I used to play in a band.
We got a gig at my company's Christmas social. A friend was making a recording at the back of the audience, and before we played, you can hear on the tape a young woman saying "I heard this band is rubbish!" It puzzled me -- I knew for sure no one outside the Social Committee had heard our tapes, and they booked us.
The cry of the marketer is "How do you make your product attractive to people?" With the band that night, we were facing some people for whom our product had already been made unattractive! We were starting from negative numbers, not even zero.
That's what Indie authors often face. "Who published your book? Not a big name? Sorry, it can’t be any good then; I've heard Indie books are rubbish!"
It's tough when, with some potential readers, you start from below zero. But having that knowledge is power. You can see your audience/market as made up of two groups.
The first is made of the people who have already "been gotten to" and are suspicious of you and your book. To this group you have to stress the professionalism of your product. Talk up your editor, your cover artist, your publishing services company, your own credentials. Point to successful Indie books that yours is every bit as good as.
The second group could not care less how you published the book. They want a good read. Tell them about the book. Tell them about yourself. Tell them what they'll get out of connecting with you through your words.
These two groups will separate out for you as you go along. How many of the suspicious types will be looking at www.indiereader.com, for example?
So don't be alarmed if you get a negative reaction as soon as you open your mouth, just be ready to vary your sales pitch.
By the way, the band really rocked that Christmas!
