Marketing and Promo: Getting Your Book Out There
As I mentioned in last week’s blog (part one of this two-part post on the subject of marketing and promo), what I understand from several “experts” in the field is that the first goal for self-publishers who are promoting their book is to get reader reviews on the various book-selling platforms. Amazon, in particular. Any review you can get on any platform is a win, but if you want Amazon to recognize your book and have it turn up in searches and recommendations, you must have at least ten reviews. Twenty-five is better. Last week I discussed ARCs, Goodreads Giveaways, and Media Reviews (click here for last week’s blog).
Today, I am going to talk about the ways you can draw attention to your book in the weeks leading up to your release date (also called “launch date”).
First, a reminder. There are three things that must be true in order for all of your marketing and promotion efforts to work: 1) You need to have written a really good book that’s been edited and copyedited and proofread. 2) You must have an eye-catching cover that conveys the book’s genre (click here for more on book covers). 3) Your sales description must engage and entice potential readers (click here for more on the sales description).
If you don’t have those three things, you need to spend some time making them happen before you do anything else. If you do have them, you’re ready for the following.
• Guest Blogging
If you have a blog of your own or even if you don’t, you can pitch a blog post article or idea to a well-trafficked, better-known blog site that appeals to readers of your genre. It’s best to get to know the site before you decide it’s a good fit for your pitch, so read some of their articles and comment on them too. Why would you want to write an article for someone who won’t pay you for it? Doing so gets your name and post in front of people who don’t already know you. If they like the article, they may subscribe to your blog (if you have one)—which means, they may become long-term supporters of you as a writer. Be sure to click back (reference your other blog posts) at least once or twice in the course of your article. You can mention your book and its release date in the byline, and add a link to Amazon (or wherever it’s sold).
• Blog Tour/Blog Blitz
A blog tour is a virtual book tour that is most productive when it occurs a week or two before the book launches. During this time, your book will be promoted across various websites and blogs that appeal to your readership. Each blog will consist of original content: an article you’ve written, an interview you’ve done, a story someone else has written about your book. The idea is for readers of your genre to see your book on several sites that they frequent. The more a reader encounters your book, the more likely they will be to buy it. Some experts say that a potential customer needs to see your book around seven times before they’ll actually make a purchase.
A blog blitz, on the other hand, features various blogs that post the same content. Whether you do a blog tour or a blog blitz, the idea is to garner as much online exposure as possible.
If you know various websites and blogs that your readership tunes in to, you can set up a blog tour or blitz yourself. If not, you can hire a company to do it for you. From what I’ve discerned, it’s not a huge expense ($100+). I haven’t set one up for my book yet, but I need to!
• Social Media Giveaways
People love to win books! You can organize your own giveaways on social media. Not only is this type of promotion advertising for you book, it also helps to build the number of followers you have. You can stipulate that people who enter the giveaway must follow your profile. You can also have them tag a few friends to spread the word. Be sure to present a brief outline of the rules (for example, must be 18 or older, must live in the US, dates for the giveaway—one to three weeks should be good). Then decide how many books you want to give away. One paperback copy signed by you is enough. Be sure to post about it several times during the course of the giveaway. You can have several giveaways before the launch and after, too. Your promotional efforts will continue even after the book is released.
Marketing and promotion is anything that helps get the word out about your book. Do the things that you enjoy and let the rest go by the wayside. Feel free to share any promotions you’ve done in the past and their outcomes below.
Next week I will write about the importance of having a Street Team. And I’ll put my own Street Team together.
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Kim Catanzarite is a writer, editor, and instructor for Writer’s Digest University. She has worked as a developmental and copy editor since 1994. Her thriller, They Will Be Coming for Us, will publish June 1, 2021. Pre-Order Here. See my Special Offers here.
