Get ready to sell your book once you have completed it. Book marketing is one of the most crucial aspects of your success as an author, especially if you choose hybrid or self-publishing. Although most authors prefer book marketing services, you can still promote your books. There are several original and unique ways to promote your book. For example, you could spend the whole procedure telling everyone you know about your new position. However, you might set sales records if you use a few effective book marketing strategies.
So, to increase your book sales significantly, here are some book marketing strategies you can utilize to turn your book into a best seller. So let’s start:
Also, you can check: How to Start a Book Blog With WordPress.
Leverage The Potential Of Amazon
Whether you like it or not, Amazon is currently the most popular book platform. Making an Amazon author page can help you sell more books and get devoted readers. The platform also lets you track sales, comment on reviews, connect with users, and add editorial reviews, which helps you appear credible. Your author page on Amazon includes:
- Your Biography
- A Link To Your Website
- Your Pictures
- Your Book’s Promos
- List Of Your Published Books
- Your Book Trailers
- Your Social Media Handles
Additionally, book categories help readers discover you. There are ten book categories and ten Kindle categories to which you can add your book. You can select the categories in your Author Central to make your book search narrow. Other brief pointers for authors using Amazon include:
- Conclude your sample on a cliffhanger to entice readers to continue reading because Amazon offers a Look Inside feature that allows customers to access the very first 10% of your book.
- Look up the top reviewers on Amazon in your category and request that they write a review for your book.
- Make it simpler for Amazon customers to find your book by using the appropriate Kindle keywords.
- Run book adverts with Amazon Marketing Services.
Request For Book Reviews
Readers who read book reviews are more likely to buy your book. However, having reliable book reviews is essential in this scam-filled society. So, request book reviews from your followers on Amazon and other online book retailers. If you sell books through Amazon, that’s where you should start. Ensure you get in touch with any Amazon customers with the “Top Reviewer” badge. Find the best reviewers in your category. These individuals usually respond quickly and take additional care to write honest reviews.
However, due to how simple it is to fabricate Amazon reviews, many professionals in the industry believe that they could be more reliable. So, a few months before the book’s release, try requesting relevant editorial reviews on your book from literary publications that cover your genre. Send a free book with a kind request along with it. You can also ask popular book bloggers, authors who write in the same category as yours, literary magazines, etc., to provide an honest review for your book. However, if you find it challenging to do all this hard work yourself, you can hire book marketing services to do the job. They have professionals on their team who can make this process easier for you.
Connect With Other Writers In Your Category
Nobody encourages writers as much as other writers do. So, meet the authors who write in your genre or area of interest. These are the individuals that could be interested in buying your book. Work along with other writers, bloggers, and aspiring or established authors. To spread information about your book, go to local and regional professional networks, book festivals, publishing fairs, or writer’s conferences. Find meetup groups that are relevant to the subject of your book. Finally, look into speaking opportunities at clubs in your area.
Develop Your Author Platform
The greatest way to sell your book is through an author platform. You stand a chance to get the spotlight that you are looking for with an author platform. An author platform is usually used to simplify the bookselling process. Moreover, when building your author platform, you might not need to put in as much effort if you are a fiction author with a big publishing house supporting your book. In this case, many agents and publishers collaborate to promote your book. If you are a developing author, knowing and understanding how to use your platform will be very helpful to your success.
The first marketing tool you should use for your author platform is an author website. Your website acts as the centre of your online presence. It should include a blog with regular updates, a newsletter once a month, pictures, and links to your social media profiles. And hiring book marketing services for this can be your best bet. They are well-versed in brand building and can help you design a platform that can significantly enhance your credibility among your target audience.
Moreover, you can post pictures with quotes relevant to your book on your website and social media accounts before your book launch. This strategy helps you spread the word about your book release and can help in increasing your book sales. Some authors also feature podcasts in addition to social media pages. These factors work together well to increase your website traffic.
Moreover, all of your books should be linked from the book page, making it simple for customers to buy your book. However, if your book still needs to be completed, you can start gathering email addresses to let people know when it is or offer pre-orders.
Write A Press Release
The goal of a press release is to introduce a new book. So, create a press release and include links to your book and the product page on your website. Then, the press release will be distributed to blogs and news outlets using a free distribution tool. However, if you find it challenging to distribute, hire book marketing services to do the job. Moreover, you can send a customized email to media outlets requesting them to distribute your book along with your press release. Finally, look for magazines that cover the subject of your book on a national and local level. This approach can significantly spread the word about your book and help increase awareness about your book.
Start Guest Posting
Even if your author’s website should contain regular updates, guest posting on other popular blogs is really advantageous. Write about your writing process or promote your book. Find comparable blogs focusing on your genre, book bloggers, or writing-related websites. Even if the blog post’s subject is unrelated to your book, the author bio and byline assist readers in getting familiar with you and your work. Allowing the same individuals to guest post or conduct a campaign on your website will show your appreciation for their work.
Obtain Blurbs For Your Book Cover
Your book cover and description are the primary sources of information about your book. Moreover, the table of contents, prologue, and dedication are all found within the initial pages of your book, along with publication and copyright information. So, include a blurb from a popular author on the front page to spice it up. Blurbs should be attention-grabbing, especially if you support your book with a quote from a well-known author. In fact, the front page containing blurbs and book descriptions has a click-through rate of nearly 25% higher.
Make Videos For YouTube
Undoubtedly, Twitter is a great social media platform for writers to network and promote their books. But to have your content available to a large audience, YouTube is a powerful search engine. Making videos for YouTube is pretty easy. Additionally, viewers like watching brief videos. If you don’t already have one, create a YouTube account and gather a few little educational videos discussing the subjects related to your book. Again, try not to sound salesy. Just be honest and validate the significance of your book.
Link to your videos on your other social media profiles as soon as you have them. Facebook needs to work better to drive organic visitors to your website. However, it works great for videos without any external links. You can also embed your videos in your blog posts to take them a step further. Try making videos where you:
- Respond to fan questions
- Talk to another writer
- List your best picks for book recommendations
- Complete a quick reading of your upcoming book
- Inform about your writing routine or process
- Talk about your best writing advice for aspiring writers
- Make a short-form documentary series on your book
Organize Book Signings And Readings
Organizing book signings and reading is an excellent option if you want to spread the word about your book. These activities increase reviews for recently published books and promote word-of-mouth for new releases. For example, you might be asked by your agency or publisher to go on a book tour or give a few readings. You can get in touch with nearby bookstores if you are hybrid or self-publishing. Moreover, you can also hire book marketing services to organize these events for you.
Get In Touch With Your Nearby Library
Only some people are aware that many libraries buy books from unpublished authors. Instead, reach out to your neighbourhood library and request that they stock your book, regardless of how you plan to publish it. Your library will be fine with purchasing copies of your book from you if it is offered for sale through a wholesaler. If you still need to, you can still ask them to place the book on their new releases shelf or local author display by getting in touch with them.
Use your book’s presence in one library as leverage to convince others to do the same. This advice also applies to nearby independent bookstores. Such places frequently support independent and regional writers in any way they can.
Conclusion: Book Marketing Strategies
Keep in mind that these are just a few efficient book promotion techniques. Promotion, however, never ends. If your efforts are more creative, you will sell more books. You must also be persistent, never take no for an answer, and keep your individuality. Be willing to be perceived as vulnerable and willing to share your message rather than seeming like a walking and talking advertisement.
Additionally, bear in mind that established authors don’t rely on a single type of promotion. They market themselves constantly and seize any new, creative opportunities that come their way. So, follow these book marketing strategies, and I bet you will be on your way to success!