How To Best Find Time in Your Day to Market Your Book - BM331

 

Welcome to Book Marketing Mentors, the weekly podcast where you learn proven strategies, tools, tips, and ideas from the masters which includes me, your host, Susan Friedmann, the Author Marketing Mentor and Influencer. 

 I’m back again. 

If you've listened to episode 329 on How to Best Crush Your Marketing Money-Mindset, I started the conversation on mindset. 

 Specifically, this episode focused on the first of 4 stumbling blocks that often stands in the way of authors marketing their book. 

That is Lack of Money.

 Today the focus the second Stumbling Block - Lack of Time

 I bet every one of you listening has, at one time or other, used the “I haven’t got the time” excuse. 

 Whether it was saying it to a friend, family member or just to yourself. 

 Let's be honest. Have you ever felt like you really had enough time?

 I know that I haven't. 

We never think, or even admit, that we have enough time in a day to get all the things done on our “to do” list. 

 Even though it’s hard to admit, It's a really convenient excuse because it sounds so reasonable and we think people understand because they're often challenged with the same dilemma.

 Yet if you’re honest about it, the real truth is it's rather lame, and it's a cop-out.

 Why?

Because time is one of the few things in life where there’s a level playing field. Every one of us, no matter who we are or where we live. 

 Time isn’t concerned with our financial situation, our race, our religion, our sexual orientation, or anything else that separates one human begin from another.

 The fact is that we all get the same 24 hours a day. 

Have you ever wished you could have an extra hour in the day? 

 Imagine what you could do with that extra hour.

Sleeping in, a walk in the woods, or on the beach. There are myriad things we could do.

 Yet, if I offered you another hour, would that be enough? 

Perhaps for one day. 

However, I bet you’d come back asking for more. 

 Why, because one extra hour just wouldn’t be enough. 

 Plain and simple, let’s just admit that we rarely say, if ever, that we have enough time to get things done. 

 I know that when I complete one “to-do” list, there’s another one waiting in the wings ready for me to start afresh. 

 However, let me contradict what I’ve just been saying. 

 Have you ever found that when you’re truly passionate and absorbed in a project, such as a  hobby, a cause, or spending time with special people in your life, magically, as if out of nowhere, enough time just happens? 

 I love to swim, kayak, do yoga, and take a walk in nature. And, I know that when I do something I love, time becomes timeless and just seems to evaporate. 

Worrying about my “to do” list isn't something I'm concerned about.

 Take a moment and think about the things you enjoy doing. If you really want to do something, whatever it is, I guarantee you find the time to do it. 

 You wanted to write a book, and magically you found time to do it. 

Why? 

Because it was important to you.

 I recall writing my first book. I put aside 2 hours every evening from 7-9 pm as writing time. 

 My goal was to write at least two pages every night. Some days that was so easy and I could just let it rip, and would keep writing for as long as I could keep my eyes open. 

 On other days it was sheer agony. I could barely think straight and putting two words on a page was a struggle. 

Yet, the "bum glue" I used didn’t unstick itself until two pages were written or typed.  

 I persevered until the book was finally done. 

 Whatever method you used, you got it done or perhaps you’re still finishing it up. 

If that’s the case, keep using the “bum glue.” 

I guarantee It’s highly effective.

 You found the time to write, to get your thoughts, your important message out whether handwritten or typed. It didn’t matter. You got it done.

 Now the book is done, you want everyone to read it. It’s your baby and you want to show it off to the world. You want to yell at the top of your lungs from every rooftop in town. 

You want everyone to come and see and admire your brand-new baby.

If you saw the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” you might recall the scene when Tevye got a brand-new sewing machine. 

He was so excited. 

He wanted the whole village to come over to admire and gloat over his new acquisition. 

Isn’t that the same as your book? 

You want the world to know. 

But, the world can’t know about your book unless you tell them. 

 Using time as an excuse for not marketing your book is a cop-out. 

It's a feeble excuse with no legs to stand on. 

And, no apologies for my bluntness!

 What separates the achievers from the non-starters is the way they leverage time. 

They control their time rather than letting time control them.

 Let me repeat that “They control their time rather than letting time control them.”
 In other words, they make the most of every minute. 

I have had a foot in both camps. 

I’ve been the non-starter or the “no time excuse agent." This is when I believed I had to have all my ducks in a row and have a big block of time available to get things done. 

Basically, the conditions had to be perfect before I could even get started. 

In fact, what I really needed to do was stop thinking about getting started and literally just start!

Many years ago, I was a trainer for the Fred Pryor Seminar company and I would travel around the U.S. teaching a Time Management workshop. 

