As a recently published author, I was surprised at just how involved and different marketing for authors is from traditional B2B and B2C markets. For authors who are self-publishing and/or just starting out, here are some resources to help you along the way.
Six Steps to Publishing Your Book
1. Write your book.
2. Get your book professionally edited.
3. Have your book professionally formatted.
4. Get your cover designed professionally – it’s worth it and some advertising venues want to know that you’ve had it professionally designed and not just hired some rando on Fiverr or somewhere else. (Disclaimer: aside from book covers/editing, I actually love Fiverr.)
5. Determine your publishing venue.
a. Amazon KDP
b. Barnes and Noble
c. Book Baby
d. IngramSpark
e. Etc.
6. Marketing, marketing, marketing!
Recommended Author Services:
How to Market Your Book
Marketing for authors/books is a bit different from normal advertising. Keep in mind that what works for one author or genre may not work for you. You’ll need to explore and test which ones may benefit you/your book.
- Keyword and category research (to help your book get found – for Amazon at least)
- Industry influencers (think social media and podcasts)
- Promotional companies (<- click that link to discover a large list of advertising opportunities)
- AMS ads (Amazon)
- Facebook ads (linking to your book on Amazon, BN, etc.)
- Google Ads
- Bookbub ads
Key to Success
One of the biggest keys to success whether you’re looking to build your business or become a career author is to create a landing page. Offer a free resource (can be just a page or two of valuable information) on your landing page in exchange for their contact information. Use their contact information to build your email list. Boom. You’ve just secured some leads for your sales funnel.
If you’re curious what a landing page might look like, check out my landing page for my latest book:
https://www.beginnersguidetomarketing.com/facebookadvertising
Everyone wants to believe that their book is going to make them the next J.K. Rowling, but without doing things the right way AND a hefty bit of marketing, no one will even know your book exists. You need to get your name out there, get your book out there and build on that. Being a bestseller means hard work, but if you’re willing to put the work in, you may just be the next J.K. Rowling.
This article is not meant to be an all-inclusive article, but rather just a snippet to get you started. Self-Publishing School is an amazing place to get educated, work with a coach and best of all, engage with peers who are in the same position as you.
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