How my Marketing Career Helped me to become an Author By Heidi McIntyre
How my marketing career helped me to become an author
By Heidi McIntyre
I had been a marketing consultant for twelve years when in 2013 I teamed up with a partner to start an agency specializing in fresh produce. Together, we brought in larger clients and not long after we began to hire staff. It should’ve been a time of celebration, yet I had the distinct feeling that something was missing, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I’d always been an avid reader and an English major in college. All those years ago, I had a secret desire to write a novel one day. After I graduated, this desire got was suppressed by my marketing career which was highly creative and challenging. Fast forward to 2013 and I no longer felt that same excitement about marketing, just the opposite.
It was during a produce conference when I decided it was time for me to write that novel. It took me four years to complete and edit the book, but I didn’t publish it. I needed to find my voice as a writer. After much reflection, I wrote Sea Magic which launched on February 6 as the first book in a series.
My background in marketing came in handy when it was time to establish my author platform. A year before I completed Sea Magic, I developed my author logo, brand positioning and launched my website, Facebook and Instagram accounts. My mantra was if I create it, they will come. It was important for me to believe in myself first before I had any idea about how my novel would be received. This also took the pressure off having to do this right before I released my first book.
Early on, I chose to self-publish because the royalties were so much higher, and I wanted to own my brand. This is a personal-choice, and it’s not for everyone because I’ve learned firsthand that publishing is an arduous process.
In January 2022, I started a support group consisting of eighteen newbie women’s fiction indie authors like myself. Most of us were planning our debut that year. We’re a small but mighty group with members from all over the U.S. and Canada.
We meet via Zoom every other week and, as a marketer, I quickly realized this offered a great platform to bring in guest speakers. To date, we’ve had six speakers which included best-selling authors and leading book marketing experts. We also help promote each other’s books via social media and are conducting joint promotions as we continue to learn and grow together. Writing is such a solitary profession that it was important for me to establish a network of support and this group has given me so much more than I ever expected.
Within the Indie community, there’s an emphasis on writing to market which has lots of merit. But I knew intuitively, I had to follow my bliss and write about subjects that I felt passionate about or I wouldn’t be fulfilled. Therefore, my women’s fiction novel is a multilayered, character-driven story that encompasses historical fiction, time travel and magical realism. After I completed my first draft, I was relieved when I found some comparison novels, but my marketing planning was just beginning because I knew it was key for me to target a niche market if this book was going to sprout wings.
Goodreads became my go-to for market research. Many authors shy-away from this site because the reviewers are very direct and can be harsh at times, yet it offers a treasure trove of information. I used my comp books to study the many reviews and the profiles of the reviewers. Two distinct age groups emerged helping me to build my two main reader-profiles which included their demographics, lifestyle interests and more. This became the foundation for the strategies and tactics in my marketing plan.
Throughout my marketing career, I’d learned the importance of building buzz before, during and after a new product launch, so I planned to do the same for my book. Three months before my launch, I posted my book on NetGalley for one month using a promo company that offered a very deep discount. I also posted it to BookSprout and BookSirens. Out of the three, I highly recommend BookSirens which gave me the best return on investment, and I was able to tweak my book blurb a few times to see if the changes attracted a better response which was very helpful in preparation for Amazon.
A month before my launch I ran a Goodreads giveaway with 20 print books, and I was delighted when 4,284 people requested Sea Magic with the majority adding it to their want to read list. I also ran a giveaway on LibraryThing offering 5 print books and 30 eBooks and received over 400 responses. Now that my book has launched, I’ll be running a variety of promotions along with Amazon ads over the next few weeks.
As I look back to that time in 2013, I remember how disconcerting it was to realize I needed to move in another direction with my career after I had just started a marketing agency. I couldn’t see it back then, but the feeling that something was missing gave me a greater sense of purpose that led to a promising new career. I left the agency in 2020 and plan to also become a book marketing coach this year, so I can assist other authors. I love what I do now. It’s so rewarding!
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Always an avid reader, Heidi was inspired to write by her college professor who convinced her to switch majors to English. From then on, she harbored a secret wish to write a novel one day. Heidi spent most of her marketing career as a consultant specializing in fresh produce where she worked with a variety of growers, commodity boards, and associations. Her marketing campaigns received multiple awards.
Sea Magic is her debut novel and the first of the Hidden Gems series, which was also a finalist in the 2022 Page Turner Awards. Originally from New Jersey, Heidi lives in Oviedo, Florida with her husband, Tim, and their dog Pumpkin. She loves coffee, chocolate, yoga and visiting historical places.
Heidi pens a quarterly newsletter about her passion for writing, marketing, and the history of her characters. For more information, visit www.heidimcintyre.com.
SEA MAGIC
One reluctant psychic.
A treasure hunt through the mists of time.
Will she lay this ghost to rest?
She knows everyone in the quaint, seaside town of Penbrook, and everyone knows her—Madeline Hunter, the shy, quiet antique shop owner who whose idea of a hot date is snuggling up with a good book and her cat, Poe.
But she keeps one thing under her vintage hat—her ability to touch an object and connect with its history. Her new-age aunt says she should embrace her “gift”, but she’d rather pretend it doesn’t exist.
After buying an old box at an estate sale filled with rare items, she started having dreams—startlingly vivid dreams about Maria, a headstrong young Puritan whose “knowing” could get her branded as a witch, and whose forbidden love for a poor sailor turned notorious pirate, caused a scandal.
Together with Evan, an attractive history professor who tempts her to believe in love, she uncovers Maria’s story, helpless to stop its trajectory toward tragedy. She may not be able to change the course of history, but with Evan’s support, maybe she can lay the ghosts of the past to rest—including her own.
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