Last night, I decided to change my blog and start writing about pop culture and all the wacky mistakes I make each day. I’ll start ripping on myself, and act like I know nothing. It worked for Lisa and Laura, right? And on a sudden flash of inspiration, my main character now sports pink hair.
Everyone’s writing and marketing journey is different. But let’s look at why their marketing succeeded.
1. Write a great book that is you – not a reflection of someone else.
Lisa and Laura present themselves as fun and quirky. And that’s the kind of book they wrote. When it came to their writing, they didn’t try and be someone else. No, it doesn’t mean we all have to be fun and quirky on our blogs and in our book, but we should be ourselves. Be vulnerable.
2. Marketing starts before you sign with an agent.
Even before snagging an awesome agent and landing a book deal, Lisa and Laura Roecker were approachable and likeable. It didn’t matter who you were – they were nice.
3. Be friendly after you land a book deal.
What made me want to support these sisters, outside of the fact they write the kind of book I love to read, is that even after they got the book deal, they weren’t exclusive. They still interacted with the aspiring writers on Twitter. They didn’t care. And I LOVED that.
4. Brainstorm, but let the marketing spring organically from your book.
Lisa and Laura shared how at first they were devastated by Kate’s pink hair on the cover of their book. Who knew it would turn into their greatest marketing tool. And that marketing didn’t cost a penny. Just time. At this point, I wonder how much swag really affects sales. They combined the pink hair with giving away signed copies. Who cares about a bookmark and a mug– I want the book!
5. Include your supporters in the marketing. (No spam!)
Not once, did Lisa and Laura send out tweets five times a day saying, ‘Buy my teen book.’ They didn’t go on and on, week after week, talking about their book on their blog once they got the deal. They kept being themselves. And I appreciate that. And they didn’t ask of people without offering something in return. They made it all about their followers, not themselves. Brilliance.
We can’t all approach our blog and our marketing like Lisa and Laura. Or can we? We can be true to ourselves in our writing and our interactions with people. We can be vulnerable. We can be friendly.
And yes, I’m anxiously awaiting my copy of LIAR SOCIETY in the mail. No Kindle version for me.
Has the marketing of LIAR SOCIETY changed your view of marketing at all? Or reaffirmed what you already knew?
A very hard act to follow, hope I can achieve this.
I’ve heard about the book, but I don’t think I caught all of the marketing. But maybe that’s a good thing. That means it wasn’t in my face. 🙂
I think number three says it all. It proved that they were genuine, and that it wasn’t all about fame, or money, or just getting published, or whatever.
They will go very far because they weren’t in my face about it. And the pink hair thing was brilliant.
I think we should all try to be like that.
Hopefully, I will one day be published. But I hope that my success will not change me into something I don’t like now. 🙂
I hope with all my heart that The Liar Society does well.
🙂
I always get the warm fuzzies when I see the blogosphere pull together for one of their own. I loved the promosion of Paranormalcy, Matched, The Hating Game, Liar Society, and Elana Johnson’s Possession. I think the marketing works because its honest and stems from a true sense of wanting to see the books and their authors make it.
I’m thinking of changing my character’s hair to purple if I land a book contract.
Okay, maybe not. It wouldn’t work. No one can do what Lisa and Laura did. It’s a one time thing. But boy was it a stroke of genius on their part.
Did it make a difference for me. Nope. I was still planning to buy the book. But that’s cause they’re filled with awesome, like you said. Plus they have the same taste in books as me, so I know their book will rock.
Their honesty, even when they make mistakes, is part of what makes Lisa and Laura so endearing. They’re willing to laugh at themselves and let everyone else in on the joke. I’m excited to read their book, too!
The one thing I would add is that L&L believed that “it takes a village to raise a book”. They didn’t think they could do it alone, but let other people join in, and made it fun for them. The hair thing was inspired, because other people wanted to join in the fun. (I only had pink hair for 48 hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it.)
Social networking works best if it is social rather than promotional, and they seem to get that intuitively.
Your MC SHOULD have pink hair! 🙂
I love Lisa and Laura’s marketing–completely viral because THEY are so great.
Thanks for the shout out!
