Whatever product is created, whether it’s a smart phone or a novel, is useless if none knows it exists. One of the biggest steps to selling a product is marketing. This article will go over several ways that you can promote your books for maximum reach and profitability. So if you have a novel or book being released soon, this post is for you.
Table of Contents
Promoting your novel through social media
Why book marketing is important?
Every business from small time to big time, needs marketing. There are several steps to becoming a successful author. One of those is making sure that the product you have created is marketed correctly. Social media plays a part in promoting your book or any book you want to promote.
How much does it cost to promote a book?
The traditional methods are expensive because real people are being paid. Social media cost almost nothing to use. The only thing that you have to pay for is your own time. It takes time to create quality posts that will bring in traffic to the site.
Self-publishing and promoting will still cost between 500 and 1000 dollars, but well-worth it because you reap all the rewards.
Creating an Author Website and Social Media Accounts
This should be done before even writing your novel. Creating a website in 2021 is incredibly easy. It cost nothing to make one, so there’s no reason not to have one.
Social media accounts are quick to create and you can be growing your followers while you write your book. It’s also a great opportunity to pre-sell your novel and create some ‘buzz’.
Where to Sell Books
You already know that the only game in town is online and digital, right? You’re also no dummy. You know that the only way to sell books is to get them in front of people’s eyeballs and wallets.
The better you know how to market your book, the more money you’ll make. It’s also a bit like divine intervention, as far as marketing your book goes. You can’t push something into the marketplace and expect it to sell itself.
What are the best book promotion sites?
Online book sales platforms include:
- Amazon.com (Amazon is an online store that sells books and other similar products).
- Apple iBookstore (Apple’s online store for selling e-books).
- Barnes & Noble (An online bookstore that sells books, print media and similar products)
- Google Play (Google’s online store for selling books)
- Kobo (An online store that sells e-books, including downloads, magazines and other similar products)
- Smashwords (A website that allows authors to publish books for e-book retailing on Amazon.com, Apple iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook stores).
- Sony Reader Store (An e-book retailer with a large online bookstore)
- Sony eReader (An eReader that can be used to read and store books in Sony’s online store).
- Sugaring (A website that helps publish and sell books through various channels, including Amazon and Apple iBookstore).
- Tapas (A website that allows you to sell your books online through Sony eReader and Barnes & Noble’s Nook).
- Waterstones (An online bookstore that sells books, including both print and e-books).
What You Need to Know to Sell Books
In 2021 the main thing you need to know is that selling books online is the most important step to creating a successful career as an author. There are currently over 200 million self-published books; the majority of all books published are self-published.
Many of these bestsellers would be considered classics, and were likely written by self-publishing authors, who would never have been able to find a publisher without going the traditional route.
The history of book publishing is full of film producers, screenwriters and rappers that started out self-publishing before building their careers in more traditional ways.
You will have to be incredibly lucky or spend a lot of money to get promote your novel the traditional way. But luck runs out and money needs to come in sooner or later, right?
One of the most important questions to ask yourself is: do I have the time, money, facilities and knowledge to spend four years marketing a book? If not don’t even consider it. It’s going to be hard work regardless; you are not saving anyone money by using other people to market or promote a book.
The problem with traditional publishing is that there is no such thing anymore as wholesale markets, like there is with online book platforms.
Book Reviews and How to Get Them
Probably the best way to get your first book reviews is to ask your family and friends to review your book. The people who love you will be probably more than willing to give your book a positive review.
After that, offering your book for free is a great way to get your name out there. You can use Amazon’s KDP Select program to offer your book for free or for a discounted price for up to five days a month.
There are other places you can offer your book as a free download, such as Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble’s Nook books. After you’ve offered your book in these places, the reviews will most likely come flooding in.
How to market a book online
What is social book marketing?
Social Media has become the new face of advertising ever since Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube came about. With over a billion users on Facebook alone, you can’t go wrong with this method.
