The world of self-publishing has grown exponentially in the past few decades. Though self-publishing was once seen as a lesser alternative to traditional publishing, today it is a popular, often empowering way for authors to reach audiences all over the world. A crucial part of finding success as an indie author is how well you market your book. And this article will break down where and how to market a self-published book using a killer marketing strategy.

Where to market your self-published book

Before you launch a marketing campaign to become a successful self-published author, you must know what success looks like. Defining success depends on your goals as an author. Is this book a passion project or something you hope to turn into a career? Do you want to win literary awards or appeal to the mass market?

Focusing your marketing plan

The way you define your publishing goals informs the way you view things like profit or selling books. For instance, a hobbyist author may be happy breaking even whereas a professional indie author would strategize ways to turn a profit or sell a specific number of books.

Media formats for marketing self-published books

Once you’ve defined your measures of success, it’s time to look at how to achieve that success. Before you market any book, you must plan on how it will be available to a reader. What publishing platforms will you use? Will you publish ebooks, print, or both?

Most sales for self-published authors come through ebooks, thanks to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select and similar programs.

Through KDP Select, authors make ebooks exclusive to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited library (though nondigital copies can be distributed through other channels). KDP Select offers promotional tools like Kindle Countdown Deals, which you can use to reduce the price of your book for a limited time. In addition, joining the Kindle Unlimited library exposes your work to a worldwide audience.

Print books are useful if you want to give a reader an alternative to ebooks, however, and can work as promotional tools, like in giveaways. Although trade publishers print books en masse, an indie author has the option to print on demand. In addition, KDP authors can enroll paperbacks into Amazon’s Expanded Distribution program, which distributes books worldwide to libraries and bookstores.

Marketing avenues

If you’re just getting started with how to market a self-published book, you have several options. For an indie author especially, an online presence is vital to expanding your audience and finding new readers. By establishing an online author brand, you can better connect with a reader and make yourself more visible.

Through a book promotion site like BookBub, authors pay to have their book sent to a list of readers, usually through email, in return for a book sale or download. This added exposure helps the book rank higher while readers get the book for free or at a discounted price.

An ebook aggregator allows you to publish simultaneously to multiple platforms. In contrast, a publish to platform service like Amazon KDP allows you to directly upload a book to one platform.

How marketing is different for a self-published book

Though traditionally published authors often need to do heavy lifting to market their work, self-published authors are entirely on their own. This can be a positive, granting indie authors unprecedented freedom to do things like run discount promotions or change the book price. But knowing how to market a self-published book means doing some focused research. So read on!

Amazon is king.

Although Amazon isn’t the only option for indie authors, it is the option that currently dominates the market. Authors can use tools like Amazon Author Central or the Amazon Associates program to their benefit. Moreover, optimizing your Amazon listing will help readers find your work.

Through Author Central, you can fill out a biography; add photos, videos, and book trailers; link to your website and social media (Twitter in particular is great for authors); track sales; and showcase all the books you’ve written.

Pricing is flexible.

Traditional publishing often prices books based on the market those publishers are selling into and must consider production and distribution costs. This is where self-publishing has a major advantage: as an indie author, you have the freedom to set the price for your book. Because most self-published authors focus primarily, if not entirely, on ebooks, you also don’t have to factor in the cost of producing physical copies or selling those copies to a bookstore or library (at least, not on a mass scale).

Here’s where that comes together for marketing: book giveaways and price drops. A favored weapon of the indie author, the price drop gives readers a huge discount to garner more reads and reviews.

In addition, self-published authors have more room to experiment with price. On Amazon, authors receive a 35 percent royalty for books priced from $0.99 to $1.99. And they have a 70 percent royalty for books priced from $2.99 to $9.99. When determining how to price your book, consider the length of your book, your competition’s book prices, and the size of your audience. Experiment with the way price affects a book sale.

Take your book on a blog tour.

By working with book bloggers, you can take a book tour without leaving the house. This is a critical step in learning how to market a self-published book!

Through a book blog tour, book bloggers review your book, post an excerpt, or interview you. In addition, they’ll share reviews to social media (e.g., Facebook), Amazon, or Goodreads.

This is a great book marketing strategy because it boosts your presence online, especially within your genre. It also builds social proof that you wrote something worth reading.

