A Year of Book Marketing Part 1: Marketing Your Book One Day At A Time (Day-by-Day Book Marketing)
Becoming a 1 Best Seller on Amazon has plenty of benefits, not least of all the prestige and the additional exposure that it gets you on the platform. The good news is that you only have to reach the top spot in your category to earn that title. This will begin to give you an idea of the words that users might enter into the search bar when looking for a work just like yours.
To compete with similar books of a professional standard, you need to consider your book as a full package — from the way it looks to the blurbs used to market it. Most of your marketing efforts will hinge on people actually liking your book — enough to mention it to friends and leave reviews on your Amazon page. To get to that point, you need to make sure that your entire project is up to snuff. If that means getting professional editing, a proofreader and having your book properly formatted, then, by all means, take care of it.
Cover design really matters. It will be your primary marketing asset across all your marketing channels: Your cover will get the customer to open the door and talk to you. Often called the blurb, the book description is the bit of text on your Amazon page which often includes a synopsis. Acquiring readers is not easy, so make sure you lock them down. Authors who have written more than one title will have a section at the back of the book to let readers know where to find them.
Or even better, include a link to sign up to your mailing list.
Use a service like MailChimp or Mailerlite to manage your mailing list. One of their best features will allow you to see who has opened your newsletter and clicked on the links such as "Buy now! An author website is not just an online expression of your brand. You can create your own, or work with a professional designer to build a website that is great at converting leads. People in sales will always talk about tracking down new leads, or developing hot leads while shying away from weak leads.
Lead magnets are incentives you offer readers in exchange for signing up to your mailing list. Fiction authors sometimes use free short stories — or free novels! You can publicize your lead magnet on your website, on social media, at the back of your book, or even on Facebook ads. These will prove to be one of your best tools when it comes to adding suitable readers to your mailing list.
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You might find it annoying as a user, but we can attest that pop-ups are very effective at getting people to sign up. If you write horror novels in the vein of Stephen King, why not give away a signed poster of the film It, or a Stephen King box-set? Facebook is a great platform for authors, and their advertising service has proven to be effective at targeting very specific audiences. While you can use their ads to direct users to your Amazon page, you can also use them to capture leads. Once you have readers on your mailing list, you need to keep them warm.
Some authors send a newsletter every week; others space theirs out to every few months. Your street team is a group of dedicated readers who will help you get the word out during your launch. They will be active on social media and will be prepared to leave good honest reviews on launch day. In many cases, a street team is made up of friends, family, and a number of engaged mailing list subscribers. Building an author platform is all about expanding your ability to reach an audience. For non-fiction writers, a strong platform is usually crucial to scoring a publishing deal.
Here are a few ways you can go about building yours and demonstrating your authority in your field. Try pitching guest posts to niche but relevant blogs, as well as larger media outlets like HuffPost, Forbes, or Inc. While you can arrange this yourself, many authors prefer to work with experienced publicists who already have connections. Take a look at the bestselling books in your category. Do they have quotes and endorsements from experts? Seek out those experts' contact info and try reaching out to them — and even your competing authors.
It could surprise you how many people are willing to read your book and provide a quote, especially if you approach them properly. Once you have some quotes, use them in your book description, on your adverts, and anywhere else you can think of. By giving you a testimonial, they are effectively lending you some of their platform. Say for example, that you write about energy trading.
When new readers arrive at your Amazon page, almost all of them will look at the top reviews.
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Social validation is an incredibly important part of the purchasing decision, so in the run-up to your launch, it's important to focus on securing as many positive reviews as possible. About a month before launching, send your street team them an ARC Advanced Reading Copy and ask them to leave you a review on launch day. Also, give them pre-written tweets or Facebook posts that they use at that time as well.
Make sure you follow up with your street team a week before the launch to make sure that they a have read the book, and b are ready to leave their review. Upload a professional-looking author photo and put your author bio to good use! Your author page will look a little empty until you have a few books under your belt, so consider recording an introduction video where you talk about your first book.
Promotion needs to start well before it's actually your launch date.
50 Book Marketing Ideas Every Author Needs to Know
And it's much easier to secure sales by asking people to 'pre-order today' than to hope they'll remember to come back later and buy it. Most review bloggers will have a full plate, so the earlier you can reach them the better. Also, simple to use and industry standard. Loads of features and everything you need. Once you have a comfortable list that you are engaging with regularly, it is time to focus your core efforts on providing value to that list.
