Then
what?
Your
book is gathering dust and selling at a snail pace, not because it’s no good
but very few buyers can find your work. Not surprising when you consider the
millions of books published every year.
Writers
have never had it so good and tough at the same time. They can choose to
publish under trade publishers, subsidy publishers or self publish.
Decent
book sales should be the priority of authors because it comes with a little
gratification. How do you go from low and moderate sales to the bestseller
list?
Publishers
and authors need to promote and market their work to make decent sales.
We
will show you 100 ways to promote and market your book. Most books come in
ether digital format or print which provides lots of opportunities to promote
them.
You
also have the print on demand publishers doing their thing. Here is a list of a
hundred ways you can include in your book publishing strategy.
How
to Promote and Market Your Book
1.
Make a budget. You need to make a
budget because you are going to spend some money marketing your book. Big publishing
houses have special allocations for marketing.
2.
Know your audience. Who is the book
for is it fiction or non fiction a children’s story book, an anthology,
illustrations, romance, or a thriller. Identifying your audience is the first
and most important step in marketing.
Promoting
your book to the right people will dramatically increase your readership.
3.
Make a book trailer. The visual media
is a very strong tool to promote your book. Many people will rather watch a
movie than buy the book about the same story.
4.
Have a Marketing plan. You can’t just
jump into book promotions without knowing which steps to take.
5.
Start a free book promotion. Kindle direct publishing allows authors give away
their book for a short duration of time usually between 1 to 5 days.
Free
kindle promotions drive readers to your publication and turn some into loyal
fans.
6.
Build an email List. Webmasters know
that there is money in the list. You can build your list through subscriptions
and freebies.
7.
Build a Brand. Top authors especially
fiction writers have built formidable brands. Famous examples are Dean
Koontz, Agatha Christie and Steven King.
By
Creating a good brand results in loyal followers and fans.
8.
Target advertisement. Advertisement is
a very effective method in spreading the word. There are several advertisement
platforms such as Adwords, YouTube Ads, and Newspaper Ads.
9. Get Book Reviews. Book reviews are very
important in gaining new readers. A good five star review is worth more than
targeted advertisement.
10.
Word of Mouth. Word of mouth goes a long way
in promoting your book. People underrate word of mouth but it’s also an
important marketing tool.
11.
Post your book links. The URL to your
books page in the marketplace is a perfect way to get traffic to your book. You
can post the link in emails on blogs, websites and even forums.
12.
Use forums. A forum that deals
with books, publishing and topics related to the content of your book are good
places to direct traffic to your sales page.
13. Start a blog. You can feature your books on
your blog for more exposure. Blogging is easy and you are at liberty to use
either a pay or free host.
14.
Twitter. Link your book to trending
topics on twitter and watch the traffic increase.
15.
Social media. Social media share
brings more awareness of your book. There are hundreds of social media sites
you can use. Some top sites are Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and twitter.
16.
Your bio.
Many authors hardly give proper consideration of the content of your Bio. A
well written Bio would attract readers to your publication.
17.
The books synopsis. This is an area
authors fail miserably because they put little thought to writing a good
description. A synopsis gives the new reader a brief insight to what the book
is about.
A
potential buyer would decide to purchase or decline in a matter of seconds.
18.
The Books description. The books
description is far different from the synopsis. The description has other
elements like page length and more elaborate detail about its content.
19.
The cover Art Even when your book is a
bestseller and it’s well written without a nice cover it might be doomed to
fail. The book cover is the first point of contact with your audience.
A
shady job with a presentable cover would make better sales on the short run.
20.
Content is king. With great content
comes good reviews and good reviews equals more readers. Nothing beats great
content except effective marketing of your book.
21.
Develop creative strategies. The
theme, time period and content of your book can inspire creative marketing. If
your book is set in the Victorian era, organizing a Victorian style launch will
attract curious readers.
22.
Proper pricing. Your book should be priced according to competitive market.
Giving your book an unreasonably high or low price might be counter productive.
