What gives you an edge in the highly competitive world of book marketing?
The most important part of book marketing is to write a good book, but after that what should be your next move? How can you market your brilliant book in a way that readers can’t wait to get their hands on it? While there is an overload of information available on every aspect of book marketing, from creating a platform to building an email list, the best advice comes from writers who’ve been in the trenches, who have tried and tested book marketing methods and found out what works. To make your life easier, we’ve combed through over a hundred WildMind Creative author interviews to bring you the book marketing strategies established authors swear by to build a thriving writing career.
J. T. Ellison – Bookstagram & Distribution
Getting the book into the hands of bookstagrammers is now a very effective method for spreading the word about a book. So much depends on the publishers—distribution makes or breaks a book—that any chance you have to actually connect with a reader, a bookseller, or a librarian, take it. I wouldn’t have a career without that triad.
R. S. Grey - Book Bloggers
Starting out, it can be difficult to find readers willing to take a chance on a new author. However, I think working with book bloggers and building relationships with them is a great way to get your foot in the door in those early days.
Taylor Jenkins Reid - Book Bloggers & Bookstagram
I would not be where I am today without book bloggers talking about my work. Bookstagrammers and book bloggers both big and small make a huge difference in attracting attention to good books.
Kimberly Belle - Perseverance
It usually takes multiple books to make a real splash. For me, it was my third that did it. Someone once told me that the most successful authors aren’t necessarily the best, but the most persistent. Keep at it and don’t lose hope.
Tosca Lee – Goodreads, Bookbub & Book Clubs
Goodreads is a great way to connect with readers. BookBub also. Reaching out to book clubs, doing giveaways, and taking the time and making the investment to attend conferences and events where you can network is all very valuable.
Steven James - Writing Conferences
I find that the best results usually come from when I teach at a writing conference and can spread the word about my books. Other than that, most of the social media avenues that are trumpeted about so much don’t really seem to move the dial for me.
Mindy Mejia - Networking
I’m not great at social media or sending newsletters. To be honest, I should sign up for the WildMind course! I tend to focus on what I enjoy most—forging genuine relationships with book clubs, booksellers, book bloggers and fellow authors about our shared love of all things literary.
Jennifer Wilson – Genre-Specific Marketing
I would love to tell you there is one magic tool for marketing, but there’s not. It also depends greatly on your fan base. For example, YA fans are immersed in social media so your best tools are going to be Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The same cannot be said for Historical Fiction or Romance lovers. Knowing your audience will help you greatly with finding the most effective tools for your marketing plans.
That said, there are a few marketing ploys every author should know and do. Get on Goodreads and utilize their giveaways. Send out free review copies to potential fans, focus on those who have large social media followings, 10K or more. (Do note, this doesn’t guarantee a good review.) Apply for a BookBub deal- yes, it is pricey, but you will make the money back in sales. It is hard to get accepted for a deal, but those books that do generally hit the Bestsellers list. Lastly, have a website, a good one!
Kristen Cicarrelli - Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is the most effective marketing. And word of mouth is not something an author can control or even really influence. It’s your publisher who has the marketing power to put a book on the map—they have 100x the reach you do. Authors have very little marketing influence. In light of this, I focus on the things I love and can control: writing a good book, writing the next book, being accessible via Instagram (which I like best of all the platforms), and running a pre-order campaign (not because pre-order campaigns move the needle much—if at all—but because I love running them, it’s a way to connect with my readers and make them happy).
Angie Kim - Interviews & Reviews
Highly visible and national interviews and reviews have certainly led to bumps in sales volume, so I saw huge ticks after NPR’s All Things Considered ran my interview with Ari Shapiro, for example, and after national newspapers like the NYTimes Book Review, Washington Post, and LA Times reviewed my book. But I’d guess that word-of-mouth through social media and book clubs have had an enormous impact, but it’s harder to gauge things like that that build more slowly.
Camille Di Maio - Bookbub & Networking
If you can get a Book Bub, that has been the number one thing that has been great for my books. But they are so hard to get. I’ve only gotten them twice. They are expensive and competitive. But very much worth it. As for daily things, I am a grassroots person. I have organically formed a lot of relationships and friendships with book bloggers, bookstagrammers, etc. and created a loyal following. I respond to every single message that someone sends me and I hear from readers all the time that they are surprised at how much I communicate. I do this because I love to and I think it’s the right thing to do. But it does come in handy with marketing, too. When I have something to promote – a new book or a sale – there are many people who are happy to spread the news.
Natalia Leigh - YouTube
My most successful marketing platform has been YouTube. By making videos and connecting with other writers in the community, I’ve been able to find my audience. YouTube won’t be the best platform for everybody, so I recommend that authors take their time to find the platform that they enjoy the most. Instagram is a wonderful option, and having a Twitter presence is important as well.
Kim Chance – Street Team & YouTube
For Keeper’s release, I formed a street team to help with marketing and saw huge results from that. I also ran a pre-order campaign that I consider quite successful. I also think having a YouTube channel was quite effective in terms of marketing. In the weeks leading up to Keeper’s release, I did several Keeper-themed videos to get people excited and amped up for release. Then I did a huge live release day party with a ton of giveaways. It was a lot of fun! I’m certainly no expert on marketing, but all of these things seemed to work well for me.
Kristen Martin – Price Promotions & Collaboration
I find ebook price promotions to be the most effective, as well as cross-promotions and/or collaborating with other writers and AuthorTubers. Not only are you spreading the word to your audience, but you’re also gaining a potential new audience. Cross-promotion and collaborating are two great ways to grow your platform – for free!
Hallie Ephron - The try-everything approach
Flail. Do everything you can. Facebook, Instagram, blog, newsletters; speak to book groups, bookstores, libraries. Do it all because no one knows what works.
