Marketing 101

(c) 2010 by Steve Martaindale
“Hey there, Steve, haven’t seen much of you lately.”

Howdy, Bubba. Yeah, it’s been a while.



”You been holing up working on that next novel?”

Hah! Nah, that’s gotten kinda stalled. Been slowly working through a few other projects, though.

“Seriously, good buddy, how is this writing thing going for you? I’ve wondered, since you left the newspaper business, if you’re really writing for a living or just because you love to do it.”

How touching, Bubba. Both, I guess, but far more of the latter than the former. I share the same problem with many writers; I’m no good at marketing my work.

“So, I guess you’re not in as many papers as you want. Are you charging too much?”

Wow, maybe you should be my business manager, with your ability to get straight to the heart of the matter and all.

“Sorry, buddy, I just care ...”

No apologies necessary; I appreciate your concern. Actually, I went free circulation several months ago.

“Wow, I’ve heard papers were having trouble and all, but I didn’t know it was so bad you had to give stuff away.”

There’s some truth to that, but I really just decided to concentrate on driving traffic to my online sites.

“Sites? You have more than one?”

You see, Bubba, that’s my problem. Even my best buddy doesn’t know what’s going on.

“I’m sorry, Steve.”

No, no, I mean if I haven’t even conveyed to you what’s up, how can I expect more casual readers to know?

ACT NOW!

“OK, fill me in. What would you like me to do? Quit reading you in the newspaper?”

No, of course not. However, should you read a column you would like to share with a friend, my website can make it easy for you. Find the column on the blog and send them a link to it. There’s even a little envelope icon at the bottom of each column that you can use to spread the word. Then, those friends who do not see the column in their paper can follow online or can even petition their local editors to subscribe to the column.

“What about these other sites?”

There’s one called Main Street Commentary where I give opinions on various topics in the news. I’ve started a new blog called If I Were Emperor of Earth, where I’m having fun suggesting how I might run the planet, such as not taxing chocolate. Finally, I’ve just started a companion to the original, called A Texas Voice Oldies, where I’m posting old columns.

“Oh, may I suggest a few?”

Please do. Oh, and if you ever join Facebook, you can “like” the A Texas Voice page there.

“What does all this do for you? Are you charging subscriptions, maybe taking donations?”

Hmm, donations might be an idea. Seriously, it’s the same as radio and television – advertising. Additionally, I hope some people will decide to buy my novel, “The Reporter and the Ferret.”

“Did you finally get that printed?”

No. I still might sometime, but I haven’t found the right setup nor seen enough interest in it. We’ll see. However, it’s available for electronic download.

“If I wanted to turn someone on to all of this, how do I tell them to start?”

Start at my website – ATexasVoice.com. It’s easy to navigate. Click on columns, blogs or books and it will send you to them. Thanks, Bubba, I appreciate you helping to spread the word.

“No problem, but you should consider helping yourself. Maybe you should write a column and ask all three or four of your readers to help out.”

Cute, but no, that just wouldn’t feel right.
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(c) 2010 by Steve Martaindale