12 strategies that can help you market your book and connect with your readers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a self-published or traditionally published author. If you write fiction or non-fiction, as an author you have to know how to market yourself and how to connect with readers
Focus on 2 or 3 strategies
It’s much better to do fewer things and do them really well.
- Don’t overwhelm yourself. Focus on quality rather than quantity
- If you have more time, add another one or two strategies that you can focus on.
Use Your Newsletter Subscribers as Your Launch Team
Invite your newsletter subscribers to join your launch team by offering them an advanced copy of the book as a pdf download a month before the release date.
Do a Goodreads giveaway
This will get you in front of readers who are interested in your genre to build awareness, especially for fiction authors who might be struggling to get the ball rolling
- Goodreads is full of active users, so use the lower cost option, $119.95 instead
Connect locally
Connect with local people to gain insights, tips, and tricks.
- This will get the ball rolling on your marketing and will help you gain more connections. It’s also a great way to get the word of mouth going. Start a blog or start a book club.
Start now
The minute you start writing is really the time when you should start connecting with your readers and starting to grow your audience
- On social media it takes a while to develop that know, like, and trust factor that you’re looking for
- Start now and connect with readers as a human being, not as an author trying to promote a book
Continue to talk about your book
Book marketing doesn’t have to be complicated, take you away from your writing, or be a drag.
- When you focus on just a few things, have a plan in place, and consistently show up, you’ll be in good shape.
Grow your newsletter
Take the social media connections that you’re making and drive them to your newsletter list with an incentive
- An incentive could be a free download or a free checklist
- Nurture the connections you have on social media by giving readers an incentive they can take and learn from or be entertained by
Have a review process in place
Offer readers an incentive within your book to get them on your email list to prompt them to leave reviews or to stay in touch with you after the book releases
- You don’t want to lose touch with your readers after they finish reading
Know your ideal reader
Focus on an ideal reader, and get very specific within your content and what you share.
- This will leave people thinking, “Wow she is talking directly to me. I feel like this is so personable and engaging.”
- Get very specific when you talk to just one person.
Know where you’re at in the marketing process
When you know where you are in the process, you can better understand what needs to be done in the Attraction, Promotional, or Follow-Up phases to make a bigger impact
- Use this knowledge to make better marketing decisions.
Offer a BookBub Promotion
This is a great way to get your book in front of new people and offer a special promotional price.
- Offer a limited time price point – for free, 99 cents, 2.99, or $2.99 – you can set the price point.