23.
Online freebies. There are many
methods to giving out your book free. If you are confident about the quality of
your work use this medium to get reviews and email listing.
24.
Time your release. Timing is
everything especially if you align your release with an important event or
occasion. Leveraging on the crowd it attracts is a god marketing strategy.
25.
Turn your audience into buyer. Webmasters make money by turning their audience
in to buyers. If you have a dedicated social media account, blog or group
that have huge follower ship then turn them into buyers.
26.
Offer discounts. There is nothing
better than freebies and discounts. Even mighty publishing houses like Amazon
have discount countdown promos.
27.
Professional Author Photograph. Don’t
take a hurried picture of your self and paste it at the back of your book.
Invest in a professionally taken photograph for you book. It is better not to
have a photograph than to feature a badly taken one.
28.
Have s press release. A press release is important because it gives
your audience, reporters and bloggers an insight to you work. There are many
press release distribution website choose only the top sites.
29.
Use multimedia platforms. One of the
best ways to market your book is via multimedia platforms.
30. Schedule an Interview. You can schedule and
interview with a popular media house to get more readers. Interviews are a
powerful tool when used properly.
31.
Newspaper publications. Millions of people read newspapers daily so
taking out an advertisement makes logical sense. A newspaper publication is a
very effective tool in your marketing strategy.
32.
Radio jingles. Radios go a far way in informing your audience about your
book. If your book is a business idea or self help publication you will gain
lots of followers with your radio presentation.
33.
Organize a reading club. A reading club can gain new readers for your work.
This method is not as effective as media publications but you can become a
local hero.
34.
Use Google +. A Google+ hangout is an interesting way to promote your
book.
35.
Build an expert reputation. You can build a reputation as an expert by
regularly commenting on topics related to your book. Facebook groups and forums
related to your area of expertise is a good place to start.
35.
Goodreads giveaway. If in print then Goodreads giveaways will generate
reviews and a buzz around your book. Your work should be top notch because the
reviews can be brutal honest.
36.
Do a local presentation. A local presentation of your book can create a
small buzz. The book would gain word of mouth marketing and localized buyers.
37.
Be flexible. You can post excerpts of your book at scribd or Facebook
business page.
38.
YouTube Channels. YouTube is very popular and attracts millions of video
addicts. Make a YouTube video around your book in an interesting and presentable
way.
How
to videos are very popular especially if your book is about a particular
business venture.
39.
Market to Schools. This strategy works if your book is children
literature, illustrations or educational. If a single school adopts your book
you get lots of regular orders.
40.
Create a readers Guide. A reader’s guide should contain a helpful
discussion guide.
41.
Guest post. Guest posting is a good way of attracting new audience. If
you guest post on a popular website with lots of traffic you will benefit from
the webmaster loyal fans.
42.
Advertise in book sites. Popular book site encourage advertiser to their
websites for a fee. The amount is usually reasonable and for a specified
duration.
The
exposure you get from such top sites is very organic.
43.
Outsource your marketing. If you are not technically savvy or you are
time strapped then outsourcing your book promotions and marketing is a very
effective strategy. It also depends on your budget and purpose.
44.
Use bookstore. If your book is in print then use bookstores to sell your
publication. The strategy to use is handing out your books to numerous book
stores who latter remit your earnings.
If
you book become popular they will place orders and pay upfront.
45.
Make your book a series. An author on Amazon kindle made over $100,000
dollars using this format. His novels are about a contract killer and his
adventures.
His
earlier publication had little success but when he made them into a series he
smiled all the way to the bank.
46.
In- page advertisement. A simple but effective strategy is to advertise
your previous books in your current publication.
You
can even sneak a link to the sales page of your past work.
47.
Improve your Amazon page rank. The quickest way of improving your book
rank on Amazon is positive reviews. The more good reviews you get the higher
you book ranks on Amazon. The higher it get the more visible it gets and the
circle continues.
48.