Some authors are already famous just for being active on social media like Gary Vaynerchuk which led to his book becoming a New York Times best seller by word of mouth alone.
The whole idea of social media is to share content with users of the site. So in order to market your book using social media, you have to post posts that catch users attention. What are things that people like to see on social media?
Promoting your book with video
Videos are the fastest growing way for businesses promote their product. That is why many major companies are spending billions of dollars a year making and filming commercials for products. The reason why videos become so popular is because people can associate themselves with them more easily than a picture or a text post.
How to make a book promotion video
Don’t make the mistake of not using a script! It’s very important that you not only have a voice over but that you know exactly what you want to say. You may be thinking, “how can I follow a script when I’m on camera without looking like I’m reading off a teleprompter”.
Trust me, even if you feel like your head is in the clouds, as long as the audience understand what you are saying and why they should care about it, then it’s all that matters.
Make a strong start and show the cover of your book at the very beginning. This can get people interested right away. Try to get a book cover where you are holding it in your hand or if you have an ebook, just show the cover.
You can also say something like: “Hi everyone, I’m (your name), author of (title) and I’d like to share with you what inspired me to write my debut novel.” Then tell them what your book is about in three sentences or less.
Mention the main reasons why readers will love your book. Be specific! Tell them about the conflict, the romance, the suspense, and anything else that you know will catch their attention. Then end your video by saying something like “if you want to check it out, just click here.” Then add a link to your book’s Amazon page.
After you finished filming your video, look at it and see if there is anything you want to change before posting it on social media. You may want to trim some parts and maybe even get another opinion from a friend before posting it online.
This is a good way to make people feel connected to your story. For example, I did this when I made my book trailer for “A Magical Tale”. I told the audience that I was inspired to write this story due to the sudden passing of one of my good friends.
He had a heart of gold and he loved children, so I dedicated the book to him and his family. It caught people off-guard who watched it because they felt like they knew me by the end of the 3 minute video.
Which social media sites are best for marketing novels?
I highly recommend using Twitter because it is one of the best places to build a following. You can also use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and BookBub to promote your books. While these sites are great for marketing yourself as an author or for promoting your book to others, they are not the best places to sell it (unless you have thousands of followers).
What are the best marketing strategies for digital novels? 3
I use all of these strategies to promote my novels and I highly recommend you do the same! Here are some examples of what I do.
- I use book trailers to market my books. I make a video from 10-20 minutes, which tells the story of the novel and includes pictures from the book. You can find more information about how to make book trailers here.
- I run a newsletter for my readers, and send out emails that include special offers (ebook + print combo deals) on them. A newsletter is also a great way to grow your reader base!
- I use social media, mainly Twitter and Facebook. I post updates regularly and interact with current readers and potential readers on these sites. For example, I asked my followers if they had any questions for me, which led to a bunch of interesting discussions.
- I have recently started using Instagram on my author account (TheBookishSpace). It has been a great way to post pictures and interact with the platform’s users! You can find my Instagram here.
How do authors get publicity for their books?
Publicity is getting your book or your business’ name out there. It can be done a few different ways, including: press releases, advertising, and networking.
Marketing you book with press releases
How to Write a Press Release
A press release is a type of announcement which is issued by a person or organization. It can be used to announce a new product, service or an event.
It provides detailed information about the person issuing the release and what they want to share with their audience. A press release must also have contact information for the person issuing it and someone who can answer questions about it.
A press release is a document about who you are and what you do, that is published in your local newspaper. You can also reach out to websites like The Huffington Post to publish it on their website for free. It is an effective method of marketing because it provides useful information while gaining interest from customers.
Advertising – the traditional way to promote books
Advertising is using a product or service to get your name out there. You can advertise on billboards, radio stations, and television stations. Advertising gives you the opportunity to grow into a bigger business which can lead to higher profits.
Networking your way through book promotions and marketing 3
Networking is a great way to build contacts when you are in the same industry as other people who also want to grow their business. This is a great way to get publicity when your book is published. You can attend business networking events and meet people who share your interests.