Strategies to promote your self-published book effectively

A successful book launch takes planning and consistency. Before, during, and after launch, there are a few things you can do to keep the conversation going around your book.

Promoting before your book launch

Promoting your book before launch can be one of the most difficult parts of the process, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on building your audience, and be consistent. In addition, choose your launch date wisely. As tempting as it may be to launch a book the minute you finish it, you’ll need time to promote your book and work out any challenges that come your way.

It’s also important to make sure you’re promoting something you can be proud of. If you haven’t already, send your work to a book editor, and polish it up. Make sure your book is free of typos, has a professionally designed, appealing cover, and intrigues readers with gripping back cover text.

At least a month before launch, send out advanced reader copies (ARCs) to interested readers. These are the people who will read your work ahead of time so they can post a review during launch week. If you can, contact people with influence or credentials in your genre. A review from a local newspaper or book blogger can reach a wider audience than one from your grandmother (though she’d probably appreciate a copy too!).

An online presence is crucial, and how you present yourself will affect how people view your book. Get professional author photos taken. Additionally, make sure your profiles on your website, Amazon, Goodreads, or any other social media you have are appealing to potential readers.

A final component to prelaunch is the launch team. This will be a group of readers who will post about your book during launch week, share reviews and excerpts on social media, and spread the word. You can find people to join your launch team from your mailing list, from other authors, from your ARC readers, or elsewhere.

Promoting during your book launch

It’s go time. Once your book launches, claim it on sites like Goodreads, Amazon Author Central, and BookBub so you’re associated with the sales page.

Ideally, your book launch team will help you spread the word on social media—from Facebook to Twitter—by posting interviews, reviews, and excerpts from your book. You can share these posts and add your own, thanking the team and your reviewers for their work.

Have a celebration, either online or in person. Consider hosting an event like a book signing, reading, or Q&A panel, and have copies available to sell.

Promoting after your book launch

After launch, take a moment to celebrate. It’s tempting to jump back into the grind—and you will eventually need to grind again—but acknowledging your hard work and celebrating your success will help stave off burnout.

Next, keep the momentum going with your email newsletter. Update readers on your latest projects, look into events to attend like a literary festival or author panel, and keep in touch with your audience.

If you plan to write for a living, the next step is to jump back in and write something new.

Best methods for marketing a self-published book

Marketing is an art of its own, but here are some things to keep in mind: entice the reader and stay consistent.

Hooking the reader

Whether or not this is a good thing, people do judge books by their covers. Create a wow factor by having your book cover professionally designed. The back cover text, meanwhile, should be intriguing and well written. It should concisely give readers an idea of what your book is about while pointing out why they need to read this specific book.

The best methods when learning how to market a self-published book

Below are some key components in determining how to market a self-published book.

Establish an author website. In addition, post an author bio and photo, share information about your work, and give people a way to contact you about events like interviews, panels, or literary festivals. Finally, include release dates of any upcoming books and links to places where readers can buy your books.

Maintain a social media presence. You don’t have to have an active presence on every social media platform to ever exist, but it’s important to find where readers of your genre are most active. Through social media, you can network with other authors, get to know your readers, and promote your work. Social media challenges or hashtags can generate hype around your book. For example, a book giveaway for your social media followers can entice people to learn more about your work or follow your social media account.

Consider content marketing. For example, blogging about your life as an author or something related to your work is one way to establish credibility among readers.

Launching a blog is a commitment on its own, however, so it can be equally appealing to join a podcast, video, or blog as a guest. Whether you interview with a media personality, write a guest blog post, or ask a creator to share a book review on their platform, joining as a guest will broaden your audience reach.

Take out advertisements. You can take out a book ad in your local newspaper or radio show to spread the word offline. Meanwhile, investing in ads on the internet is another option to find new readers. Amazon’s ads are pay per click, which makes it easier to stay within budget. Facebook and Google also offer ad features whereas social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram allow you to promote posts.

Selling ebooks on your website

There are two ways to sell books online: through marketplaces, like Amazon, or through a personal online store. Though marketplaces are more popular, a personal online store is helpful for those who want more control over their work.

An online store needs a few key features:

• Integration with a payment processing function like PayPal
• Security measures to keep your files and your customers’ information safe
• A personalized order confirmation for every customer, with a link to your ebook

Ideally, your online store could also integrate with mailing list providers like MailChimp, making it all the easier to promote your book.

