You’ve written a book and self-published it.
Now it’s time to market that book.
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Book Marketing Strategies
One of the biggest challenges self-published authors face is effectively marketing their work.
The problem isn’t so much with the marketing methods or channels; it is more about how well you can leverage them and promote the hell out of your book.
Self-publishing has created a level-playing field no doubt, but the playground is fiercely competitive.
If you want a fair chance at healthy sales, these marketing strategies can give you a good head-start.
1. Price your book competitively.
The trend of initially selling their books for free for a few days has served indie authors well, garnering them visibility and helping them build a fan base. Low prices on long books also attract readers, which is another tactic employed by many writers. But the flipside is that readers may equate very low priced books with questionable quality and hesitate to buy them. Also, pricing your book too low can be a drag on your revenue, especially if you aren’t exactly selling many copies a year.
A not-too-high and not-too-low price is a good compromise for newbie authors. This price could be between $2.99 to $4.99 for a full-length book and $1.99 for a novella.
2. Get an author website.
Your author website will be the one-stop destination for readers and the media to get more information and the latest news about you. Add a brief biography, high resolution photographs, links to your social media profiles, positive reviews and press quotes. Also consider a blog section where you can interact more intimately with your readers.
3. Get social.
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ are some of the popular social networks where authors can engage with fans/followers. Guy Kawasaki recommends getting on social media before you start writing a book, as it will take you anywhere from nine months to a year to build a social following.
Create a great profile that elicits interest, and makes you appear likeable and trustworthy. Add your high resolution photo, but make sure it’s just you and not you with your spouse, pets or car. Write a few sentences about yourself and tell your personal story, staying honest to whatever image you want to portray and without going over-the-top about it.
Don’t just self-promote, focus on initiating engaging, lively and useful conversations with your readers. You can talk about your interests, opine on a news story or topical subject, and even post interesting photographs from time to time. Answer fans’/followers’ questions, give advice, and follow people whose content you find valuable and share-worthy.
People like sharing posts and tweets about contests. You can launch contests on social media and give away free copies of your book as gifts/prizes.
4. Create Google Alerts.
When you create a Google Alert on your name, the search engine will notify you every time someone writes about you and your book(s) online. You can reach out to these entities to explore more promotional opportunities or thank them for the mentions.
Have you used other strategies for marketing your books?
Please share them in a comment here.
To your book marketing success,
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