So, you’ve finished your book, your baby is out there, after all this time of effort, sweat, and tears, your book has finally gotten published, either the traditional or the indie way. But… you are not getting enough sales. The question is: how do I get people to read my book? How do I market my book effectively?
It’s a common mistake of authors to look at being published as the end of their activity as a writer. Writing well, and knowing how to market your book have the same relevance. It doesn’t matter if you are a self-published author or you just got a contract with one of the big five publishing houses: Marketing is never enough.
If you decided to take the indie path, then you’ll be on your own. If you went traditional, then, you’ll get a tiny help, but, trust me: that help is not enough. Some traditionally published authors have said that their publishing houses only provided around 10% of all the marketing they really needed.
So, it doesn’t matter what path you chose, buckle up: it’s gonna be a good ride.
I know what you’re thinking: My book is not ready to be sold yet, I shouldn’t worry about this right now… but oh dear… it’s never soon enough, by the time you get your book ready, it’ll be too late.
The first step to sell is preparing a good online marketing campaign. You need to reach your potential readers and get them to know about your book so they can decide if they’d like to buy it.
A great marketing strategy equals to more possibilities of increasing your sales. We must never forget that not everyone we reach will buy the book. In fact, just a little number will. Consequently, you should get to work, like, yesterday.
Planning your next book? Check this link for tips on how to get awesome ideas for a book.
Our advice is not to limit yourself to what’s common and usual, and try new strategies that go beyond reviews in magazines.
On that thought, we offer you 6 efficient ways of marketing your book on the Internet that are perfect for you. These tips are based on our experience and others’. We suggest you to try the ones that you like or that you think would go better with you and your book. Don’t do them at the same time and don’t feel pressure to try them all.
1. Create your Author website: The Landing Page
In this technology-dependent world we live in, having an author website is crucial. It tells people that you are a professional and that you are in for the long run. It will become the place from which people all around the world can get to know you, get updates on your work, buy your books, etc.
A landing page is one of the main components of your marketing strategy. Some of the tips that I’ll be giving you in this post are related to raising awareness, but the landing page of your book would be something like its home. You will share the link of this page with anyone who’s interested in reading, buying, or sharing your precious book.
All the information that you would like readers to know should be on that page. Its aim is to convince the reader to buy your book.
For a landing page to be effective you should include other things: information about the author, a summary of the book, its cover, the opinion of other people that have read it and of course a call to action. Try to be different and create a unique and attractive landing page.
2. I Blog, Therefore I am
Even though you might look at this and say meh… The truth is that it will be one of the most important tips for marketing your book that I can possibly give you. Why? Let’s analyze it with two examples:
A: Laura is a writer who has a blog. She’s been writing for that blog for 5 years, but her biggest dream is to become a published author. Laura finishes her book, and she is published by a modest editorial. Before the book is ready to be sold, all her followers are waiting to read it.
B: Mark is an independent writer. He’s been working on his masterpiece for 3 years now, and finally, the book is perfect for him and therefore, ready to see the light. Mark publishes the book and the sales are not what he was expecting.
What happens here is that Laura had an advantage: her name was out there, people have already read her, and they wanted more. On the contrary, Mark was a newbie, nobody had heard about him and thus, he needed to make a bigger effort to have people wanting to buy his book.
Most writers wait until they have their book published to start marketing it. However, you shouldn’t wait for too long.
Check this link for a list of FREE online resources for authors.
As an independent, newcomer writer that wants to get 4-figures sales, you have to keep this mantra in your head: the sooner you start the better it goes. That’s why my first tip is to open a blog and choose a niche long before you publish your book. That way, when the time comes, you’ll have an audience that will support you and will be eager to see your work. Who would want to read you more than your own readers?
3. E-mail and Newsletter Subscriptions
One of the tools that you can add to your web associated with your blog is an e-mail subscription form for all of your readers. You can build a relationship and enhance communication with your audience through e-mail.
It is easier to sell a book to someone that already knows you, than someone that has recently joined to your blog. So, once a reader has given you their e-mail, it means they are interested in the type of content you write, and they want to keep receiving more of it. At this point, you should start sending a newsletter in a periodical basis.
Mailchimp is a tool that could help you in this task. You can personalize the mails, calling your readers by their names and you can even segment them into categories like region, interests, etc. This way, you can offer your services or your products (I know, I don’t like to use the word “product” for a book, but they are) in a more exclusive way.
4. Get “Legen – wait for it – Dary” Reviews
A positive review might be translated into a sales increase. Hence, you should consider giving away some copies of your book to instagrammers, influencers, podcasters, or pretty much everyone who has a devoted audience. That, of course, before the book launch (eight or seven months earlier), and asking for a review in exchange.
