The spiritual basis of marketing
This is for Christian authors
I ran across this statement this morning in Scripture as I was beginning my Sabbath time with the Lord.
““For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up. [Isa. 14:13.] But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.” Psalm 75:6-7 AMP
The Isaiah cross-reference is where the Creep says he’ll exalt himself “above the stars of God”. Boasting is not a good thing. You cannot lift yourself up in the Kingdom of God. So, the question becomes, “Should I be trying to proromote my self?”
Scripturally, the answer is clearly NO! “Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” [James 4:4b MEV] That paragraph ends with one of the core messages of James, and scripture:
“Humble yourselves in the sight of Adonai, and He shall lift you up.”
Jacob (James) 4:10 TLV
I could cite many more like these, but you need to understand this clearly:
Marketing is not a Kingdom activity
So, how do I sell my books? Biblically: you work by prayer and the open sharing of the truth as led by the Holy Spirit. He may lead you to advertise, but be careful that it is Him doing the leading. Pray for wisdom. Pray for favor. Be humble and do what He tells you to do.
It is almost certainly true that your author platform will be about ministry. Your presence through a Website, a blog, FaceBook, Twitter, Google+ and the rest will be about helping your readers.
Your books are an outgrowth of your character
Your birth into the Kingdom of God brings you to discover who you really are and what the Lord uniquely designed you to be. Writing is not an activity outside of that, but comes from within that.
Why are you telling stories?
If that does not come from who you are in Jesus, you need to be aware of that. If it’s not part of your new creation, as a child of God, it is suspect—at the least.
Can you have success using worldly marketing ploys? Of course. Might the Lord have you use that knowledge? Maybe. But it is not a given, and the process is worldly, at best.
Biblically, you simply share what you have done, and focus on serving the Lord. He will have you do many different things. Selling the books is something you want to come from Him. Just write what He tells you to write and live your life walking in the Spirit. The blessing of your books is His to do with as He wills.
So what do you think?
