Self-publishing is a booming space to be in as people want digital books more than ever before. To meet readers who drastically shifted to online, you have to promote your book online. After you write a book and publish, it’s all about knowing which book marketing services and tactics to add to your gig. Here’s what to know:
1. Plan Marketing Strategy
Before spending any money or energy on promotions, create a book marketing plan first. This will ensure your roadmap to get your audience buying your book, whether you plan for book launches or selling existing work. Your blueprint should include information like who your reader is, where to find your reader, and how big your budget is.
Research competitors to get a better understanding of your market. Search for successful books and published authors in your genre. Look at their cover designs, ratings, reviews, and store rankings. Analyze what they did for promotions.
2. Set up Author Branding
After having the basics down, put thought into your author branding. This is how you’ll express yourself as an author. Write up your values, tone, and online persona. Authenticity is key.
To convey yourself to the world, set up any of these online channels:
- Author website (WordPress is a popular option)
- Email (this article by crazyegg goes over the best email marketing tools)
- Facebook page
- Twitter page
- Instagram page
- Author page on Amazon
- Author page on Google
- Author page on Goodreads
With online being the norm, social media is a powerful medium for communicating with readers and marketing your book. Use a content calendar, plan posts on a weekly basis, and get dynamic with your content. Use pictures, GIFs, memes, and videos.
3. Build PR
Speaking of professionalism, boost your credibility with some press. If you have the budget, find a PR boutique that can help with sending press releases to media outlets. There are tools like PR Newswire for small businesses, where you can send out online press releases yourself. Or do it yourself by reaching out to your favorite book bloggers, YouTubers, or social media influencers.
4. Collect Book Reviews
If you decide to reach out to bloggers and influencers, ask for book reviews too. Collecting reviews should be a top priority. Here’s the thing: your marketing efforts won’t produce meaningful results without at least a handful of reviews.
Why? Selling books online is basically e-commerce. And in e-commerce, consumers look for second opinions before making a purchase.
To find book bloggers, check these out:
- Top 100 Book Review Blog Posts, Websites, & Influencers
- The Indie Book Reviewers List
- Book Bloggers on Instagram Master List
Then, use PublishDrive’s tool to request review copies from readers on Apple Books and Google Play Books. Simply insert the email addresses and have DRM-protected copies of your book appear on reading devices, right in front of your recipients.
5. Grow Email List
Whether you’re reaching out to influencers or interacting with followers on social, ask people to sign up for your mailing list. Capturing email addresses helps you market books to a wider audience with future releases and special campaigns. It’s also a great way to maintain an ongoing relationship with readers.
For email marketing basics, read this. To set up a mailing list, you need a way for people to sign up. An email software helps you do that and creates presentable newsletters. Mailchimp and MailerLite are go-to options.
Grow your mailing list with a reader magnet. This can be anything from a free chapter of your book to exclusive behind-the-scenes info. At the end of your book, mention the option to receive a freebie by signing up for your newsletter.
6. Feature in Stores and Newsletters
Another effective (and more direct) way to increase your discoverability and drive sales is by getting featured. Major retailers like Amazon, Apple Books, and Kobo regularly feature titles on the front pages of stores or newsletters. Check this out for 50 places to advertise for free.
When you go through PublishDrive, there’s a stronger chance of landing a spot with stores like Amazon. We have a 90% approval rate when submitting titles to our partners – a network of over 400 stores and 240K libraries. You also skip the different submission processes.
7. Invest in Paid Promotions
Along with the free and awesome featuring perks, buying paid placements can triple your return. Running promotions like BookBub, Facebook, and Amazon advertising was a top tactic in 2020. It doesn’t take much to start. Begin with a budget of $5 a month for Amazon ads. As low as $10 for Facebook ads.
Use PublishDrive’s friendliest AI tool for Amazon ads to improve your performance, perfect for beginners. You can also reach hundreds of thousands of readers by buying placements with our partners like Freebooksy and more.
Promote To Thousands of Channels Worldwide
As a team that helped launch over 100,000 books since 2015, we know how to market a book. And believe us, you gotta go digital and global. See how we can help:
Use Strategies That Spiked Royalties By 85% in 2020
Indies on self-publishing platform PublishDrive made 85% more sales in 2020 (despite the pandemic). That’s because the demand for digital content skyrocketed as people sought entertainment like books and prioritized online modes to get them. This trajectory hasn’t slowed down. Now is the time to sell books.
Coupled with solid promotions, you can achieve the same success. It’s all about standing out from the crowd with book marketing strategies that do wonders for indies like you. Let’s talk about them.