Whether you’re launching a new book, or relaunching a book, the principles are the same.
You remember our mantra from Episode 1? No? Here it is again (what’re you like, eh?):
be excited · be consistent · be proactive · be prolific
You can’t expect to sell books unless you tell readers about them, and nothing sells books quite like the excitement of the author who wrote them.
And be consistent; make sure you include the purchase links, even if you’re sharing a Facebook memory from a year ago.
Be proactive. Look for opportunities where you might be able to mention your book. “Oh! I Love that movie…it gave me the idea for Blah Blah…[include link if appropriate]”
Social media has very little reach these days, unless you’re prolific and post often, few people are going to see it.
Now, use everything you learned and set up in Episode 1. What? You didn’t? Go! Go re-read. Go set up.
PRE-LAUNCH WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING?
- Announce to your LinkedIn connections.
- Announce to your newsletter subscribers.
- Announce to the GoodReads groups you’re in.
- Announce on relevant Facebook pages.
- Join the 20BooksTo50k Facebook group.
- Find review readers.
EVERY DAY DO SOMETHING THAT PROMOTES YOUR BOOK/BUILDS YOUR AUTHOR BRAND
- Interact with other authors on social media
- Interact with readers on social media
- Find review readers
- Chase up reviews
- Consider new Amazon categories
- Update your story if you have time (discuss with your publisher)
- Create interesting content
- Plan and run contests and giveaways
- Offer signed print copies
- Guest post on another author’s website
- Find newsletter swaps
- Create/promote merch
If you are a contributor to a paying anthology, work a plan out between you of who will post what where. You ALL profit from the effort, you all should have a role to play in its marketing.
Take a look at Neil Gaiman. He’s a busy man. He’s a famous author. He interacts.
GRAPHIC CREATION TOOLS
There are a few graphic creation tools you can use on your marketing journey. Here’s a couple that are free or have free options.
Free to use. Pay for upgraded options. Simple tool for creating graphics. Easy drag & drop facility. Size to all the social media formats with the click of a button. Free images, backgrounds and video.
Free to use. Make 3D graphics of your books. Paperback, hardback, phone, iPad
SOCIAL MEDIA
Ultimately, as controversial as it often is, social media is your friend. Here’s a few examples we think work perfectly:
Post timely content around holidays
Run contests
Promote upcoming releases
Showcase books in interesting and relevant settings
Teaser quotes
Provide behind-the-scenes peeks
Pose with a book and relevant prop
Show a reader enjoying the book
Source photos from fans
Feature swag in artsy way
Host book giveaways
Brand by matching book to tone
Show animals reading and/or lying on books.
Repost fantastic photos and promotions.
Ask questions.
Call out related media.
OTHER PLACES to flaunt your vibe
Wattpad has experienced explosive growth since its inception and has become the world’s most popular destination to publish and read e-books. Wattpad delivers billions of pages from its library of works created and published by the Wattpad community.
You’ll find an online reading group and book discussion forum that can help you discover new books. If you’re an author or publisher looking to promote your books, you are welcome to use BookTalk.org as a tool to reach a vast audience of book lovers. They have a Google Page Rank of 5, over 14,000 members and close to 700,000 site views per month. Book discussion forums are free and open to anyone including authors and publishers. Create a free account and write about your books in either the Fiction Book Forum or Non-Fiction Book Forum. Mail a few copies of your print book and it will be advertised. They will advertise your book on the Home page for 15 to 30 days and on the Featured Book Suggestions page permanently.”
Booktalk.com is an online booklovers’ community composed of many of today’s bestselling and popular authors. Personalized author home pages contain excerpts from bestselling novels as well as information about upcoming releases, author notes and personal hobbies and interests as well as publisher, literary agent and book industry information. Writing related articles by Booktalk authors and others in the writing community and upcoming literary events are also included.
Authors are always welcome to post about their books in the Book Bazaar.
Social networking site and forum for book lovers. Free profile where each book contains tags, reviews and links to conversations about the book.
Enables you to build a virtual book shelf, that include book reviews from Amazon and to interact with your Shelfari community.
Features weekly top rated books, top talent spotters. You can join the forum, upload books and post reviews.
List yourself at this writers and authors directory, sorted by genre or location. Various resources for writers, agents and publishers.
Forum about books. Offers: profile with books appearing in signature, list of favorite and wished books.
Share Your Poems, Short Stories, Novels, and more with the world. Sign up, it’s free.
Selected book listing, authors interviews, link to authors’ website; Reviewed by humans, not all books accepted, check submission guidelines.
Upload and manage your book cover image & book promotion materials. Showcase your work for free: writings, books, articles, short stories, essays, poems and more.
Has a 30 days free trial listing and a paid listing with monthly payment of under $5.
Kind of “Twitter” for authors , platform for books, have your own author site, post short blogs.
Free Listing : a 60 words description and 5 keywords per book. Premium listing : $19.95/year – 120 words description and space for book reviews.
For children books only. Directory of children books, publishers and professionals related to children book publishing. You can create your own profile to add your book and blog for free.
Find out what others are reading on Scribd. This service is somewhat comparable with Wattpad. Authors upload their PDF, Word, and PowerPoint docs to share them with the world’s largest community of readers.
Authors can advertise free for thirty days. Submit a portrait photo (jpg), up to fifty words inviting readers to your website and your URL where your book(s) are for sale. After thirty days it is as low as 27 cents a day.
Our Marketing clients’ books and author bio are posted here on this blog as well, plus we will have an interview with them, published here too. Both articles will stay forever on our site, free of charge.
A lively mix of author interviews, audio book previews and chats with those influential in the literary world, The Book Report has become appointment listening for bibliophiles and book clubs alike.
Tim Greaton is presenting the most talented authors & artists, living and working in our world today.
FREE BOOK Listings
authormarketingclub.com/members/submit-your-book
addictedtoebooks.com/submission
thekindledailydeal.com/contact.cfm
http://www.freebooksy.com/about
thefrugalereader.wufoo.com/forms/frugal-freebie-submissions
digitalbooktoday.com/join-our-team
www.canadianbookclubs.com/forums
thebookmarketingnetwork.com/forum
Kimberly Rei
Kimberly Rei, in addition to writing creepy tales, is an editor with Black Hare Press and takes joy in offering the wobbly wisdom of her experience. She does her best work in the places that can't exist...the in-between places where imagination defies reality. With a penchant for dark corners and hooks that leave readers looking over their shoulder, she is always on the lookout for new ideas, new projects, and new ways to make words dance. Her debut novelette, Chrysalis, is available on Amazon. Kimberly lives in gorgeous Florida where the Gulf hides monsters and the sun is a special kind of horror.
Dean Shawker
Dean Shawker hails from Bracknell, UK, and now lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Dean is co-founder and editor of Black Hare Press.
Having found that his BSc in Bioengineering and BA in Digital Media were as useful in real life as calculus and geometric proofs, Dean now works in commercial non-fiction during the day and moonlights as a minion of the hell hare, Captain Woundwort, in the dark hours.
He writes speculative fiction and dark poetry under the pseudonym Avery Hunter, and edits under the name D. Kershaw.
You’ll usually find him hanging out with the rest of the BHP family in the BHP Facebook group, or here as a servant to the Stygian Lepus.