Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Four P’s (Product, Promotion, Place, and Price) are components of the Marketing Mix, a planning model developed by Neil H. Borden in the sixties. The fact that it has been around so long is a testament to its effectiveness as a business tool. Writers, like it or not, must think like business managers if they want to sell their work. But, how do you adapt this model to your own situation?
Here’s how I apply the Four P’s to Blog4Writers.
Product: Blog4writers is a free online collection of articles and resources for writers seeking to publish their work. Although it is targeted to Christian writers, those who write for secular markets may useful information here.
- Articles are less than 500 words and contain links to further information.
- Topics (categories) are marketing, websites and blogs, writers’ resources (online and print), “Get Organized,” and inspirational.
- In the marketing category, articles are marked with sub-categories Product, Place, Promotion, and Price.
Promotion: I use standard blog promotion methods, but word of mouth has worked best for me. The people who have met me, either online or in person, are most likely to subscribe. Here’s a list of my promotion methods.
- Post on Facebook and Twitter announcing new articles. Wait until after the subscription feed has been out a day or two. That way, I can tell whether traffic is coming from the subscribers or from the social networks.
- Join online Christian writers’ groups. If someone on those groups asks a question, I check to see if I have an article on the blog that answers that question. I then post the link to the group.
- Business cards promoting Blog4writers are with me all the time so that I don’t miss an opportunity to promote!
Place: In manufacturing, the Place component applies to the distribution—how the customer accesses the product. But, my users access Blog4Writers via the Internet. Also, I “place” the URL in my other blogs and in my e-mail signature to remind people that it’s available.
Price: Well, for Blog4writers, that’s easy. It’s free to anyone who takes the time to check it out. Maybe not exactly free, though.Visitors do have to spend a little effort to search for the information they need.
Four P’s analysis can be used for projects large and small, for your entire writing effort or just for one part of it. It makes you think about what you’re trying to do, and it jumpstarts your creative thought processes. Try it, and let me know how it works out.
Blog4Writers Poll: If you did not have time to vote in the “make-over” poll last week, you can still vote here.
My previous articles:
