While Donuts and Desires isn't a review site, I came across a book I absolutely needed to share with you. 6 Steps to FREE Publicity by Marcia Yudkin is a brilliant marketing tool that I highly recommend to absolutely anybody. Seriously. Anybody, any business, any market. Its applications are just that broad, and yet as I was reading this book I felt, every step of the way, that Yudkin was speaking directly to me. That's no mean feat!
Let me backtrack a bit, because I've left a few things out already. First off, what is 6 Steps to FREE Publicity? Well, it's a book about marketing and promotions, at a base level, but when I was reading it, I found myself reflecting upon the little examples Yudkin provided. Although it's non-fiction, it was on my mind the way a novel would have been. I actually looked forward to coming home, making myself a nice cup of tea, and sitting down with Yudkin's book.
Another little detail I managed to omit is that it's the third edition of 6 Steps to FREE Publicity that I'm talking about. I haven't read the first two, but I gather the third deals more with internet promotion--score!
When I flipped through this lime green paperback in the library, it was Yudkin's approachable writing style that drew me in. This book contains information I needed to know, but its delivery is what most impressed me. A book about marketing could very easily be boring. 6 Steps to FREE Publicity is not. A book about marketing could be so general that the reader can't imagine how it might be applicable to her business. Not the case, here. Yudkin provides examples from a broad range of entrepreneurs and somehow, miraculously, even when she's describing a publicity method utilized by a pet care business, I could always see a way to apply those ideas in the promotion of my books and myself as a writer.
And, getting right down to it, most of the people reading my blog are probably writers. If you are an author, as I am, and you feel like you need a stronger foundation in promoting your work but you don't want to spend a fortune doing it, read 6 Steps to FREE Publicity. Yudkin cites many examples from authors, including writers of romance fiction, which are particularly applicable to our endeavours.
I honestly can't believe how much I learned from this book. Although I was taking notes all the way through, Yudkin's use of concrete examples and amusing anecdotes helped to cement various concepts in my mind. I can't over-emphasize how approachable her tone is. Yes, this is going to sounds super-flaky, but as I was reading this book I kept thinking, "She gets me! Marcia Yudkin really gets me!"
6 Steps to FREE Publicity is an invaluable resource for indie authors. I'm so glad I picked it up--and you will be, too!
Hugs,
Giselle
Mmmh - interesting. Are we going to see a new, slicker and more aggressive Giselle now? I have to keep an eye on you...
ReplyDeletehahaha... I am pretty aggressive, but not so much when it comes to selling--mostly just when people are blocking the subway doors and won't let me off. LOL
ReplyDeleteActually, the reason I really took to this book was that nothing in it came across as slick or sleazy. Its applications are really practical, and all based around communicating to potential clientele who you are and what you have to offer. Not icky Madison Avenue stuff, but rather helping the people who already want what you have to find you. :-)
See? I can get all sales pitchy about someone else's book but not my own! LOL
Hugs,
Giselle