The subscriber gave you permission to email them, and now it is your responsibility to follow through by building that relationship. Sign up with one of the email subscriber services recommended. Spend a few hours and come up with ideas on two things:. This is where we can keep things fresh by running promotional campaign for the book every months. Drop the price of your book to 0.
You can adjust the price by going into the KDP dashboard. It takes Amazon anywhere from hours to set this up. Setting up book promos does cost money but it gets your book rankings moving up again and gives the book a fresh kick. You can set up promos with the following sites:. I love this one, no reviews needed and you can sign up right away and get approved. Various promo packages with guaranteed paid and free downloads.
This is an opportunity to set up a small support group to read the book and leave a review during the promotion period. This boost in downloads and new reviews boosts the rankings of your book. Writing multiple books is a long-term strategy that can build a profitable book business over the course of several years. You can do this with a strategic plan for your author business. In addition, it is easier to promote several books at the same time. You can set up a book bundle and have your books available in multiple formats including audiobooks and paperback.
Block out minutes a day for the next 30 days. Come up with ideas for at least ten books you want to write.
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Do a mind map followed by an outline for each one. Then, set out to create a publishing schedule for each book. Here are a few authors creating a library of books and doing very well with their platform of consistent releases:. Patrick King , Social Interaction Specialist. Scott , Develop Better Habits. Martin Meadows , Self-Discipline and Grit. Peter Hollins , Human Psychology. If you want to sell more books and earn money as a paid author, write and publish books that sell.
Target a specific audience and write your content for that fan base. Build a brand around your work and market your writing accordingly. Stick to the essential elements of book publishing and be sure to write a book that engages your readers interest, provides them with entertainment [fiction] or life lessons [nonfiction], and invest your time into creating a series of books that have impact and branding appeal.
Selling books and making money is a long-term strategy. Focus on the strategies that will have the long term results you want. His passion is creating content that helps people change old behaviors, develop positive habits and implement strategies for taking immediate action towards their dreams. Check out Scott's books here. Get your free video training course now: How much effort will you need to invest?
For cover designers we can recommend a few sites here: To stack up on reviews during your launch you can: Invite people to join your launch team and provide early reviewers with a copy of your book to review 2 weeks before you publish. For some great examples for book descriptions check out these titles: Amazon Keywords What use is a treasure hunt if there are no clues? There are three tools we recommend for researching relevant keywords for your book. Professional Editing A book that has been poorly edited is going to receive negative reviews. Pricing Your Book One question that I often get from authors is: We do this by setting up an email list of raving fans.
You can start by signing up with an email subscriber service. There are several to choose from: Spend a few hours and come up with ideas on two things: What type of content can you regularly write to engage your list and build a relationship with them? Here is how you can do this.
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You can set up promos with the following sites: Questions to ask yourself are: How long is each book? Am I targeting a general audience or a specific niche? What is the estimated profit potential for this book? How can I put out a new book every months? Here are a few authors creating a library of books and doing very well with their platform of consistent releases: Wrapping It Up If you want to sell more books and earn money as a paid author, write and publish books that sell. You can take this a step further and create a private facebook group where you share some of your best content and insider information with your tribe.
Create an author website. Use this to promote your books, blog about content in your books, and keep readers engaged through online discussions about your work and mission. Set up a professional author email. Post these to your website, social media, and the paperback copy on the back. Approach foreign book publishers and try to get your book translated into other languages. Nowadays many authors are translating books into Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese and Spanish. Get video testimonials for your book.
Post to YouTube and your website. Send your paperback to fans and ask them to take a photo holding up the book. Use this as a promotional tool by creating a landing page for your book. Additionally, you can create book pages for your books on your website [Note: We strongly recommend you have an author website]. Run a book giveaway on Goodreads. Write a series of blog posts related to your books and overall branding theme. Get featured on as many podcasts as you can. This is a great way to drive traffic to your book pages and site.
Continue to pile reviews onto your book. This should be an ongoing marketing strategy. Aim for a goal of adding two new reviews per week. Set up an AMS ad for your book. You can check out this free course right here: Free AMS Advertisement Course for Authors Create free content checklist, mini ebook, or audiobook and give it away for free inside your book.
Scott Allan
Create a virtual bundle of your books when you get several titles published. This has the potential to be a strong upsell. You May Also Like. Love the list — and epic post! Subscribe to the Podcast. Send my free course now!