Book Marketing Essentials for Authors
So you know you need to market (read: talk about) your book, but you’re not sure what you need in place to actually do it. You need the book marketing essentials, right? The things you can put in place to ensure that getting the word out about your books goes smoothly.
So let’s talk about it! Here is a list of the essentials you’ll need to have (or do) to get your book marketing off on the right foot.
Book Marketing Essentials
Let’s chat about the must-haves of marketing your book. Here are some things you need to either know or have in place before you get started.
1. Get your mindset right
I know I always talk about this one, but it’s super important! If you don’t have the right mindset, you’ll sabotage yourself every step of the way. Here are some truths you need to believe about marketing before you’ll really be successful at it:
It doesn’t have to be perfect.
You CAN market your book. (Marketing is, at its heart, storytelling. So, as an author, you’re already ahead of everyone else!)
Authenticity wins every time.
Vulnerability is key to connecting with your readers and followers.
Assume everyone can’t wait to read your book! (You’ll be more willing to talk about your book if you assume everyone else is DYING to hear about it, right?)
If you need help with changing your mindset, sign up to receive the free Writer Affirmations ebook. You’ll get everything you’ll need to boost your confidence and gain the motivation to keep going!
Download the FREE ebook below! 👇🏻
2. Create a website and an email list
Spoiler alert: YOU NEED A WEBSITE. Okay, glad we covered that. [Related: Squarespace for Authors YouTube video — you can guess which service I like 😝 P.S. Sign up for Squarespace here!
You’ll also need an Email Marketing provider (like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Active Campaign, Mailerlite, etc. — even Squarespace has one!). I’ve personally used Mailchimp, Squarespace, and ConvertKit, and ConvertKit is my favorite (and the one I currently use), but Mailchimp is a good free option if you’re just starting out!
3. Pick your favorite social media platform
If you hate where you spend time online, you won’t stick with it. Cultivate your following where you love to spend time and where your readers are hanging out, too! With the ubiquity of social media, you’re likely to find a lot of your ideal readers on most of the major platforms.
(While traditional marketing knowledge says to figure out where your ideal reader is and go there, I don’t necessarily agree. That’s a great place to start, but again, if you hate it, you won’t stick with it. If you can figure out where your ideal readers are already hanging out and you love that platform, perfect! Go all in. But if not, don’t let it trip you up. Pick a social media platform you can get behind.)
Here are some good options to get you started:
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
Twitter
Pinterest
YouTube
Patreon
Snapchat
LinkedIn
Goodreads
These all have pros and cons, so do your research! But don’t get hung up on it being perfect — just try one or two that sound good to you! You can always change your mind later on if a particular platform is not working. (Just give each one a good try before you give up!)
4. Make a content marketing plan
These days, you need to create content to get the word out about your book. It’s called “content marketing,” which basically means you market your book using content that informs, inspires, or entertains instead of just throwing up a few ads. If you’re not creating free content for your followers, they won’t get to know you, start to like you, or come to trust you enough to buy a book from you (the whole “know, like, and trust” thing).
So create a plan for your content then start executing that plan! Use the book marketing ideas list from last week’s post to help you get started! [Related: Online Book Marketing Ideas for Every Step in the Writing Process]
And if you need help planning your content, check out the Instagram Planning Calendar! It’s a five-page fillable printable that walks you through the process of planning your month and week of content. And you can just print off the following week and month when you’re ready, so you can use the calendar forever! Plus, you’ll get a list of 30+ post ideas that can work on most platforms, honestly.
Download the Instagram Planning Calendar today!
5. Always have a CTA (call to action)
When you’re posting content online, always be thinking about a CTA or a “call to action.” What do you want your follower to do next? Would you like them to comment? Like? Share? Save? Subscribe? Follow? Sign up for your email list? (Spoiler: You probably want them to sign up for your email list. We’ll get to that in a minute.) Whatever your CTA, include it in your post. It may seem overly simplistic, but people are consuming content at crazy rates. They don’t want to have to guess at what you want them to do, so tell them!
6. Prioritize your email list.
This is one I’m still learning, so I’m reminding myself here, too, but your email list is your MOST VALUABLE PIECE of online real estate. Subscribers see EVERY email, they can reply to you directly, just about EVERYONE has an email address, and subscribers are much more likely to make a purchase from an email than on social media (there are, like, statistics and everything — check out #5 specifically).
The best way to get people to sign up for your email list is to have a free offer to get them to sign up — something they get for free just for joining your email list! I call it a freemium. We’ll make that #7.
7. Create a freemium.
So you know you need people on your email list, but how do you get them to sign up? You give them an incentive to do so! Enter the freemium.
For authors, this could be the first chapter or two of your book. Or maybe you offer a free novella — bonus points if it includes some characters in your other books! If you have published several books, you could even give away a full book for free. Or get creative and do something completely different!
Ask yourself: What would my ideal reader want for free from me? What would give them value and help them get to know what I can offer them? Then create that as an incentive to sign up for your email list! [click to tweet]
That’s it! If you follow these seven book marketing essentials, you’ll be well on your way to create the online following you and your books deserve!
If you missed last week’s post with 30 online book marketing ideas, check it out here!
<3 Melissa
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