Take the guesswork out of your marketing plan, your image as it is perceived by consumers, and your branding by utilizing Michael Larsen-Elizabeth Pomada’s “Taking the Guesswork Out of Publishing: 15 Ways to Test-Market Your Books to Guarantee Their Success.”
1. Network Feedback: Ask your networking partners and organizations for feedback
2. Speak In Public: Create a free keynote series designed after your business focus and provide free speeches to consumers
3. Test Your Identity: ensure you are perceived as authentic, original, flexible, salable, and relevant
4. Goals: establish business and financial goals that motivate you to promote your work and follow your business plan
5. Promote by Sharing: share your promotional campaigns with like minded professionals and networking partners
6. Involve Consumers: send your promotional tools to consumers and ask for their opinions on your campaign
7. Associations: associate with successful people in your niche and ask for their opinions
8. Mini Business Plan: produce a mini business plan and offer it to your network for inspection
9. Affiliates: provide your affiliates with your mini business plan and promotional materials
10. Media: Ask for media feedback from industry print, electronic, and online sources
11. Independence: consider becoming an independent broker
12. Timeline of Action: create a timeline schedule for contacts and feedback on your plans
13. Small Scale: pick a neighborhood as a test market “hyper-local” study to test the waters
14. Big Picture: integrate your findings from the small scale into your promotion plans
15. Commitment: If you want your business to grow, you must remain committed to making your business successful through tireless work and constant measurement of your efforts
