and fun). Giving information about your upcoming gigs. Let your informal discussions be fun and informative. Your website is going to play an important role in your career. I think authors can also learn a few things from this and get on to social media and get their own website to advertise their work. If you need help in creating and maintaining a website, HyperEffects can help you with it and also with other marketing and cyber development requirements.
Personalised things are fun and on a smaller budget, it’s worth looking at sites which let you customise images to create something unique, for ideas: perhaps you could let readers substitute the pair of sunglasses on the cover of your suspense book for their own favourite pair.
Single vs Album
Haven’t we heard indie artists releasing a single song of the album before they release the entire album? This is mostly done to check how deep the waters run; to see how the listeners are going to respond to the idea or the sound that the upcoming album is going to carry. Singles offer a taster of what the whole thing will be like. In books, a ‘single’ could be something like an expanded prologue. Something that gives readers a taste of your concept, writing style or character. It could be an excerpt, an article or a short story. Get writing and publish it on your own website to get people hooked!
