~ Sankalita Roy
If I think about my journey as a writer, I learned that the good content in a book is not what makes it successful but also how well a writer markets his/her book to the world. It is a basic logic that people will only buy your book if you as a writer engage in strategies to generate the curiosity of the target audience. The world will buy your book only if you let the world know about you and your work. However, in this process, there are certain things that you must keep in mind while marketing your book.
In a world where technological growth is advanced, the easiest and most cost-effective way of marketing your book is through online platforms. With technical knowledge and the necessary awareness of what you should and should not do, you can create a crowd of readers through book marketing.
The following tips will help you to know more about the Dos of book marketing. Let us discuss them.
Do get your groundwork done
Before you embark on the journey of publishing your book, you must know well about your target audience and how you are going to let the world know about your book with a strong marketing message that sets you unique from other writers. For example – Rakhi Kapoor, the author of the multiple award-winning book ‘Now We Breathe’ markets the book with the intention that her content will help the people who suffer as a result of people with narcissist disorder and inform the world of the strategies to survive the effects of abuse. Here, she comes up with a clear message that is to help the victims who are suffering and help them carry on with their work.
If you as an author start to follow writers around you well, you would notice that each of them comes up with a clear aim in their mind to market their books. What yours?
Do promote your book
New authors who are mostly accustomed to living in their world may get inhibited by the idea of being out in public, sharing their thoughts about their books and letting the world know who they are. It may seem a difficult task initially. At least I go through this stuff and still trying to overcome my inhibitions gradually.
It is a basic thing that if you let the world know about you and your work, then only they will know about you. To keep your target audience on the hook, let them be a part of the process of your journey to becoming a successful author. Reader’s support is what makes a writer, a writer. Implement strategies that are discussed in these articles.
Do set up a website
The website is a great way to generate the attraction of your readers towards your work. You can either choose to use a simple website or fill the website with your blog. The blog can be anything – short stories, friction, your thoughts, and your quotes. Your active writing is what keeps the reader hooked to your work. You can also create a close sense of connectivity with the readers by letting them know about the process of writing your book and replying to their comments. An individual-level connection is important with the readers because they love a sense of personal connection with the writer.
Do leverage the benefits of each social media platform
When it comes to rising above the noise, it is necessary to let the world keep in mind that you must customize your message and marketing strategies according to the platform you are using. It is essential to keep in mind the benefit of each social media platform that you are using.
For instance, if you are using Facebook for promoting your book to the audience, an author page works well as a marketing tool. Share the photos of the book and the reviews of your reader or you may share reels about what your book is all about and its reading benefits.
If you are using Twitter, the best strategy is to use the elevator pitch format, so it is advisable to keep your promotional tactics brief and get your message across. Use quotable content from your book and tweet them to engage with your target audience. Do not forget to use hashtags on your post to increase its visibility.
Instagram is also a great way to connect with writers around the world and let them know about your book. The usage of reels is a great way to grab the attention of the target audience, especially youngsters.
Do go for engagement
A reader will only remain hooked to you only if you as a writer create a sense of genuine connection with them. It is a privilege to connect with the readers like never before on a broader level. Ask your target audience about their likes and dislikes, their preferences and so on. I remember one of my friends who happens to be a writer sharing the contents of her new poetry book and asking the audience about which one of them is their favourite and which poem shall she read next on her reels. This has created a sense of excitement and a feeling of community amongst the readers.
Do share reviews
Amazon reviews do play an integral role in providing exposure to any new book. If your book is on Amazon, then your book will eventually be on good reads, one of the largest communities of book lovers. Share the reviews of your book on social media platforms to create hype. Ask the members of your blogging community to share the honest review about your book. Share the permalink ( a URL that acts as a permanent link to a specific piece of content on your WordPress site) of the reviews on your social media accounts to enhance each.
Do focus on visual marketing
Visual marketing is a powerful way of marketing your book. However, it must be done properly. For example- you can create a promotional video using Canva or another app on the Google Play store to let the world know about your book. Visual marketing plays a pivotal role since the readers choose to read your book based on how well you represent the book to the world. Remember that a book is always judged by its cover in the case of marketing your book. It applies the same to each writer.
