So, you recently published a book. You’re owed congrats! That’s a great start for building a personal brand.
However, according to Publishing Profits, it’s common to encounter some challenges in promoting your book and getting it through to the right readers.
A lot of self-published authors fail to realize that marketing is a hundred percent their job. In fact, even if you were dealt the fine hand of being published by a mainstream publisher, a good amount of marketing still has to be done by you.
Here are some tips to ensure you do a good job of that.
Ready to acquire a good readership? Let’s begin.
Tip #1: Use Videos to Promote Your Books
Posting videos online can make you popular; there has been enough proof of that going around since the advent of the internet.
Today, the vast majority of consumer traffic is video, and you want to take advantage of that.
Blogs and websites are the obvious choices for promotion, and you shouldn’t overlook them for sure. But to really be effective with your strategy, you especially want to spread the word about your books through videos.
Writers are often camera shy, as you may well know. However, this shouldn’t be a reason to miss out on the effectiveness of videos as a promotional tool. Besides, you don’t always have to be in the videos for them to work.
You can also use PowerPoint, whiteboard videos, or animation to tell people about your book. Hiring a spokesperson from sites like Fiverr to discuss your book is another great option. Still, try to conquer your fear of being in front of the camera for your audience; it would mean a lot to them if you did. Not to mention, it could earn you a great readership!
Tip #2: Work With the Media
There’s no question that social media is an effective promotional tool. But in directing so much of your promotional efforts to extremely crowded sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, there’s a good chance your posts get lost in all the chaos.
Traditional media can come to your rescue. Social and traditional media working in tandem with each other can make all the difference for first-time self-published authors in particular.
You get engagement going on your social media accounts but get good leverage from magazines, newspapers, and radio stations at the same time. Now is not the time to be discriminatory; you have to use what you can to get the word about your book out there. Get in touch with media companies.
Who knows? Your guest appearance on a TV show or radio station could be what earns you your big break.
Tip #3: Write Info Articles and Guest Posts
Among the best ways to get word of a nonfiction book’s release to your audience is to write info articles. Say, for instance, you wrote a book about exercising. You can then write an article about exercise tips for beginners. The byline will lead target readers to your book.
It can be a little trickier for fiction books but still very doable. One option is to publish a chapter or a few chapters of your novel on your site or blog. You may also publish it on a third-party site, preferably a high-authority one like Medium.
Tip #4: Get in Touch With Influential Book Reviewers
Google some of the top reviewers on Goodreads and Amazon, focusing particularly on those who’ve written tons of reviews for books and novels in your niche category.
Before getting in touch with a reviewer, find out where his or her preferences lie. You want to send your book to someone who actually has a good chance of liking it.
Tip #5: Establish an Author Community
It’s normal to view other writers in your niche category as competition. In one sense, they are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work together for your mutual benefit. After all, you wrote books of the same genre, so you’re bound to have several shared interests.
You can also expect to find common ground with these authors in terms of new material for your next book. Forming a community with them means having each other to count on for cross-promotion, which can be a powerful way to get your work out there.
Start a Facebook or Twitter group devoted to your niche and invite other writers who’ve written books similar to yours to join. Cross-promote with them through your site, blog, videos, social media, and other platforms.
Podcasts are getting more and more popular these days, so consider starting one. When you’re part of a community of authors, you can diversify your content by interviewing them. In doing so, you introduce viewpoints other than your own and keep things interesting.
There you have five effective tips for getting the word out on your new book! Swear by them from the start and see your readership grow from zero to hero in no time.
Feature photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV
