If you have a novel or book you’re ready to share with the world, you’ll want to promote it to reach your desired audience. With so many self-publishing platforms and publishing companies, how can you stand out among the rest? Regardless of how your book is being published, there are a few strategies to make sure your book gets the most traction.
Know Your Target Audience
Before you start any promotion tour or marketing strategy, you need to know who you’re catering to. What message does your book send, and who needs to read it? If your work is nonfiction, what will your target audience learn? Who will benefit most from this message? Why should they listen to you? If your work is fiction, who will benefit most from this story? Who will be most intrigued by it? Your marketing or promotion campaign should answer these questions. Once you nail your target audience, you’ll know who to cater to and how during your marketing journey.
Create a Website
Many readers will want to know more about you as the author, especially if your work is nonfiction. Create a website telling readers about your life, expertise, and work. Include your social media and links to purchase your book. If you have other books, you can promote them here, too. You will want the website to be attractive but still accessible to all types of readers (including mobile ones). You should include photos (or artwork) of yourself to help your readers connect with you more. If your book will be hosted on Amazon, create your author profile for users to access easily.
Use Social Media (and Influencers)
Social media is one of the most valuable marketing tools, and it’s mostly free, depending on how you use it. Create an author profile on social media, especially writer-friendly platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. However, don’t underestimate the popularity of platforms like TikTok and the infamous reading community called BookTok. Tap into and take advantage of those audiences. Reach out to popular voices and influencers in these spaces to help spread the word about your book (offer them a free copy if that helps!) Make sure you create a profile on book-centric websites like GoodReads, too.
Consider Blogging
Blogging allows you to reach out to your audience and discuss your book with no limits. However, it can do a lot more than that. When you utilize SEO and marketing writing practices for your blog, your posts can potentially rank high on social media for specific keywords, giving your website, brand, and book more visibility. You can even guest post on other popular blogs for the ultimate reach; linking to your website through guest posts helps improve your website’s traffic and reach. On-page advertising can even help you generate some marketing income to promote your book further!
Tidy Up Your Manuscript
If you’re looking for a publisher, ensure your manuscript is clean and easy to read. Avoid sending handwritten drafts, as typed products will be more legible and neat. You can even go above and beyond to use the best book formatting software and make it look gorgeous! If you’re self-publishing, your book’s appearance and tidiness are up to you, so you’ll want your finished product to be accessible, readable, and orderly. Your draft or completed book’s appearance shows your dedication.
Judge the Book By Its Cover
While the book’s content is critical, the cover is the first element people will see. If the cover isn’t exciting or grabbing the audience’s attention, you may want to consider reworking it. Hire an artist or graphic designer (remember, those are two different professions) to help develop exciting logos or artwork that captivates and summarizes your book well. You can bring forth any ideas for your artist to work with, but you should also allow outside influence and opinion. After all, you want to harness an artist or graphic designer’s expertise.
Hire a Literary Agent
Literary agents are the middleman between you, the author, and a publishing company. They know how to sweet-talk and promote a book like the back of their hand. Even if you’re self-publishing, hiring a literary agent can help you negotiate publishing deals in foreign markets or work with you on future books you may write. Book a consultation with one and see how you feel—it may improve your writing career!
Network With Authors
Establishing professional friendships and connections with other authors is crucial. Not only do other authors have experience and expertise in the field to help you, but they may also promote your book! You can also help promote their work and provide support and insider tips they can use. You may even start a collaboration in the future!
Hand Some Out
One of the first things many authors do when they’ve finished their book is buy many copies for themselves. You can hand out copies of books to people who may be interested as a means of self-promotion. People love receiving free things; you can put your name out there. You never know the traction you may get!
Consider Audiobooks
Many audiences love having an option for audiobooks to listen to while they go about their day, especially while driving, cooking, or relaxing. You may grow your reader count and reach if your book has an audiobook option.
