If you are an author you should never let the concept of competition enter into your head when it comes to marketing your brand. The authors who are in the same genre as you are likely to be your biggest allies in selling books because their followers have the same interests as yours and are likely to buy multiple books on the same subject. For instance, you would not expect to learn everything there was to know about nutrition from a single book, so you purchase more than one. The decision as to which one you buy can be influenced by the recommendation of the author you already enjoyed.
I do not approach this concept of championing others from a place of quid pro quo; I do it because I believe in the concept of abundance. I live in a world in which there is more than enough for everybody. When you come from a mindset of giving, you activate an internal state of abundance that attracts many wonderful things into your life. If you see other authors as your competition, you generate an internal state of scarcity and lack that repels good things from you. So instead of seeing competition, embrace cooperation, collaboration and championing others.
The support you provide for each other can come in many forms. You can e-mail blast of blog for each other. You can show up at each other's events and interview one another on your tele-seminars. In every conceivable way that you can market your book, you can cross promote with the people you traditionally considered your competition.
No one person has the single answer for every reader. The people who seek out your information are going to look for it anyway so why not make it easy, make friends, and cross promote. For instance, if you go to Amazon.com and look up any book like The SoulMate Secret you will see two to three other books listed as "people who bought this book also bought" in the same genre. As an avid reader I do the same thing, if I want to learn about a specific topic I will buy four books on the same subject and read them all.
I write about finding a soul mate and I often promote other authors whose books I admire because I know my book is not the only book readers are buying. Almost every single week in my SoulMate Secret newsletter, I am promoting another relationship book. I recently ran into one of my readers just last week who said he loved my book and my Soulmate Kit, he found them to be so useful and now he is participating in a tele-seminar series of another author I recommended and he was getting so much out of it. I want to make good information available, and the other authors reciprocate.
Make sure you are being discerning when you choose what books you promote. They need to be up to your standards, you need to agree with their point of view, and they need to be quality people. It is so gratifying when I get such positive responses from my audience about a resource I provided. I just received an e-mail the other day from someone who thanked me profusely for a book I mentioned three months ago because she read the book and it changed her life.
In my next blog post, "Becoming a Fan to Build Your Brand" I will provide you with great strategies for getting connected with your most powerful allies. Start thinking about your wish-list of people you want to partner with and then use my tools to make it happen. I can't wait to share them with you.
Arielle Ford has launched the careers of many NY Times bestselling authors including Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Neale Donald Walsch & Debbie Ford. She is a former book publicist, literary agent and the author of seven books. To learn how to get started writing a book please visit: www.HowToWriteMyBook.com