If you found my last post about book marketing helpful, then here are six more book marketing tips for authors. Every author must put some effort into marketing their books. Unless you’ve made a Faustian bargain, your book will be lost amongst the hundreds of thousands of books published each year as well as in the sea of books currently languishing unread on digital bookshelves.
eBooks have increased the number of readers, so help readers find your books with these six book marketing tips:
Giveaways:
Readers love free books. Free books brings attention to the book as well as the author & their backlist. You can hold a giveaway for your newsletter subscribers, social media followers, or on Goodreads.
Book Recommendations:
Readers not only love free books, they also love getting recommendations on good books they’ve never heard of before. Posting about what you are reading engages your audience and they might check out your books too if they like the books you recommend. Share your recommendations on social media, your newsletter, website, etc.
Limited Time Discounts:
Sell your book at a discounted price during launch or at specific times in the year such as around Black Friday, Christmas, book anniversary, etc. If characters in your novel are veterans, you might want to do a discount deal on Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day. Discounting isn’t a approach to use too often. If your book is discounted many times a year, then the deal ceases to be special or motivating for customers. Promote your deals to your newsletter, on social media, through other author’s newsletters, paid advertising, and with popular book promotion sites such as BookBub, Free Booksy, Bargain Booksy, etc.
Sharing Non-sales Original Content:
Sharing your content, such as your writing journey & process, writing tips, personal essays, author/reader interviews, guest blogs, publishing news, & short stories, helps you reach readers on a more personal level without trying to sell them something. Use your author blog, LinkedIn, social media stories, etc. to share more about yourself and work without slipping into sales pitch territory. Readers are already inundated with messages of “BUY MY BOOK!” Don’t add to the noise.
Spotify:
Spotify may seem like a weird recommendation, but here me out. I’ve read many books that have their own playlists. If there are songs that fit your book, genre, or are mentioned in your books, create a playlist for it. This is another fun way to tie in your book with what your readers may already be listening to.
YouTube:
This isn’t for the weak willed or the faint of heart. Nor is it easy. Creating content for a YouTube channel is tough, and maintaining your content output will be even tougher, but the potential reward is great. You can put out book trailers, read snippets of your novel, give writing advice, etc. Through your channel, you can speak directly to your audience to personalize your brand. The best author channels I’ve experienced provide writing/publishing tips & advice as well as entertainment. Balancing personal story, education, and entertainment is tricky, but you’ll gain a following who will be more open to buying your books when you toss out your sales pitch.
Bonus:
Create an author Facebook page and give readers the opportunity to post their reviews, comments and questions to you.
What are some of your book marketing tips?
I hope you liked this month’s blog post. The books in my urban fantasy series are available on Amazon. Please let me know your thoughts by liking, commenting, and/or subscribing. Also, you can join my mailing list by clicking here.
stacy benedict 