It seems somewhat fitting to enter a transition between chapter one and chapter two of my blogging journey, with a snappy post on what to do when too busy to focus on typical marketing methods. As I outlined in last Friday’s post, I have returned to university this week, so my schedule is much more hectic than it was over summer, and requires a finer balance.

Marketing is a core part of my own author-entrepreneurial venture, so I thought I’d share four easy and quick marketing methods for when everything just seems to be getting a little bit overwhelming.

1. Schedule your tweets – 15 mins

One of the best quick marketing methods to make more time for yourself is to schedule some tweets for the day. I’ve spoken about Twitter balance in the past, and whilst it is important that you interact regularly, and find unique ways to use the platform, the odd day where you solely schedule a few tweets won’t do any harm.

I’d recommend scheduling around three tweets from others, and two from your own site. Maybe the other way round if you have plenty of content. But sharing from others is a good idea as it not only builds up that all important social karma, but introduces your followers to new sources of information, too.

2. Run a giveaway – 15-20 mins (to set up)

Short on time for a few days? Maybe now is the perfect opportunity to run a giveaway. If you’re concerned about your sales dipping over your days/weeks out, then offering a few free copies and setting up a competition that will run in the background could be a useful method.

A giveaway will not only create a buzz around your book, but will boost sales too, especially if you use Twitter to spread the word. The more people you get to enter your giveaway, the more genuine/supportive sales you’ll make, too. Plus, giving away a few of your books could help gather you some honest reviews, which is a big deal for many readers over at Amazon.

For more tips on running a giveaway, check out this post. In addition, David Gaughran is a good example of a writer who runs simple, easy-to-follow giveaways, so use his method as a model if you wish.

3. Host a guest blogger – 20 mins (to email blogger and schedule post)

One sure-fire way to build social karma and save time is to consider hosting a guest blogger. It’s a quick marketing method that isn’t actually ‘marketing’ as such, but then again, neither are many of the most effective methods.

If you’re short on time and simply can’t find a moment to write a blog post, then consider asking a guest blogger to contribute for the day. Not only will you have more time on your hands to do whatever it is you need to do, but you’ll have a new friend and colleague that will, more often than not, be happy for you to return the favour with a guest post at their place.

Try it: if you’re feeling a day off, then drop me a message and I’ll see what I can do for you.

Social karma and marketing all in one. A pattern is forming here, isn’t it?

4. Don’t worry too much – ? mins

I know it sounds like a cop-out, but seriously, just chill for a few days if you need to. It’s okay to take a day out from time to time: nothing runs on an unlimited battery. So, although it may seem anti-the rest of this post, just forget about marketing for the day.

The result? More often than not, you’ll come back to your blog/writing feeling energised and confident. And, believe it or not, your followers won’t have ditched you for simply taking a day out.

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I’ll have another post out on Friday, which will probably be the final post in the ‘Self-Publishing Myths’ series. Uni has started great so far, by the way, and I am confident I can deliver on my promised schedule. So, see you on Friday, then in October for Chapter Two!

Which quick marketing methods have you tried? Are there any more that you would recommend?

Image courtesy of Dalo_Pix2 via Flickr