Book Marketing Tips
Book Marketing Tips
Let me start by saying that I am by no means an expert at marketing or selling my own books. However, over the last year I have learned lots about the world of marketing self-published books and I wanted to share my tips and tricks with you all.
Feel free to leave any ideas in the comments!
A little while ago I filmed a video about this. You can find it here if you’d rather listen/watch my tips!
Social Media
Social media is where most of my sales come from. Before I started self-publishing I was blogging and from this I learned a lot about social media. My biggest tip is to focus on engagement rather than numbers. It may look good to have thousands and thousands of followers but if nobody if interacting with your posts then what’s the point?
How can you gain followers? Interact! Do your best to put your personality (or your brand) out there and be authentic. Without knowing, I shaped my ‘brand’ on myself. I completely lack a filter so my tweets can be rather entertaining. Don’t use social media solely for business/marketing purposes. Nobody wants to follow an account that only promotes themselves. Interact with others and promote others. Social media, when used correctly, can be an online community so make sure you’re a part of that.
In an ideal world you’ll want to gain a social media presence before you self-publish. I didn’t do this but have since put my all into it. Get people excited and interested in you/your brand.
Social media tips:
Use scheduling to take the pressure off & to interact with different time zones.
Certain times of the day will gain more engagement. Never post on the dot, do obscure timings (such as 2:03)
Know the different platforms and how they can work for you.
Graphics draw attention.
Be genuine and be supportive.
When posting links to your books ensure you include the right country. Here’s an example of how I post links to The Vintage Bookshop of Memories:
The Vintage Bookshop of Memories
Prue loves gin, 1940s fashion and anything with history attached to it. Can she find happiness whilst settling into her new life and finding love?
FREE on #KindleUnlimited
Networking
Networking is similar to my tips above on social media. There are so many other authors online to network with. You can learn lots from them; from their approach to marketing to how they format their books. In addition to this, READ! There are so many amazing books in the online writing community. Do your best to read them and support other authors (it means a lot!).
Any job requires an element of networking. View the online writing community as your colleagues and support them as you would those working in an office beside you. We can learn from each other and support each other. Each book is so different that we are not truly in competition with each other.
Accept any opportunities that come your way! Here are a few that I’ve had the opportunity to get involved with:
3 Questions with… Elizabeth Holland
Guest Blog Post – Why Choose Romance?
The more opportunities you get involved with, the more people will recognise you!
Networking tips:
Be supportive.
Be kind.
Say yes to opportunities.
Website/ Blog
Websites/ Blogs can be helpful for marketing in a number of different ways. They can help readers get to know you and your books, which in turn can lead to more sales. There is also the possibility of websites/blogs helping you to reach a larger audience. This is a whole new topic and will require lots of research! However, as an overview you can push your website/blog on social media, websites such as Pinterest, and you can work on your SEO to gain organic traffic.
I’ve previously offered author Q&As on my blog (I’m still open for them, there’s a tab on the menu above where you can find out more). These posts are beneficial for both me and and author. It drives their readers to my website and in turn my blog readers discover more about the author and their book. This can help with both marketing and networking – both of you can reach a wider audience.
You can also connect a website/blog to a newsletter, or post bonus chapters/stories. Here’s an example of a bonus chapter for Finding You that I released before my book launch.
Website/Blog Tips:
Do your research.
Use your platform to help others.
Reviews
Reviews are for readers. However, they are also for authors. Think of when you go searching for a new book, are you put off by those unknown books with no reviews? I’m ashamed to say that I am. To help sell your books you are going to need reviews to encourage others to take the chance on an unknown author. In addition to this, Amazon has this magic number of 50 reviews and once you hit that they are more likely to suggest your book to others.
So, how can you get reviews? This is a tough one and if I knew the answer then I would be on cloud nine. However, I do have a few tips to encourage sales which may lead to reviews. Hold giveaways and offer sales on your books. This will encourage others to read and (hopefully) leave a review.
ARCs
ARCs are something I’ve only recently started using. It stands for Advanced Copy Readers and it’s where you send out copies of your book before release. The idea is that these readers will read and review your book before/upon release. Therefore, you release your book with reviews.
I ask people I know in the writing community if they’d like to be an ARC reader for me. However, there are websites out there that can assist with this.
Pricing
There’s a big debate on pricing. Price yourself too high and nobody is buying. However, if you price yourself too low, then it suggests your book is of low value. My best advice here is to do your market research. See what other books of your genre and length are selling for.
If in doubt, I tend to find most novels I purchase are around £2.99
Graphics
When advertising on social media consider your graphics. Think of when you’re scrolling, what catches your eye? With this is mind I try to create graphics for marketing. I’ve also used videos to promote my books and allow my readers/followers to get to know me.
An example for The Vintage Bookshop of Memories. I use bright colours (that match the book) and quotes. My book is also available on Kindle Unlimited, so I try to display this.
Other
Paid advertising. This is not a marketing tool I use and so I would recommend doing your own research if this is an option you’d like to explore.
I’ve focused lots on online marketing, however you can market in real life. I’ve left books in community libraries for people to pick up and encouraged them to return it for others. You can also market at book fairs, local markets, or even local radio stations. There are so many options out there!
Remember…
Don’t compare yourself to others!
Certain genres will sell better than others.
Marketing IS hardwork.
2 Comments
Andrew McDowell
Thanks.
Elizabeth Holland Author
You’re welcome! 🙂