I know what you’re thinking. You know you must market your book. You know book marketing leads to sales. Even though you’re grateful your mom & BFF bought your book, you need more sales than your inner circle can provide. So, where do you start?
Here is advice on where to begin your book marketing strategy.
- Create a website and set up your social media & newsletter delivery accounts.
- Determine your brand identity. It should reflect you and your books. Are you a science fiction or fantasy author? A horror writer? Then your visuals & content should reflect that aesthetic.
- Generate free lead magnets (short story, artwork, novel, etc.) and use it to start signing up people to your newsletter.
- Don’t wait for a book launch to start marketing your brand. For marketing to work, it must be done every day, like taking a shower or penicillin to clear up your scarlet fever. Create fascinating content to share on your social media platforms, website, and newsletter, such as clips of what you wrote today, your inspiration, interesting research you’ve found, personal stories, introductions to your main characters and settings.
- Evaluate what best selling authors in your genre are doing—their books, cover, blurbs, websites, social media, etc.
- Determine your ideal reader. No, it’s not everyone. Nor is it someone exactly like you. Most people will not be interested in your book. You’ll need to understand your book’s genre to determine your ideal reader. Is your book a romance? Most romance and mystery readers are women. Are your characters teenagers, college students, in their 30s, or elderly? Having a clear picture of your ideal reader in mind will allow you to create content, social media posts, and keywords that speak directly to them. This content will be noticed by people who can relate to you and your book. Marketing too broadly means no one will see your efforts.
- Set goals and a consistent schedule, such as a posting schedule for your social media, blog, podcast, newsletter, YouTube channel, etc. You don’t have to do everything every day, but you do have to be consistent with your messaging. Set goals for any paid advertising and promotions (sales, reads, subscribers, follows, web traffic, etc.). Track & evaluate what worked and didn’t and then apply what you learned to future efforts. Always learn from your past endeavors.
- Always remember to put the reader first. Respond to comments. Use a soft sell approach. Provide entertainment or educational value. Post content that a reader will be interested in. Many authors, myself especially, fall into the trap of writing content that only speaks to other writers—or my mom. Hello there fellow writers. I see you.
Bonus:
Link your social media accounts together, such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so you can post across all channels. Create a LinkedIn page to connect to other authors & writing professionals.
I hope this helps get you on your way to book marketing supremacy.
Is there anything important you felt I left out?
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 