How to write a marketing plan

Preparing a marketing plan is a common activity within the publishing industry and one on which many future developments may be based. Authors and agents take close note of prospective publishers’ ideas for marketing their work and, if choosing between rival offers, the associated marketing plans will be closely scrutinised. Retailers being asked to invest in new product lines will want to know the wider marketing planned by the publishers, in order to stimulate demand for products they agree to stock or promote. Authors may in the past have been resistant to talking about marketing, feeling their responsibility was for content alone and preferring to leave the marketing to their publishers, but today the sheer range of projects competing for the consumer’s attention means that the author’s ability to outline the market they are writing for, and help communicate with it, is a crucial part of a decision to invest in them. Unpublished authors seeking external investment are well advised to prepare a marketing outline in order to help potential publishers and agents understand where consumers may be found, particularly if this is a new area for publishing. Finally writers planning to self-publish need to think about how best to allocate their efforts and the ability to develop a marketing plan is a sound basis for further activity, whether they assign the ‘to do’ list to themselves or others. But before discussing how to go about formulating a marketing plan, it’s worth stressing that while the thinking advised in this chapter can be used for plans of all levels of activity, from relatively straightforward organisation within the department to large-scale launches relying on external help, it is of little value if it is not subsequently implemented, or at least referred to. A marketing plan that sits in a drawer or on a computer is of little use. In this context it is helpful to think of a plan in three stages: Coming up with a plan. Communicating it to others. Motivating its implementation.