Halfway there now, just 6 more steps and you have your book marketing plan.

Step 8: Decide on a Book Trailer

Are you having one? A decent book trailer can make a huge difference and it will boost your marketing campaign into going viral. First, decide how much you can afford to spend on it and then who’s going to make the video for you. Consider the format – any of the following will work:

Photo stills with an overlay of text  (music optional)

An interview interlinked with stills

Animation

Movie trailer

Step 9: What About Interviews?

Write down a list of interviewers that you could approach and interviews that you think you can arrange. There might be people you know who do podcasts, for example. Look for podcasts on similar subjects and have a listen. Think about the blogs that you could guest post for. Think about local radio or the local papers. If you can get to these people, make sure your timing is spot-on.

Your book marketing plan must list who they are and how to contact them.

Step 10: Speaking Opportunities or Conferences

Are there any events or conferences in your area that you can speak at? These can be very useful just before a launch so do a bit of research and write a list of the ones you can approach. This could be very powerful if you can be seen as an expert in your niche area.

If speaking at the conference isn’t an option, go as a delegate and try networking.

Step 11: Time To Think of a Market Price

Start looking at how much similar books are selling for. Do you need to discount the price? Is your price too cheap? You need a good price plan in place so that, if the need arises, you can quickly adjust your price without being too expensive or too cheap.

Step 12: Order Fulfillment

How are you going to do this? Are all your buyers going to be sent to your Amazon page? Will you set up a system through your own website, so you get to keep all the royalties? Have you covered every option?

Step 13: Timing is Everything

List the timings that relate to the book. We’re talking about editing, design, formatting, and so on. Are there any lead times on the guest posts you are writing? Be careful here – you don’t want to get the hype going too early, but all your promotional activity should be reaching its peak at about the same sort of time for the maximum impact.

Last But Not Least

Do be realistic in setting your goals. If you are not, you just put yourself under stress. You run the risk of rushing to meet the deadlines and making mistakes.

That’s it, your plan is written. Now you can give yourself a big pat on the back and celebrate – but don't celebrate too much just yet. Writing the plan is one thing, but putting it into action is quite another.