When marketing your book, product or idea, there are a couple of things you must consider. First things first, it's important to know who and what your audience is -- i.e., your defined target audience. Who is going to read this book, buy your product, sign up for your class; why would it appeal to them; and how do I reach them? The second part of marketing is coming up with a plan to sell your book, product and/or idea to your target group and to sell and fill up spots as fast as you can.

Your marketing plan is something you think about long before you even finish writing the book, get the product ready for the final stage or organize your event. As you are in the process of getting things ready for the market place, you can jot down notes in a marketing notebook.

This is not to say you don't think about publicity as you do this as well. They kind of do go hand-in-hand. Publicity, however, means getting your book, product, event (and you) mentioned in as many media outlets and as often as possible. Newspaper, book reviews, TV, radio, church bulletins, blogs, ezines, websites, alumni magazines, and so on.

Marketing and publicity are words that are sometimes used interchangeably. And, of course, when you publicize your book and yourself, you're marketing your book. But if you can try to keep the basics in mind when you're using the two words, you'll understand more of what the difference is when you hire either a PR professional or a Marketing specialist. While they offer different areas of expertise – both can provide you with ideas and knowledge that have worked for others in the past. So when hiring a PR specialist, remember that their focus is to connect you with the media and to ensure the best coverage possible for your book, product or event.