In the beginning, I thought this was a joke as I was still suffering from the “Perfection Condition” syndrome when it came to getting things done. 

Then I realized that if I was teaching others how to better manage their time, I had start to put into practice what I was teaching.

The best technique I taught was simple. 

Just set a timer for 5 minutes and do as much as you can in the time. 

Once the alarm goes off, you have a choice – 

to stop or to keep going. 

If you’re like me, once I get into a project, it’s often hard to stop.

Remember your high school physics. 

You probably learned about Newton’s First Law of Motion, also known as The Law of Inertia. 

The law states that “an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” 

The simple form of this Law is that “Things want to stay in the position they are in.” And things want to keep doing what they are doing.”

Just think about the days you enjoyed writing and compare them with the days where the last thing you wanted to do was write, yet you still did it.

For me, it was those days when I needed an extra dollop of the “bum glue.”

The big question is how do you find the time you need?

Since time plays such a key role in your book marketing, yet, it's the excuse so many authors like use for not getting the job done, let’s take a look at how you can find the time you need.

If you analyze the real reason for your time excuse, chances are that uncertainty of what to do and how to do it are often part of the equation.

Know that it’s not your fault, because, without the fundamentals, you’re bound to feel uncertain, and perhaps even awkward. 

Almost everyone does when they’re faced with having to learn something new. Be it a foreign language, a sport, or a skill, there are three essentials needed. 

These are the "What," the "How," and the "Why."

You need to know...

What to do?

How to do it? 

And then Why do you want to do it? 

There are marketing books galore explaining what to do and how to do it. 

However, the third question is a personal one: "Why do you want to do it?" 

The motive or impetus to implement "what to do" and "how to do it," lays 100 percent on your shoulders. 

It’s this “Why” that makes the difference between your success or failure.

 Any of the marketing experts can offer you the best tips, techniques, tools, and tactics, but if you lack the motivation to put them into practice, no magic wand or pixie dust is going to do the trick.

It’s a strange phenomenon that you want to sell more books, and yet you can’t free up time during the day to devote to marketing, that is telling the world about your book.

It’s a fact that you managed to find time and inspiration to write your book. So, why not find a few minutes every day to market it? 

In plain English, I’m going to tell you that if you really want to get your book into the hands of readers, you’re going to have to do something to help make that happen, without any "ifs," "and" or "buts."

To take control of your time commitment takes fortitude and willpower. 

What I’ve found is that if I don’t schedule time on my calendar for writing, marketing, and learning, then I know that it just won’t happen. 

How do I know this? I’ve failed to keep commitments with myself far too often. 

Most of the time it’s because of simply failing to schedule the time. 

Here's a simple strategy that works:

Set a specific intention for the week. That is an intention about one significant thing you’d like to accomplish to market your book. 

Obviously, this intention should be a small step towards a much bigger goal.

Perhaps it’s getting started on something, or maybe it’s finishing something. 

Maybe it’s doing something you’ve been putting off. 

It doesn’t matter what, as long it’s going to help you move closer to realizing your goal.

For example…

You could research podcasts that are interested in interviewing subject matter experts.  

You could research industry events that look for speakers on your topic.

You could write an article on one aspect of your expertise and post it on a social media platform that attracts your target audience.

And there are many, many more things you could do based on your BHAG that is your “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.” 

A phrase Jim Collins coined in his international bestselling book “From Good to Great,” 

This is definitely a book worth reading.

 Once you know what you want to do, then carve out 15-30 minutes every day to work on your marketing. If this puts a strain on your schedule, whittle it down to an amount of time that’s comfortable and works for you based on the other commitments you have. 

What you’re doing here is making an appointment with yourself. 

Now you’re accountable for keeping that appointment.

The key is to do something, however small, on a daily basis to help move you and your book on the author success meter.

I challenge you to give the timer method a try. 

And let me know how you do.

In conclusion, what you’re doing in with this exercise is taking control of your time instead of letting your time control you. 

Then remember to think twice about using the cop-out line “I don’t have time.” 

If you really want to do something, you’ll find the time. 

I have total confidence in you.

If you’re interested in brainstorming some marketing ideas with me, 

I invite you to go to BrainStormWithSusan.com to schedule a 20-minute session with me. 

This is a quick roll-up-your-sleeves session where we’ll put our heads together to come up with at least 3 ideas you can use to market your book.

Again, that address is BrainStormWithSusan.com

So, until we meet again in a couple of weeks, when I'll discuss the 3rd stumbling block, 

namely "Lack of marketing and sales expertise" 

Here’s wishing you much book and author marketing success.

Book your brainstorming session with Susan at BrainStormWithSusan.com