Create $0.99 Books. Create low priced book to advertise your main book.
The low priced book could be a teaser with a dedicated url link to your main
Book.
49.
Podcast. Create a Podcast tour to increase the visibility of your book.
50.
Email marketing. Email marketing tells your audience about your new
publication. You can also update your email signature with a link to your book.
51.
Get your book translated. Get your book translated to various languages
is a good way to get new readers.
52.
Start a Facebook group. Facebook groups attract people of similar
interests so you are conveniently building targeted audience.
53.
Display your books content. You can display your book cover and content
on Wordpress with the appropriate app. The look adds to the mystery and might
attract more buyers. Add rotator is a nice plug-in that offers these features.
54.
Network. You can network with other writer, readers and publishers to
gain more interest in your book.
55.
Attend book expos. Book expos are good places to discover what other
writers are doing. You can also earn new marketing trends and techniques.
56.
Organize a seminar. The beauty of organizing a seminar is the financial
benefit and potential buyers. You can make money from the seminar while
including your book in the package or selling it separately.
57.
Traditional Book signing. Traditional book signing attracts lots of
interest for your book. Book signings are fun and they show a more approachable
side of the author.
58.
Write a powerful blog post. Write a powerful blog post dedicated to the
content of your book. You can also include reviews, freebies, and synopsis of
the real thing.
59.
Kindle free promotions. Kindle free book promotions is an interesting
way to gain new audience. You offer your book free for a duration not exceeding
5 days. The strategy works because it draws lots of attention to your
publication and in the process make sales.
There
are a number of free e-book submission websites you can use to promote your
kindle book.
60.
Video testimonials. Video testimonials give credence to your book. The
testimonials should be truthful and done by actual readers.
The
testimonials spread the word and you can add url links to your sales page.
61.
Use popular article directories. If you are a contributor to top article
directories then write a review on your book. Many article directories allow
their contributors write on any topic.
Some
even allow merchant links to external sources. Top directories like hubpages
has a good reputation, high ranking and reputation.
62.
Virtual book tours. Virtual book tours build excitement, and create
large number of followers. Your book tour should have regular posts, prizes and
even interviews.
63.
Search engine Optimized Title. Search engine optimized book titles make
you book easier to find. Although this method is not always practical it works.
64.
Create a promotion kit. A promotion kit saves time and is easily distributed on
request. In your kit include graphics, illustrations, images and excerpts of
your book.
65.
Kindle select. Kindle select requires exclusive publishing of the book
for a few months in their site. For making your book exclusive to Amazon they
showcase them on their various market places around the world including a share
in a global fund.
You
can also do free kindle book promotions and countdown offers.
66.
SlideShare. SlideShare is an important medium to share your book.
Create short presentations and share them on SlideShare.
67.
Promote your books at book fairs. Book fairs are made to foster
interactions with publishers, writers and buying audience.
68.
Contact Information. Make it easier for your audience to contact you.
Add contact information to the book, blog, email and website.
69.
Offline and online presence. Make sure your offline and online has a
professional touch. Work hard on your brand so it stands out both offline and
online.
70.
Content is everything. If you create good content then submit your
article together with your link and contact information to top websites.
Websites are always interested in high quality content especially if it comes
free.
They
gain from such contents while you gain new readership and even sales.
71.
Don’t do everything yourself. Team up with merchants, book tours, store
owners, bookshops and event planners to boost your book.
72
What is your story? The top writers have a visible profile that easily
identifies them. Let them know your interests, how many dogs you have and what
inspired you to write the book.
73.
Pinterest. You can use Pinterest to publicize your book using creative
images.
74.
Promote your book constantly. Don’t run marketing and promotion campaign
and stop abruptly. You should sustain the promotion until it becomes a little
viral.
75.
Book readings. Book readings connect the author to the audience. It
drums up excitement and provides an insight into the publication.
76.
Purchase advertisement. The major advertisement platforms you can use
for your campaign are Google Adwords and Facebook.
