Writing a nonfiction book can establish yourself as a trusted expert in your field.
Books are like business cards, only better.
What you need to decide is whether you just want to publish a book to hand out to clients, or whether you want to sell as many books as possible.
If sales is one of your goals, keep reading this post.
Book marketing involves so many steps.
When people come to me, they erroneously think that all they need is social media marketing.
Au contraire.
Social media alone won’t cause your books to start flying off the proverbial bookshelf.
So, take this quiz and see if you’re ready to tackle book marketing on your own.
Did You Write the Best Book You Possibly Could?
Yes, book marketing starts with your book. If you wrote a historical fiction novel, how well did you research it? Did you hire the absolute best editor you could afford plus a copyeditor?
And did you attend writing workshops to hone your craft?
Who Created Your Book Cover?
It’s best if you don’t rely on Fiverr for your cover. And it’s best if you don’t use a photo you took.
Subscribe to TheBookDesigner.com. Every month, Joel Friedlander, a book designer, judges submissions from writers.
By reading his reviews, you’ll learn a lot about good and bad covers, and you’ll glean names of good book designers. Or, you can ask Joel for a recommendation. That’s how I found mine.
Book Marketing Essential: Choose the Best Amazon Categories
You could upload your book to KDP if you’d like and select your own categories. Before doing that, I suggest you conduct some research.
Selecting your keywords and categories is critical to being found on Amazon. So, make your selections carefully. Here’s a post by Kindlepreneur with Dave Chesson on how to find the best categories: Secret Method to Choosing Amazon Book Categories in KDP.
Are You Planning on a Preorder
Preorders are de rigueurthese days.
When you schedule a preorder for a month, you are building sales and then when your book is available to download, you’ll have a boatload of reviews.
All those reviews boost your book in Amazon’s search engine.
Can People Listen to Your Book?
These days, it’s important to publish your book in as many formats as possible.
You want your readers to be able to read a paperback, download an ebook, listen to an audiobook, or enjoy a boxed set.
I’ve had clients who have only had their books formatted into paperbacks. Guess what kind of book sales they had? Yep.
No amount of social media marketing can help an author who doesn’t take advantage of all the ways that consumers buy books these days.
Do You Have an Author Website?
Every author needs an author website. In fact, you need a website, and possibly a blog, before you even embark on social media marketing.
A simple website would include these pages: home, about, contact, and a page with a list of all of your books.
Do You Have a VIP List or a Street Team?
If you have a street team of ten people, you can sell a lot of books.
Ten raving fans will post information about your books everywhere online. Imagine that they are super connected. I’m talking about 2,000 Facebook friends and 500 connections or more on LinkedIn, at least.
If you have ten super fans with 2,000 Facebook friends each, we’re talking about 20,000 people who will learn about your books.
Whoa!
A VIP list works the same way. It doesn’t matter what you call it, just build it and the book sales will happen.
Do You Promote Your Book for Free?
I know what you’re thinking. After spending all the time and all that money getting your book reading for publication, why would you discount your book to $0 for five days?
Well, because discounting your book will lead to downloads which will increase the number of readers you’ll get, which in turn will bring you more reviews.
And more reviews will boost you on Amazon’s search engine.
So, do them. They’re worth it on a promotional basis.
Are You Willing to Pay for a Blog Tour?
Blog tours may not boost book sales initially, but they will increase awareness of your books.
As a new author, you need awareness.
Of course, you don’t have to pay for a blog tour. You can always organize one on your own.
On this Amazon page, there is a list of books on how to conduct your own blog tour. Buy one of the books and start doing it.
If you want to hire someone, I can vouch for TLC Book Tours. They aren’t cheap, but they are professionals. I’ve used them and really enjoyed working with them.
Do You Have a Social Media Presence?
Whether you hire someone like me or do it yourself, a social media presence is essential to a writer’s marketing platform.
Whether you’re a new author or a seasoned author, you need to have a social media presence for visibility and for book sales.
Social media is how you’ll keep in touch with readers, find new readers, and connect with influencers in your genre and in the book marketing field.
Are You Building Your Email List?
Email marketing is also de rigueur.
You won’t get far in your book marketing without building an email list.
The truth is, email marketing is more effective at sales than social media. However, Facebook advertising is awesome.
Have I confused you?
I hope not. Social media and email marketing are both essential and can complement each other.
Frances Caballo is an online marketing consultant and the author of six books on social media. Click here to schedule an appointment with her. Writing a book can serve as the best possible business card you can possibly have and establish your authority in your field. Once you publish your book, learn to market it by visiting my other website, SocialMediaJustforWriters.com.
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