Marketing with Elite

Have you published a book but aren’t sure how to get started with marketing? Even if you know how to market a self-published book yourself, Elite’s book marketing services give you the comprehensive support you need. Whether you need to optimize your book listing for SEO or write back cover copy, we can help you boost your sales and publish everywhere. Get in touch today!

The post How to market a self-published book appeared first on Elite Authors.

Book marketing is a crucial aspect of a successful book launch. To generate book sales, you must successfully market your book to potential readers. Self-published authors especially must market their books to stand out amid the competition.

By marketing your book across social media, creating consistent blog posts, and developing an author brand, you can implement an effective marketing strategy that generates book sales and shares your book with the world.

When to start marketing your first book

When it comes to marketing your first book, the earlier you start, the better your book promotion will be. Developing and implementing book marketing ideas takes time and effort. As a result, as you finish writing your book, begin thinking about your book marketing plan.

When is the best time to launch a book marketing plan?

In general, it’s best to begin launching your book promotion six to twelve months before your book hits the shelves.

Marketing your book before it’s published can help capture the attention of potential readers early on. Creating social media posts across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram communicates your book launch to your followers.

This timeline is also effective for your book marketing strategy because it develops your online presence before your book is published.

Creating an author wesbite that communicates who you are as a writer helps you connect with readers. Thus, having an established online presence across your website and social media accounts helps your readers learn more about you when they go to purchase your book.

What are the best email marketing providers for authors?

When you’re an author, growing your email list and launching email campaigns is a great marketing strategy. Email lists help you stay in touch with your readers, communicate upcoming events, and promote new book releases.

When it comes to email marketing providers for authors, there are endless options. However, doing your research early on and selecting the email marketing provider that best fits your needs and budget can help you develop a successful, hassle-free email marketing plan.

Some popular free email marketing providers include Mailerlite and Mailchimp. Some popular email marketing providers with a subscription include Constant Contact and ConvertKit.

Who are influential people you can reach out to for help on marketing your first book?

First, reach out to influencers within your niche. Influencers have a loyal following base, so research influencers whose social media accounts relate to your book in some way.

For example, if your book is a cookbook compiling your family’s recipes, reach out to an influencer who posts content on cooking. They can then share your book with a new set of potential readers who are already interested in your book’s topic.

As a result, reaching out to influencers is a great way to expand your reach and network with people outside of the writing world.

You can also consider reaching out to other authors. Most established authors want to help new and emerging writers. Promoting your first book is not an easy task, but it’s something all published authors experienced.

Reach out to authors within your genre and ask for book marketing advice. You can also see if they’d be willing to promote your book across their social media channels.

How to market your first book on social media outlets

Social media is a great marketing tool for authors. By researching your target audience and creating engaging content, you can outline an effective social media marketing strategy for your book promotion.

Which social media outlets work best for marketing your book?

Each social media platform is different in its communication style and layout. Thus, choosing a platform that best fits your communication style will help you market your book in the best way possible.

For example, Twitter is great for communicating short updates about your book tour and generating unique hashtags for your book. Creating a hashtag for your book encourages your followers to retweet and promote information about your book to new users. Therefore, Twitter is a great way to expand your reach as an author.

Facebook is a great social media platform for hosting online book tour events. With Facebook’s live feature, you can host a Q&A session for your book. Your followers can join the live stream from a phone, laptop, or desktop, and they can type out questions as you discuss your book.

You can also start a Facebook group for your book so that your readers can connect with one another.

Finally, you can use Instagram to market your book as well. Using the story feature on Instagram, you can offer free giveaways to promote your book and expand your online reach.

How can you market your first book on social media outlets for free?

Creating an account on a social media platform is free. Sign up with your name, email, and phone number, and you can start marketing your book on social media.

To use certain added feature on social media, you often must pay a fee. However, in most cases, you set your budget. For instance, if you’d like to run Facebook ads to promote downloads of your Kindle eBook, then you can set a price range for your ad campaign.

Why is blogging a great way to market your first book on social media?

Blogging is a great way to market your first book because it establishes your author brand. Essentially, your author brand captures who you are as an author, from your writing style to the characters in your story.

