A concept that I have found crucial in organizing my marketing efforts for The Memoir Network is that of “the marketing pipeline for memoir professionals.” As a business person, I—and you—ignore the memoir marketing pipeline to our great peril. We must always be aware of having the pipeline full of prospects. This is an ongoing process. It is never done!

The memoir professional‘s pipeline is an image that refers to all the people who have connected with you in some way and are therefore your potential clients. Think of the pipeline as having an entrance (inquiry) and an exit (purchase). In any pipeline at any given time, there are many sorts of prospects–some making their way to a purchase others clogging the line by requiring attention that you need to expend elsewhere. These need to be taken out of the system.

1. There are the “I’m just curious” people. Some are looking for free information–they will never buy from you. Identify them early before you spend much time. Be polite, outline your offerings–and let them go. They will eat your time and drain your business development. They only seem to be in the pipeline. They aren’t–they’re clogging it. And if you are spending time on them, you taking time away from a true potential customer.