(SMART)keting

               This week when I was asking some people about what qualities they look for in a marketing or advertising campaign, it was no surprise that a lot of the same answers came up (and ironically seemed to resemble the qualities of a good personal ad): wit, intellect, and style.  Wit because our minds remember something out of the ordinary a lot better than something that we are used to.

When we think about it, good marketing involves playing off of the most appealing aspects of what you have to offer so that people will want to know more. What
is the common denominator in all three of these aspects? One word comes to
mind: Smart.

For a writer, smart means much the same, they have something to say and they understand they need to say it right.  In the vast social networking market, it’s your job to stand out.

                When someone is witty, we say they have a smart sense of humour; obviously we often consider intellectuals to be smart; and when someone is dressed in a
stylish fashion we say they look smart. These homophones can therefore be found at the foundation of any successfully appealing marketing campaign.

                Last week I mentioned how useful marketing on Facebook can be because it reaches such a wide audience.  The same holds true for Twitter, only, in this case, it’s a much wider net of people you are trying to find and market to.

And we also have spoken about marketing in different formats (like ebooks) to promote sales and appeal to a wider consumer base. BUT. It doesn’t matter how many people see your advertisement if it does not have enough appeal to be memorable and to challenge their way of thinking about what you’re offering. How many times have you turned on the TV or been to the movies and seen some ridiculous commercial that makes you laugh but you think is slightly absurd? It’s funny how you think “Oh that was silly” but then can’t
seem to forget it.

                In general, I think that if you want to market smartly, you have to remember two key ideas, or principles which you have to market and be smart about it:

1) You don’t have to have a lot of information in a marketing campaign only enough to get someone interested and wanting to know more, and then get it to the right people at the right time.

2) Always have a hook (is your campaign exciting, provocative, and new?).  In this case, readers will often remember a funny comment and not the book or webinar or other product you want them to recall.  This being said, a smart campaign focuses on what a person will do to recall something good.  It’s your job to use your mind to brainstorm it out.

This may seem like a daunting task to some, but part of smart marketing (or “Smartketing”) is to know your strengths and get help in areas that you may be weak in. For some writers using the point of weakness is a marketing strategy all of its own.  This means you might be able to sell more of your book if you look to see what you did wrong, and take ownership in a smart way.

Plus, it never hurts to run a campaign or advertisement by a group of people before a launch to make sure it has the impact you want. This is also an excellent way to “think tank” your campaign and get ideas on how to improve and make it the best it can
be!

The more you are willing to smart your market, really being more smart about which people and networks you will use will help the sales of books or other products you want to sell to your readers.  The more powerful your message the better.