Creating an author website with consistent blog posts can help attract new potential readers. To start blogging, build a landing page on your author website that communicates your bio. From there, you can add posts announcing your book release, book tour, and other promotional events.

The great thing about blogging is that you can post long-form content. As a result, blogging is a great opportunity to share reader testimonials.

Pros and cons of building a website to market your first book

Building a website is a huge undertaking. However, the time and effort you put into creating an author website pay off for an independent author. An author website is not only a great marketing tool but also a great networking tool.

What is the best platform to design an author website on?

There are numerous platforms for designing your author website. Each platform offers different layout features, so identifying the goal of your author website will help you choose the best platform for you.

If your main objective is content marketing, then consider using a site designed for generating consistent blog posts. WordPress and Blogger are both great options for posting long-form content.

On the other hand, if your goal is to network with authors, then consider setting up a Tumblr account. Its sharing features make it simple to repost and connect with other users.

What are the advantages of building a website to market your first book?

First, building a website for your book is a great marketing tool. You can use your author website to implement marketing strategies and improve your SEO. For example, by creating helpful blog posts for your readers and generating links that route to your Amazon book listing, you can rank higher on search engines.

A higher search ranking will help improve your online reach, so you can increase traffic and connect with new potential readers.

Another advantage of building a website is the potential data you can collect. Once you publish your website, you’ll be able to track site traffic and performance metrics. Successful author websites utilize this data to generate content that is engaging for target audiences.

Finally, publishers and agents can find and contact you more easily when you have an author website. Likewise, with a professional author website, you can appear more established as a writer. This is important if you’d like to work with a traditional publishing company.

Why might you not build a website to market your first book?

As a first-time self-published author, you might find that building a website may not be a necessary step in your book marketing strategy.

For most writers, an author website serves to communicate their brand. Thus, a website can be more useful when you have multiple books to market.

Building a website from scratch takes time and effort. Instead of spending hours creating a landing page, you can dedicate that time to developing a social media ad campaign that generates book sales. Depending on your marketing goals, you may not need an author website immediately after publishing your first book.

Ideas for marketing your first book in person

While social media is a great way to market your book online, in-person marketing can also be a great asset to your book marketing strategy. See below for a guide to marketing in person and a list of book marketing ideas.

Where can you market your first book in person?

When you first begin marketing your book in person, start local. Reach out to your community library and see if you can host a reading or Q&A discussion. Librarians are accustomed to hosting book events, so they’re a great resource for new indie authors.

You can also research and find book clubs within your town or surrounding area. Joining a book club is a great way to meet and interact with a group of new potential readers. Reach out to the book club leader and see if they’d be willing to host your book in the club’s next meeting.

Finally, you can also market your first book in local bookstores. Consider running a promotional event, such as a book signing, at your town’s bookstore. These types of events bring in business for the bookstore and help you generate book sales.

Why might marketing your book in person be a great marketing strategy?

Marketing your book in person is a great strategy because it helps you network and connect with potential readers and resources.

For instance, by hosting book launch events at your local library or bookstore, you can develop a relationship with the librarians or store owner. Networking with individuals related to the publishing industry in different ways can help you find more opportunities as an author.

Which are the best ideas for marketing your first book in person?

Attend book festivals, conferences, and author events to network with agents, publishers, and other authors. Speaking with individuals in the publishing world can help you get your name out there and build a foundation of resources and contacts.

Also, consider hosting your own in-person book-launch events. Invite your family and friends to a gathering to celebrate and discuss your book release. Encourage them to invite their friends so you can meet new potential readers. During the event, you can raffle off a free copy of your book and conduct a reading.

Another idea for marketing your first book in person is to plan a book tour. If you have the time and funds to do it, then you can consider traveling to bookstores, libraries, and events outside of your town to market your book. Setting up a book tour takes lots of planning, so be sure to give yourself enough time before you set off to outline the logistics.

Marketing your book with Elite Authors

Marketing your first book can be an overwhelming process. As a writer, you’re an expert in your craft. However, marketing is a whole new playing field.

At Elite Authors, we have book marketing experts who are well versed in the publishing industry and passionate about helping authors turn their books into bestsellers.

From helping you design the perfect book cover to creating marketing copy that generates book sales, we’ll help you every step of the way! Share your book’s story today and get a free quote from us.

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