I love Penny Sansevieri, the Book Marketing Expert of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., and I hope this mention brings her some business. Why do I love her? Because her advice makes sense. And because she stays on top of her game and does her research. And because she doesn’t skimp on free advice. I’ve been receiving her 52 Marketing Tips ever since I sat in her audience at a conference a year and a half ago (I’m up to #47) and every single issue has had something in it I could use. Her newsletter is equally useful (that’s one of her beliefs – give useful information in your newsletters).

But the most useful advice I’ve had from Penny is to keep it simple – to downgrade to those elements of marketing that truly benefit my product and that I can realistically maintain. Too often I’ve felt the panic of trying of keep up with all the social media that I’ve launched. In a virtual world where consistency and reliability are prized I too often find my deadlines slipping away. And with them, no doubt, my readers.

We all love lists: 52 Marketing Tips, 10 Roads to Success, 5 Best Summer Recipes. Lists draw the eye and the mind. Why? Because they are organized, they are brief, they can be used or ignored, they are subject specific, they can be skimmed quickly. One doesn’t need to ferret through a lengthy paragraph to discover the points and its essence.

Penny is a master (mistress?) of lists.

Her latest newsletter is about discoverability – the goal of all writers and the end goal of marketing. She lists her 10 best roads to discoverability and as always they make sense. But they also reflect the changing marketplace. In some cases they contradict earlier newsletters. That’s how fast the market is changing, and Penny flexes with it.

But back to simple. As my eye roves her 10 suggestions for best discoverability I recognize that once again I’ve made my life too complicated by running in place as I try to keep up with too many social media sites and to be everywhere at once. I’ve sacrificed writing to marketing in this mad dash. but what is Pennies first recommendation, # 1 on her list? Publish. Publish a lot.

The gist of Penny’s list is this: Write a lot, publish, answer questions, talk to readers, and give stuff away. Simple. And enjoyable. So why have I been tormenting myself?