A Discussion on Book Marketing with Walker Lamond

Posted by: Amy Hooker, Director of Online Marketing Sep 25, 2009 0 Comments

In addition to producing web videos for Rock Creek clients, television producer Walker Lamond is also a celebrated blog author whose first book Rules for My Unborn Son is slated for release on October 27. Earlier this week, I spoke with Walker about the Web 2.0 and social media activities that led to the publishing deal and are now having a positive impact on its marketing.

How did you go from blogger to book author? And does your publisher see a conflict between your blog and your book?

Like many others, I started the 1001 Rules for My Unborn Son blog just as a fun project, something to do. Then the blog started gaining popularity, and I started getting inquiries from people, including agents and publishers. The blog is what made it possible to find an agent and a publisher—I would not have known how to go about finding one.

The publisher looks at the blog as an integral part in marketing the book. After all, a successful blog helps prove the marketability of the content in the book. They understand that the book will be different than the blog, that there’s a different format and different design elements that will make it its own unique experience, in addition to new material, of course.

I understand that you’ve used social media extensively in your book marketing efforts. Are there networks or sites that have been especially helpful for you?

The two social media outlets that have had the greatest impact on marketing the book have been Facebook and Twitter. Between those two, Twitter has been a bigger help because I have a larger following. Twitter gives me a great way to communicate to the market quickly and often and in unique ways. I can include news about where the book is available or announce upcoming book signings. I can do a quick trivia contest with my book as the prize. I can comment on a New York Times article or simply write personal musings because all of the Tweets are still marketing the book. When the brand is you, everything you write on Twitter is an extension of your brand.

Facebook is a more direct way to communicate with fans of the blog. I find that I end up using Facebook more like a newsletter than anything else—Facebook offers a very convenient way to distribute information. I realize that I’m not utilizing everything that Facebook can offer, and I’m okay with that. I think that some people and brands are marketing a little too directly via Facebook, and I’d rather keep my posts somewhat personal, no hard sells. I like to post milestones in the progress of the book and post links to press that it has received.

Twitter and Facebook aside, the most important Web 2.0 technology I’m using is my blog. As long as I keep putting good content on the blog, it will remain my most effective book marketing tool.

Which social media site or Web 2.0 technology has created unexpected results?

The most surprising technology I’ve encountered is actually Tumblr, the blogging platform I use. It’s been phenomenally effective in helping me reach out to exponentially larger audiences because it has done an excellent job of making reblogging easy—one click and the content is reblogged. The speed with which my site grew from the 25 people I initially shared it with to the 5,000 or so readers who make up the core audience was absolutely amazing. More than just a blogging platform, Tumblr is a blogging social community. It may not have the spread of Facebook or Twitter or WordPress but it has an incredibly strong and loyal community. I think that the fact that my blog was in the Tumblr blog network had a lot to do with it gaining the attention of publishers and the press.

What advice would you give to others working on a book or trying to market their book?

The do it yourself technology that’s available lets you do a lot of this work (e.g. writing and marketing a book) yourself, even to the point of reaching a critical mass in popularity or in the press. As much as you might like to, you can’t do away with traditional media, because it’s hard to monetize the book without bringing old media on board. But the days of having to write query letters and work in obscurity until you’re saved by the book publisher are gone. Using these DIY tools, you really can build a grassroots following and have some mainstream popularity even before publishers are on board.

Go for it, and don’t wait. People are afraid that they’re devaluing their thoughts by giving them away for free. But if you don’t give it away for free, there’s a chance no one will get it at all. You have to be confident that you will have more ideas where those came from and that you will be able to keep producing.

Excellent advice. Thanks for your insights and your time, Walker!

My pleasure.

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Amy Hooker

Director of Online Marketing

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