How can I market my book? I have no time!
This must be the hands-down, number 1 excuse people give for not marketing their book. (It’s also the reason they don’t exercise or eat right, but that’s another topic.)
I have a lot of sympathy for this excuse, as it’s one I’ve used for years for not exercising or eating right.
Here’s what I discovered along the way:
- We all have the same 24 hours a day. How we use it is entirely up to us.
- You have to delegate! Most of us with “no time” are guilty of the biggest sin of entrepreneurs: we are convinced that if we don’t do something, it won’t be done THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. To which I reply: Get over it! I once worked for a publisher who could not keep from meddling in his salespeople’s accounts. He was convinced he was the only one who could manage that particular properly. He caused endless amounts of frustration, needless drama, and botched sales. DO NOT be this guy. If you have someone else helping you – be it spouse, child, friend, or contractor – please instruct them, check their work, and give them the freedom to do it their way. They may do it better than you!
- If you have no one to delegate to, look hard at your schedule to see what you can dump. Yes, dump. How many things on your to-do list are you doing “because you’ve always done them?”
- Television. What are you watching out of sheer habit that you don’t even enjoy any more? The average American watches 4 hours of TV per day. You can do a lot in 4 hours.
- Clutter. I know people who can’t work in their offices because the clutter saps their energy. Clean it up.
- No plan for marketing. Without a plan, you’re just throwing mud against a wall to see what sticks. It’s a huge time suck, too.
Looking for a time management system that works? I think the best books I’ve ever read on time management are David Allen’s Getting Things Done and the sequal Making it All Work. What sold me on his system for organizing is that he takes you from the big view (your overall vision) to the day-to-day – it’s Tuesday at 3:15, what should I do now?” It took me a few days to shovel out my inboxes and get a system in place, but it’s been worth it.
Go to your local library to check out a bunch of time management books to find a system that suits you. You’ve spent too much time writing your book to not market it due to “lack of time.”
