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Marketing begins on day one.
From the moment you decide to write a book, you should be thinking about how you plan to get it out to the masses. It doesn't matter which genre(s) you write, you won't make money if you don't market.
But what does this all entail, and how can you effectively market to your audience?
What Is Book Marketing?
When you think marketing, you likely think business, and you'd be absolutely right. Your author brand is a business, and you should treat it as such. After all, the goal of most is to make money.
Marketing is a series of efforts made to sell your product, which in this case, is your book.
Isn't that promotion?
Marketing is similar to promotion, but it's more about the long-term build-up. Where promotions are temporary and tend to focus on a single product, rather than the whole backlist. In essence, marketing is the very foundation on which you grow your business, and promotion is just a small part of that.
You'll have to put a bit of work into it, but that's the same you would do with any business. We start writing for the love of words and telling stories, but in order to actually make that our living (if that is, in fact, the goal), we need to wear more hats.
Eventually, you might be able to hire a marketing team, but for now, there are plenty of things you can do yourself to get the ball rolling.
Start with a Website
A website is a must for any author who plans to publish, even if it's just one book. It can be a simple page to tell the world who you are. As you grow your backlist (and your product offerings, if you decide to go that route), you can expand your website.
But use it as your presence on the web, consider it your authority. And use it on all of your marketing materials.
Use Your Social Media
You're going to have some phenomenal reach in your social media, so use it to your greatest advantage. It takes time to build up your followers, but don't let this stop you from being active right out of the gate. Put up a few posts here and there, even if they're just snippets or letting your followers know what you're working on this week. Steady engagement is key, especially in the lead-up to a new release.
But—and this is important—don't just use it when you are releasing a new book. Use it all the time. You don't need to post daily, but at the very least, post weekly. With social media scheduling tools available, you can spend a single day a week preparing your posts and then schedule them for the future.
The more you engage with your page (and your readers), the more the algorithms will boost you. They tend to favor active pages.
Run Ads
Once you've got social media set up, it's easy to run ads. Your best bet is Facebook, though you can run them on other sites like TikTok and Instagram, though your mileage may vary.
Keywords are extremely important here. Fortunately, there are many analysis tools to help you pinpoint the search terms readers use to find books like yours.
Also, to conserve your marketing budget, when you run ads, make sure you're targeting your specific niche and not doing broad ads. The more targeted your ads, the higher chances you'll
Discount Earlier Books
Do you know one of the quickest ways to hook a reader if you write series? Offer discounts.
It's a full-blown strategy that many authors use, because it works.
The idea is you offer the first book in a series for either a significantly discounted price, or for free.
But won't that affect your bottom line?
Yes, but … Instead of thinking about the lost royalties, which, if you do this right, is only temporary, think of the overall effect on your income. If you hook them on book one, they're going to want to read books two, three, and four. So while you might be losing some money on book one, you'll definitely make it up with subsequent purchases.
Put Your Book in Local Bookstores
One of your best bets at getting your books in front of people is to ask your local bookstores to carry them. Even better if it's a niche store. For example, near me there's a romance & fantasy bookstore that opened just this year.
The owner of the shop put an ad out for local people to send her a message. She then created a display for them and put it front and center for shoppers to see when they walk in the store. It's a great advertising technique to not only introduce her customers to new authors they might not have heard of, but also to promote local indie authors who might be needing more exposure.
You, too, can petition a local bookstore to carry yours. Start out by looking up the local shops in your area and looking up the manager's contact information. Then draft a short sales pitch explaining who you are and what kind of books you write, and ask if there's space for you to display yours.
The worst they can do is say no. If they do decline, you can always petition again at a future date.
Do Giveaways
With every novel I write, I create some free gifts that I can give away to readers as a means of promotion. I post in other author groups (with their permission, of course), notifying people about the upcoming release and offer a giveaway for their engagement.
For example, with my first novel, I asked the members of that group to list their favorite tropes. Those who participated went into a drawing where the winner got a free signed book along with some stickers and a bookmark, all of which I made at home.
You can do something similar. It doesn't have to be expensive, they're happy just to get little things for free, I promise. This is also a good idea to take with you when you go to conventions and author signings. It's a little extra touch that will go a long way.
Build Your Mailing List
This is probably a little more difficult than some of the other tasks on the list, but it's worth doing. Building up your mailing list gives you a way to keep your readers informed of what you're up to and what's coming next.
But how do you get those subscribers?
There are many ways you can get people to sign up for your newsletter. One of the best ways is to have an extended epilogue at the end of your book. If readers want to see the characters again, they can sign up for your newsletter to receive it. I have signed up for many a newsletter this way. I recommend using Bookfunnel for this service.
You should also have a sign-up link on your website and your social media pages. Don't be pushy about it, but let them know there are benefits to subscribing to your newsletter.
Get Reviews
Reviews can help build your reputation and even entice other readers to give your books a shot. This is where an ARC team can come in handy. They are meant to leave reviews on the day of release, or shortly thereafter, to boost your book's presence. These can be on Amazon or GoodReads, or both.
It can be tempting, but do not pay for reviews. This is a practice that Amazon frowns upon and can result in the banning of people's accounts. Don't offer incentives for it either, because that's another "payment" method.
Rather, just let your readers know how important it is. I've seen notices in the back of books asking readers if they loved it to leave a review.
Cross-Promote With Other Authors
One thing that I've noticed is that the author community is a lot smaller than you would think. Many band together to help each other, and if you look at their social media, you can see some have even developed amazing friendships.
Becoming part of this community can really help your own career take off, plus you get to find friends who are in the same boat as you.
Engage in cross-promoting with them. When they have a new release, promote their books. They can, in turn, do the same for you. That way you get your books in the hands of readers who might not have read any of your stuff and vice versa.
Even if you haven't developed a relationship, most authors are happy to help fellow authors out, so it can't hurt to suggest a cross-promotion effort.
Later on in your career, you might even cross-promote each other by writing a book in the same series. You can also ask another author to write a blurb about you for marketing purposes, especially if they're already a fan of your work.
Offer Pre-Order Incentives
There's nothing readers like more than being offered incentives. They like to be the first to have something, whether it's a sneak peek into a book, special artwork associated with the story, or stickers and a bookmark.
That's why, when you put a book up for pre-order, you should offer them some sort of incentive, if possible. It doesn't have to cost you anything, but the rewards you reap could be amazing.
If you're not sure what to offer, you could always sneak a peek at what other authors are doing, too. What's been successful for them? I'm in a few author groups, and we regularly discuss ways to engage readers and what might appeal to them.
If you already have a big community of readers who follow you, you could even conduct a poll and ask your readers what kind of incentives they look for.
Do an Author Takeover
If you're on social media, as we already established you should be, see if you can't do an author takeover of a reader group on release day. It'll give you some time to discuss your book and answer reader questions.
Do not bombard the admins of the reader groups on the day of your release. Plan ahead. Once you know your release date, it should be on your marketing calendar to schedule as many appearances as you can to promote your book.
These can be a very effective marketing technique, especially if you make yourself prominent in these communities. It will also help build up your following.
Author Signings and Conventions
Once you've established yourself and gained a bit of a following, you can start doing author signings. Even bigger stores like Barnes & Noble are open to hosting local author signings, if there is demand for their books.
I also highly recommend attending conventions, especially those in your niche. If you're a romance writer, for instance, attending those tailored to romance readers can help put you front and center. You might gain readers who have never heard of you before, plus it's a chance to sell more books.
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