Thanks everyone! If you couldn’t tell this is vacation week and my kids are home! If I’ve missed your blog, I’m sorry. I’ll be back in full next week!
Oh I am so excited to read this book, and Lisa and Laura seem like a LOT of fun!
Great post, Laura!
I’m glad you posted about this because I agree–there was a lot to learn here. Your points are all dead on, and I love how something that could have put such a damper on a launch (the pink hair) became something else entirely. They opened their hearts to how they felt and everyone got behind then in support. It wasn’t a sales gimmick or marketing angle in that sense–it was writers doing what they do best–being genuine and showing support!
Way to go everyone–Lila are awesome and I am so happy for their success. 🙂
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Hey I just realized… If you put us together you get Lisa and Laura! I think maybe I’m on to something here. How do you feel about pink hair? 😀
Seriously though, those ladies are wonderful! Nice analysis as always.
This is such a nice post! I too am impressed with LiLa and how they approached marketing their novel. The pink hair thing was brilliant! I can’t wait to read “The Liar Society”!
The marketing has been impressive. The pink hair is great, but what’s more is it’s not in your face because they’re pushing it. You see it everywhere because bloggers want to be supportive, and that means so much more to me than just seeing the book everywhere.
Go LiLa!
I think Lisa and Laura (I still don’t know which ones which) have a unique likability to them because they often expose their vulnerable side. Plus, their funny. 😉 And for sure they’ve changed the way books can be marketed. Look at all the pink hair!!!
Yes, we’ve all been seeing pink lately:) Great points about how this marketing works for them, and how being friendly and yourself works the best!
“LiLa” is a great example in so many ways! (how they teamed up, how they pick on each other, even how they use “LiLa”) Love those girls! I will def. be getting their book too! did you see Elana Johnson’s post today? Similar line of thought.
I think the best sort of self-promotion is to promote others. then promotion will come back come back to you naturally.
OMG, Kris signed with an agent! I’ll hop over there, STAT.
You’re so right about Lisa and Laura. They’re kind and approachable. I won a five-page critique by them, and they were so helpful. I’m so excited to read their book.
Great post! I’ll be checking out this book and I’m wondering if this sister team is the Lisa & Laura from Writeoncon.com (fame)?? Learning how they have handled being published has much to teach us. Thanks for sharing this with us, Laura! (I’m off to track down that book and see if I’m following these ladies on Twitter.)
Wow. I honestly don’t know what to say. This post is just amazing. Thank you so much.
Back when Laura and I first started writing together we had a lot of very kind, very patient people take the time to help us out and we made a solemn vow that if we ever made anything of ourselves we’d return the favor in spades. So even though we’re still waiting to make something of ourselves, we absolutely love contributing to the writing community in whatever small way possible. Anyway, this post makes us so proud because it means that we’re making good on that promise we made to ourselves almost three years ago.
As for our brilliant marketing campaign we can’t take any credit for that! The pink hair started out as a joke to make Laura laugh and then our incredibly supportive friends started to follow suit one by one. Honestly, we just got lucky that we have friends like you who believe in us and our book.
Ok, wow. Longest. Comment. EVER. Thank you so much for writing this post. It means so much to us both.
So well said! I have wanted to support these guys from the very beginning just because they were such amazing people. I think sincerity always shines through. It’s clear when people are just trying to get something from you. But Lisa and Laura have always been sincere, genuine, and kind. That’s the kind of author I want to be, and the kind I will stand behind. So much to learn from these guys!
I think you just have to be willing to be yourself, you know? I think one of the things they have going for them is that they are just naturally very social people. And they have each other to interact with, so the blog always feels like a conversation even before anyone else posts a comment.
However, as much as I like them as people, for me it is still usually about the story as to whether I will buy a book or not. And I WILL buy their book because their idea is so fun. E-mails from the dead!! Fourteen year-old me would have loved this kind of thing!
Great post, and wishing L and L the absolute best!
Shelley
Good post! I think I had a lot of these ideas floating around in my head in generalities, but you pinpointed and focused them. Thanks! 🙂
Oh wow, I love all five of these points. They are all so important.
Great post! You’re right that their generosity and humor are what make them so likable and what make people want to support them. And, like you said, it doesn’t hurt to write an awesome book! 🙂