There
are also book promotion blogs that accept direct advertisement.
77.
Give your readers options. It is wise and economically beneficial to you
if you give your readers options. Create a bundle package which includes print
on demand, printed books and ebooks.
The
book offered to readers in various formats helps create a wider audience.
78.
Turn your fans into marketers. Referral and affiliate programs targeted
at your book are a great marketing tool. Your fans sign up with companies that
offer these programs and encourage them to place links on their websites or
blog.
79.
Make a deal. Store owners will eagerly showcase your book for a cut in
the profit. You can offer them a flat sum per book sold or a percentage of the
profit.
80.
Create a themed merchandise. A themed merchandise related to your book can be
used as a promotional tool. There is no guarantee that this marketing method
would work but some writers have made huge gain.
81.
Link your book to trending topics. Trending topics have a life of their
own and they attract lots of viewership. By linking your book to such topics
you leverage on the buzz around them.
82.
Create a Bookmark. Your bookmark should contain a hook, QR Code, book
image, location of book like a sales page or website including contact
information.
83.
Write an engaging article. You can write an engaging article related to
the topic of your book then submit to popular blogs that do link round ups.
If
your article is high quality it would be included in the blogs which generates
back links to your book.
84.
Build good will. You can build good will by promoting others, doing book
reviews and interviews. This would build a reciprocal effect that could be
beneficial to your marketing strategy.
85.
Mobile advertisement. Turn your car into verified mobile unit by
designing your book cover to attract customers. You need to get approval from
advertisement regulation agency.
Make
sure your book title, and phone number is clearly displayed.
86.
Posters rock. Create beautiful posters both offline and online to
attract more readers.
87.
Make a billboard. Billboards are meant to attract people to the goods and
services on offer. A billboard is an effective marketing tool for authors and
book publishers.
88.
Facebook groups. Post your free and paid books to Facebook groups
related to your genre. People interested in your topic would most likely become
fans of your work.
89.
Sell to family and friends. You family and friends should support your
creativity by buying into your book project. Selling to family and friends is a
good way to kick-start a promotion.
90.
Amazon reviews. Get at least 20 Amazon reviews for your book. Positive
reviews will improve your raking and attract more buyers. Get your friends to
buy your book and write reviews.
91.
Email blast. You can target organizations that send thousands of email
daily. Get your book reviewed and included in their newsletter.
92.
Advertise on YouTube. You must have noticed those annoying
advertisements on YouTube videos. The might seem unsolicited but they actually
work due to large numbers attracted to a popular or viral video.
93.
Get early reviews. Months before starting your book promotion campaign
you can gather as many reviews as possible. Reviews are a powerful tool authors
use to build followers.
94.
Build a website. Blogs have their limitation but websites offer far
more. It show professionalism and gets higher rating on search engines.
Things
to include in your website are chapters of your book, link to sales page, a
complete media kit including book reviews and blurbs.
You
can also schedule interviews, conferences and add contact info.
95.
Create a book pitch. A book pitch is useful when potential buyers
request for more information about your book.
96.
Do Charity. Organize a charity event and giveaway your books. The event
should attract some media attention and it should be related to the books
topic.
97.
Build traffic to your blog. Without adequate traffic your book blog will
remain hidden. You can build traffic by writing quality articles. Another way
is link your site with high PR sites including SEO techniques.
98.
Use hashtags. Hashtags point your book link to the right direction.
99.
Make sure your book is presentable. The book should have a banging cover art,
well written content, good bio photograph and other elements for success.
100.
Price your book correctly. The number of pages, type of book and other
parameters should be considered when setting a price.
The
price should be competitive and within the range of other publication similar
to your work.
101.
Decide on a marketing strategy and stick to it. When launching your
marketing strategy decide on the method that appeals to you. Consider different
techniques and leverage only on the ones that show appreciable increase in
viewership.
It
takes time to build a loyal audience eventually you will see an appreciable
interest in your work.
0 comments:
Post a Comment