In this day and age, it has become easier than ever before for people to self-publish books. As a result, there are upwards of 1 million books released every year.
If you’re planning on self-publishing a book soon, this means it’s going to be extremely important for you to market it right. Promoting a book is the only way you can make it stand out in the crowd.
Are you struggling to figure out where to even start? We’re here to provide you with some useful advice on marketing and promoting a book.
Here are seven tips that will help self-published authors market their books to the masses and get more eyes on them.
1. Begin Promoting a Book as Soon as Possible
A lot of self-published authors spend so much time tinkering with their books that they forget all about marketing until the last minute. Do not make this mistake!
You should start to think about how you’re going to go about promoting a book at least a few months before you plan on releasing it. You and your team—or in some cases, you and your closest friends—should sit down and brainstorm marketing ideas for your book.
You might be sitting on the best book ever written. But if you don’t take the time to market it, it’ll all be for naught. So don’t forget to make marketing your book a top priority from the very start.
2. Make Your Book Look Amazing
People are always saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But when it comes to promoting a book, the way your book looks does matter.
If your book doesn’t have a great cover on it, a large percentage of people aren’t going to give it a second thought. You need to stick a cover on it that’s going to make people think or catch people’s eyes when they see it.
You also need to make sure the rest of your book is made using high-quality materials so that it looks and feels great. Learn more about how to print a self-published book and make it stand out.
3. Provide Bonuses to People Who Place Pre-Orders
When you’re getting ready to release a book, you should create a website for it and allow people to place pre-orders for it. You should encourage them to do it by setting up special giveaways and bonuses for those who place a pre-order.
Some self-published authors provide those who pre-order their books with a free bookmark, a free digital download, or even a free one-on-one interview with them to discuss the book. They also extend sale prices on books to those who pre-order them.
Think about what might excite those people who are considering pre-ordering your book. You can come up with something that’ll motivate them to want to buy your book ahead of schedule.
4. Use Social Media to Your Advantage
If you don’t remember anything else that you read here about promoting a book, remember this: Social media is your best friend when you’re trying to market just about anything.
In a perfect world, you should already have followers on social media who would be interested in learning about how you have a book coming out. You can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more to connect and interact with them.
You can also create social media campaigns aimed at introducing your work to people on social media. Whatever you do, don’t release a self-published book without making a huge push on the various social media platforms.
5. Attempt to Arrange Podcast Interviews
In 2019, there were almost 200,000 new podcasts launched. In total, there are now more than 800,000 podcasts out there.
Many of these podcasts are always looking for guests to appear. And if you have a new book on the way, they might just be interested in featuring you on their next podcast.
Look around and find podcasts that appeal to the same kind of people who would be interested in your book. Then, reach out to those in charge of running those podcasts and ask if they would be interested in bringing you on for an interview.
Larger podcasts might not respond to you if they’ve heard of you or your book. But many smaller podcasts are always on the hunt for new guests and will welcome you with open arms.
6. Take Advantage of Guest Blog Opportunities
Setting up a website for your book is a necessity when you’re marketing it. But it’s not always easy to get people to visit it to find out more about your book.
You can increase your chances of attracting more website visitors by offering to guest blog for other websites. You can put together posts and have them appear on other sites with a link to your website in them.
This is a great way to build up the SEO for your website. It’s also an effective way to promote yourself and your book to a wider audience.
7. Find a Website Willing to Publish a Snippet
Do you think the best way to promote your book might be to give people a taste of the juicy first chapter?
You may be able to convince a website to publish a snippet of your book on their site. It’s an easy way for them to put up a fresh post with very little effort on their part.
Just make sure you pick a compelling snippet to post. You want it to be so good that people can’t help but buy your book.
Promoting a Book Can Build Up a Lot of Buzz Around It
The truth of the matter is that, if you don’t market a self-published book, you’re not going to sell many copies of it. You won’t have an advertising machine behind you like authors who work with big-name publishers.
But the good news is that promoting a book is so much easier than it was even just a few years ago. You can use everything from a website to social media to market your book and spread the word about it. It should lead to increased sales and more accolades down the line.
Read the articles on our blog for more tips on writing a great book and self-publishing it.
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