Do follow the data footprint
While marketing your book, you need to know what works well and what does work well for your audience. With the help of insights from your social media accounts such as Facebook and Instagram, you can post pictures of your book and other related posts to instantly reach the audience at a suitable time in the day. The higher the reach of your posts, the higher will be the engagement with the readers. With the help of data analytics, the work of knowing what is working and what is not working becomes easier.
Do be prepared to spend money
In the world where we live, nothing is possible without spending money. Therefore, it is important to spend money on book-promoting services such as reviewing your book through online reviewers, hosting offline events such as book signing sessions to build connectivity with the readers, and participating in public speaking events. Remember, nothing in the world is free and to efficiently promote your book, you must save your money for a year or more so that the money can be utilised for book promotional activities. Thus, you must sacrifice certain things for becoming a successful writer.
Till now, we have only discussed the do’s of book marketing but what about the don’ts? Let us have an insight into the don’ts of your book marketing.
Don’t shy away to give away stuff for free
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Tell me.
One of the best ways to reach your target audience is by sharing short stories and poems on your website. If you want to create a lasting impact on your audience, they will subscribe to your website for more such content. This in turn will help you to collect the reader’s email list when you are releasing your new book and let them know about its release.
Do not expect an overnight success
No one can expect success in a day. The shortcut is not a good choice at all. Imagine while baking a cake we put flour, sugar, salt, sugar, vanilla essence, egg, and cocoa powder in the correct portion in a bowl and then bake it for 45-50 minutes in a microscope. We wait for the cake to be completely baked with patience. Sometimes, our baking skills take time and practice. Just like that, in the case of book marketing, we need time and effort. Do not expect any article or short story to be an overnight success. Do not worry when you are not getting the desired response.
Slowly and steadily, you will achieve your goal with perseverance, discipline, and determination.
Do not bombard your social media
Always and always remember that too much of everything is not good on social media. Too much crowd steals the attention away from significant things. Do not post hundreds of stuff related to your book. Choose quality over quantity. Five per cent of what you post on social media should be related to your book release.
For example- If you see an advertisement about cars, do not just type in the comment section ‘I just published my book named ………… on Amazon and Flipkart.’ is completely irrelevant. This kind of interaction will not attract the audience you desire or increase the kind of sales of your book.
Don’t review your books
It's common sense that rating and reviewing your book look unprofessional. This not only creates a negative impact but it also looks kind of creepy on the comment section of your book review.
Don’t spam your followers
Sending unsolicited emails is not a substitute for promoting your books. It can do you more harm than good since it does not let your target audience focus on the most important stuff. Some of your target readers may unsubscribe from your website due to excess emails. Therefore, focus on the most important piece of information that the world should know about your book.
Don’t make your book description an afterthought
The purpose of the book description is to captivate the attention of the readers towards your book. Therefore, it's important to write the book description right. Do not make it an afterthought. Instead, take your time and research how to write captivating book descriptions. It is one of the essential factors that help the readers decide whether they would buy your book or not.
Don’t leave the book marketing process solely to the publishing company
As you search for the book publishing companies, you will find a lot of books but not many are well-known to the audience. In some cases, the publishing company helps you in the process of publication and offers you a guidebook to market your book. However, book marketing goes beyond the publishing company. You need a professional website designer(if you don’t have any knowledge about it), people who know proper digital marketing strategies, knowledge of data analytics and so on. Most importantly, your time and effort are what make a difference. Planning to implement marketing strategies is one such thing the author can rely on to track the progress of the sales of the book. For instance, if you join a gym and you sweat well only then you lose weight. Consequently, to sweat, we need a trainer who guides us, does the heavy lifting and follows the diet plan.
It’s the same for book marketing too.
In the end, all I would like to say is the better the marketing of your book, the luckier you get in your journey as an author. I hope these book marketing strategies and tips are beneficial. Take your time, understand the pros and cons of each platform, and then reap their benefits accordingly.