Week 2: Schedule

I live and die by To-Do lists.Just can't trust my memory. In the past, I have placed "marketing" on my daily list, but was usually not very specific. I think it's time for that to change.

But just a daily chore list isn't going to get me anywhere. There needs to be direction. So, here's my thought for the time being. I will spend this first month or two getting ideas.Then I will act on those ideas for the next months or two. Revisit, alter as needed.

It probably sounds better than it is for my world. I have a lot of hope, though.

Looking at my day, my marketing must be contained to 1-2 hours on most days. I have 2 other jobs, which take a lot of my time. And I like to exercise to keep my mind clear. Oh, and a family. And a house. Really, I want to make my books an important part of my life, but looks like it will have to fit in with the other important parts.

That's why it is imperative to find something that works, and ax the rest.

So here are my schedules, daily and weekly (subject to change if anything comes up!):

Daily Schedule:

Of most importance, as I have been recently reminded, is daily prayer concerning this endeavor. So, I am committing myself to ask the Lord for wisdom and direction concerning where I need to get my books and who should see them. I have faith He will answer and give me that wisdom.

Following prayer, I plan to follow this daily schedule, in addition to the weekly goal work:
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Monday: Scour Facebook groups for ideas, post on Facebook and Twitter if I can.
Tuesday: Go through Twitter contacts, look for bloggers or other
Wednesday: Post something newsworthy on Facebook and Twitter
Thursday: Go through Linked In group discussions for ideas
Friday: Scour Goodreads groups for ideas, post on Facebook and Twitter if I can
Saturday: Set aside for events and signings
Sunday: Evaluate week and write blog post.

Weekly Schedule:
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Week 1: Goals
Week 2: Schedule
Week 3: Set up sign signings and book talks, look for craft fairs and other events
Week 4: Work on Novel in Progress
Week 5: Look for and talk to marketing professionals
Week 6: Go through Facebook groups and find out what is working for others. Update groups.
Week 7: Go through Goodreads and find out what's working for others.
Week 8: Work on Novel in Progress
Week 9: Go through Twitter contacts and see what people are doing.
Week 10: Work on press release and send out to local media. (Possibly move this up.)
Week 11: Read blogs and other marked articles I didn't have time for earlier.
Week 12: Work on Novel in Progress
Week 13: Update log of bloggers. Touch base with bloggers who have not previously responded.
Week 14: Contact other online leads found along the way so far.
Week 15: Review progress. Log books sold and see what worked. Make adjustments to next cycle goals and schedule.
Week 16: Work on Novel in Progress

Update to Goals: 
This appears to be a 4-month cycle for now, instead of 6 months.

At this point I have already started this schedule. It is manageable for my time, but I feel like I'm not getting much done in terms of getting my work out there. But I guess the whole point is that I need to know where to put it first, and that is what I doing now. Slow and steady wins the race!

Next week I will let you know how Week 3 went, after trying to identify events and set up signings. I have a few in mind already to contact, so I feel good about this start.

So how about you? What does your daily marketing schedule look like? What would you change about mine?

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Special Note:
*Thank you to those who have recommended I check with churches about speaking engagements. I'm in an unusual position where some churches have rejected my novels altogether. I have either not received any or not received good response from churches in the area. I will keep trying, but I now realize I may be treading on sacred ground in some places and must be careful.

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