The Four Ps of Marketing: How It Applies to You (Part 2 of 2)

In the last essay, we discussed an overview of the Four Ps to create an effective sell-through plan for your books or services. In this essay, I’d like to apply those principles directly to writers and speakers. The last essay was an overview; this essay focuses on you and your career planning. I want to help you understand, as a writer and possibly a speaker, how to apply the Four Ps of marketing to your work to put these all together to help you build a successful, creative, and professional career. Writers and speakers are both creators and entrepreneurs. Understanding the Four Ps' marketing principles enables you to position your offerings effectively, attract new audiences, and sustain a meaningful and profitable career.

To recap what we discussed in the last essay, your product will be your book, speech, or service (e.g., consulting, editing services, etc.) that you provide. Price is how your work is valued in the marketplace. Place is how audiences can access your product or you through your books, speeches, or related services. Promotion is how you will reach and engage with your target audience. All four of these must suit you. They must align with your career goals. They must be consistent. They must meet your audience's expectations and needs for maximum results.

As a writer, your core product will be your books, courses, or other written works. As a speaker, you will offer keynote speeches, workshops, webinars, or coaching services. Bring out that paper and pen again and take notes that apply directly to you and your career. Let’s evaluate where you are.

How and what is your genre and audience fit? As a writer, does your book align with your desired reader’s preferences in terms of genre and style (e.g., romance, mystery, self-help, philosophical)? As a speaker, are the topics you present relevant to your audience’s needs and interests? Understanding and catering to your audience's needs is crucial. For example, as a writer, I align my essays such as this with my goal of helping writers succeed. I do this by offering advice from my experience, what worked for me, and what did not. When I talk to your group, I do the same thing. I attempt to make you aware of the industry to make you better and more effective at what you do, and I hope that I can serve as a partner in helping you develop your platform for success using principles that I have used for my own success and rewarding career as a storyteller. That’s my brand. You reflect on yours.

Quality is a key aspect to consider. Ask yourself how your work comes across to the reader. Is it professionally edited and visually appealing? As a speaker, are your speeches polished, engaging, and tailored specifically to your audience? I ask myself these questions whenever I write something or speak to a group. Professional presentation of your work enhances your credibility and appeal to your audience.

Regarding branding, do your book covers or the topics you write about grab the reader’s attention and fit into your niche of interest and expertise? A strong brand helps your audience feel connected and familiar with your work. Sometimes I have a great idea (I think) but I don’t pursue it because I’m not sure I’m the best one to write it, or I may be perfect to write it, but it does not fit into my brand. My brand is storytelling and education. To supplement this branding, what else do you do? What can you do that you are not currently doing? For me, I write short stories, poems, essays, and books, offer online courses, presentations, and interviews, and publish a newsletter both through Killer Nashville and ClayStafford.com, I publish the Killer Nashville Magazine and am creating the Killer Nashville Network, and I sell merchandise both for Killer Nashville and Clay Stafford. As a speaker, I offer recordings of my presentations, I am in the process of writing books to complement these speeches, and I provide downloadable resources on both the Killer Nashville and Clay Stafford websites. These reinforce my brand. What are you offering that can be easily defined (like mine, which is storytelling and education)?

Pricing, the second P, is a crucial element. It determines how your books, speeches, or services are priced in the marketplace to reflect their perceived value. Your pricing must be competitive and reflect your value and experience. To determine what you should be charging, research similar books based on the topic and your intended audience, and research what other speakers charge for workshops, looking at speakers with the same experience as you. Create tiered pricing for group workshops, maybe charging a flat rate for your speaking and optionally adding additional costs for each participant. Look at your costs for private coaching if education or editing is your thing. Increase the price of signed copies because of their added value. With pricing, you need to create a perceived value. Pricing too low may signal low quality. Pricing higher may appeal to niche and dedicated audiences. Pricing too high puts you out of the running.

How do audiences find your books, other published works, and information on your speaking services? This is place, the third P. Writers must be online. Amazon, Kindle, Kobo, physical bookstores, or direct website sales are all imperative. For speakers, the key is event platforms such as TEDx and corporate conferences, online webinars, and streaming platforms. Where are your strengths in these? Where are areas that you can increase your visibility in terms of being in a place where readers or audience members can find you?

The last P is promotion. How are you going to reach potential buyers, attendees, or readers? You could have the best product in the world, but it is worth very little if no one knows about it. Your best promotion tools for writers are your website, social media, and blogs. Speakers must establish authority with testimonials, video highlights, and professional profiles. You must have some way to stay in touch with your potential buyers. Create email newsletters to maintain a direct connection with fans and clients. Create social media campaigns targeting platforms where your desired audience is active, such as LinkedIn for speakers and Instagram for writers. Use book trailers, author Q&As, and live readings. Provide speaker preview videos, interactive webinars, or post-event networking sessions. Make media appearances, give interviews, and develop strategic partnerships with influencers or bloggers. Create cross-promotional opportunities for your brand by writing books that can be promoted through speeches and workshops to create synergy. Then, when speaking, verbally reference books or products you offer so that your speaking cross-promotes with your other products to drive sales.

All four Ps (product, price, placement, and promotion) must align to create the best foundation for a promotional and marketing campaign. Your campaign is only as strong as the weakest link of any of these. Shore them up. The other thing is that the brand must be definable. Consistency across all Ps ensures that audiences get a clear, aligned experience from everything related to you. For example, a motivational speaker such as myself should have a collection of polished presentations (product), competitive pricing fees (price), should be available at in-person and virtual events (place), and should have an engaging social media and interview presence (promotion).

Whether you are a writer, speaker, or both like me, getting a firm grasp on the Four Ps will create the foundation to build a profitable, successful, and rewarding career. Study these essays (both parts 1 and 2) and apply them to your career and brand-building activities. Spending time building this strong foundation will make all the other principles we will discuss in the future relating to marketing and promotion more effective and time-efficient. If you haven’t, get your pen and paper and evaluate where you are and where you need to go.