Most writers can’t market. That used to be very important and it was probably the main reason many adept and passionate writers were unable to pursue careers as writers.

Today it is crucial. In fact, a writer who can market his or her own work today has unprecedented opportunities. But a writer who cannot or refuses to market is going to be left behind.

Marketing may sound devious, manipulative, deceptive, or even wicked to you, but it’s none of those things. It’s actually ethical, legal, moral, socially acceptable, and highly beneficial.

Marketing is nothing more than matching your products (your writing) to what people are buying. Salesmanship is the ability to close the deal; marketing is getting you into the conversation where the deal can be discussed.

Years ago, back in the 1980s before there was an Internet, I spoke to a woman who wanted to pursue a career as a freelance writer. She had come to me for some advice and tips after having published a couple of articles on early German immigration to Texas for a couple of historical society newsletters. The articles were good but the publications were the small type that don’t pay. She wanted to go on to bigger and better things.

I thought of other markets: travel magazines, Texana magazines, major newspaper looking for feature stories. Trying to stick with her recent topics, I proposed that she might want to pitch a story about Comfort, Texas (a little town in Texas that joined the Union during the Civil War!) or write about German architectural influences in Texas.

"Oh no," she said very adamantly. (Most writers assume passion is good in all situations.) "I’m only interested in writing about German immigrant to Texas in the 1830s."

Her "marketing," if you could call it that, was totally egocentric. She was saying, "I’m only going to write on exactly what I want to write about, no matter what other opportunities are out there."

A successful writer needs to be savvy about the opportunities that exist and then be aware of what he or she can do. Notice I’m not saying what the writer "wants" to do or "feels like" doing, but rather the kind of writing that person can competently do. Then you play match-maker and see where your talents match the needs of the marketplace.

To be sure, there are some opportunities that are never going to be right for you–either you don’t know a thing about the subject or you lack the credentials or there are working conditions that just do not pan out for you. But there are lots of opportunities to write all kinds of things if you’re a bit more open-minded.

That was back in the 1980s. Now with the Internet, print-on-demand, and other publishing opportunities, we writers can literally circumvent the publisher and produce our own works. You could write a non-fiction book or publish a novel yourself at minimal cost and get it on Amazon (visit CreateSpace.com). You could launch a blog and sell advertising on it. You could write an e-book, publish it, and sell or give it away online.

Never in the history of the world have writers had more opportunities to be their own bosses and steer their own careers. But marketing is now more important than ever–not less.

Here’s how to start thinking like a marketer:

1. Look for opportunity every hour of every day. Never pick up a magazine or search online or read a business report without thinking: who wrote this? Do they hire people to write things like this? How would I get this kind of gig?

2. Spend some time on the Internet to see where the action and commotion is. Check out Google Trends. Are there hot button topics? Can you start contributing to those areas, either as a guest author on a blog or as author of your own blog?

3. Put yourself in the shoes of a magazine or newspaper editor, a blog owner, or a business. What kind of writing would just dazzle them to the point that they would find it irresistible? What are they dying to buy? What kind of writer do they wish would walk in the door?

4. It’s no secret what sells. Read stories in magazines, check out the best-sellers’ lists (there are lots of these for different categories), and read the ads for the biggest movies. Writers were behind all of these things. They sold their stories. You have to learn from their success. What did they do right? What is it that they’re selling? Can you sell something in that same category?

5.Instead of trying to get what you want, figure out ways that you can position yourself as a "solution" to an editor’s or business owner’s problems. If you want to write online, find out what problems certain people have and how you can offer solutions. For instance, you may know a great deal about cooking great food on a tight budget. Do you think there are people struggling with that issue right now? Figure out how you can position yourself to be their solution.

6. Learn from the mistakes of others. Many editors have written for writers’ magazines about things that drive them crazy. Read those stories and study them. Many online marketers regularly write and blog about things that work and don’t work in the online market. Study that stuff. You don’t have time to make all the mistakes yourself!

7. Use everything you’ve got. It is no crime to make yourself look as good as you can, as long as you’re truthful. So if you have a degree in history or you coached a world champion baton twirler or you lived in Barbados for 10 years, use what is relevant to make yourself look good to the people who pay you. Don’t be shy! Just a couple of ground rules: don’t make stuff up and don’t hype it. But if you really used to work as a professional translator and it’s relevant to an article or e-book you want to write, use your background to help leverage the deal.

Thinking like a marketer is fun because it transforms the whole world from a gloomy it’s-all-about-me place (woe is I!) to a world that practically gleams with opportunities. There are millions of opportunities to writers who can market. But it does take a bit of re-thinking.

Share on Facebook