Important: Do not attack people. Never! And by attacking I mean: “LOOK, THIS IS MY INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL AND SUPER-DUPER-MEGA ASTONISHING BOOK. I WANT A REVIEW FOR NEXT WEEK, LOL!” It doesn’t work.
There are certain rules, so to say. Take the time to see if the content of your book fits with what they do and find out if they do reviews. And above all that I mentioned before, be respectful to the other person.
5. Do Judge it for the Cover
Truth be told, there are more books than people willing to read them. That’s why; in order to outstand, you need your cover to be really attractive and to powerfully attract readers’ attention.
For me, the cover of a book determines pretty much if a person would buy it. I’ve bought quite a few books just because the cover was so grabbing my attention! I do read the back description – ahem, ahem – but it’s mainly the cover the one who whispers “take me home, I’m pretty (insert wink here).” Not always turns out the way one expects, though. It is the story that makes you drown in the pages of a book and fall in love with the characters, but it’s the cover the one that makes you take a closer look.
My tip is to show your book cover even before the book itself comes into existence. An original and attractive cover might give plenty to talk about. If you like the idea you can even start some sort of a contest, to ask what your book cover suggests about the plot of the story. This way you can bring more attention to your book, and get the people to hear about it before the official book launch.
6. If I didn’t post it, it didn’t happen
Thank God there’s something called Social Media. And when it comes to marketing your book, I’m sorry, but you need them. Social media connect people all over the world, and they move huge amounts of information every second. You can access a bunch of people who are potential readers.
Now you know your social media is the perfect mean to share information on the Internet. But, which Social Media should authors use?
a. Ol’ Reliable Facebook
Though it is the one with more users, it’s becoming very difficult to become visible on Facebook because the page is giving priority to paid ads. As if that’s not enough, Facebook has had problems with the data selling to third parties and privacy, heighten the users’ lack of confidence in the platform.
Now, in truth, there is an important reason to be there which is the excellent writing and reading groups you can find on Facebook. My tip here is not to go straight to spam with “buy my book” posts, but to take the time to establish yourself in the group. Yes, it’s time consuming, but it’s worth. If you are part of, let’s say a YA Fantasy group, be another fellow fan, engage in the discussions and get to know some people. When they know and trust you, you can subtly reveal that you are a writer. For example, if they are talking about The Hunger Games, you can say that you used a similar structure of the first act of that story to write your book. That way, if someone asks about it, you can put the link in the comments.
The point is to actively participate and not to throw links all over the place.
Also important: if your target audience is adult and older people, you surely need a Facebook page and/or profile, because this is the social media they use the most, therefore, a huge part of your audience is going to be there.
b. YouTube
One of the most effective ways to arise interest concerning your book is to create a book trailer and upload it to YouTube. A book trailer will allow telling or summarizing your book in pictures, which creates a visual impact just like in movies’. The ideal book trailer should be entertaining, intriguing and most importantly, professional. You need to catch the audience ‘till the last second.
I’ve watched book trailers, (including some of my own) whose intention seemed to “un-market” the book, thus, never forget that your objective is marketing it. That’s why, for the sake of your sales, if you are not good with edition, or you don’t have all the tools, hire a professional to do it for you.
c. Instagram
There is a huge literary community on Instagram, and you can have a closer and more direct communication with your followers through your stories. It is a wonderful way for your readers to get to know you.
If your target audience is women, adolescents or young people, you should consider opening an account on Instagram. Plus, you will get more visibility there than on Facebook.
d. Twitter is a must!
The way I see it, if you are a writer wanting to sell a book, you need to be active on Twitter no matter what. Twitter is one of the Social Media with more activity related to literature. It is easier to grow and be visible there because of its algorithm.
e. Goodreads
Goodreads is one of the most active and popular readers’ community. The page has an Author Program that helps you reach your target audience and is, therefore, perfect for marketing your book. Plus, it’s completely free! You can create a group to get to know your readers, run giveaways and add paid ads.
Summing Up…
Marketing a book is as difficult (or more difficult, I dare to say) as writing it, if you are persevering, believe in what you think and put into practice some of the tips that I gave you in this post, you will surely have a shot.
All these tips will no guarantee your sales, as no other publicity action will. However, they are excellent means that guarantee calling the attention of a bigger audience and significantly increasing the odds of selling more copies of your book.
If you want people to talk, to hear and to know about your book you need to be more dynamic. Unfortunately, books won’t sell themselves, there’s a lot of work and effort behind every person that buys one of them. Each review, comment, subscriber and post, has a substantial impact on your book sales.
I hope you found these tips useful and that if you have anything to add on the topic don’t lose the opportunity to share it in the comments below.