by Diana Urban (from BookBub October 30, 2019 Reprinted with permission)
14. Stage photos of a book in a holiday setting
Many authors publish stunning images on Instagram showcasing their book against a holiday backdrop. This is a great strategy for engaging with readers who are in the holiday spirit and thinking about what presents to buy! Of course, the winter holiday season really starts as early as October. Here’s a fantastic Halloween-themed photo from J. Daniels, where she promotes a Halloween-themed anthology by herself and several other popular romance authors:
Here’s a Christmas-themed photo from Rainbow Rowell, where she lets fans know that her book includes Christmasy plot elements.
15. Send readers season’s greetings on social media
Sylvia Day sent fans season’s greetings for each holiday. While the first example here didn’t promote a specific book, showing appreciation and well-wishes is a great way to foster a relationship with readers and secure loyal fans.
Some of Sylvia’s other season’s greetings came directly from her book’s characters! We love the creativity here:
You could also consider posting a more casual photo or selfie of yourself in the holiday spirit! Alyssa Cole posted this fun photo, wishing her readers a happy holiday in the caption.
16. Create branded holiday swag or content
The holidays are a perfect time to get creative with swag and other shareable content. This is a great way to build buzz, or provide giftable content to fans other than the book you’re promoting itself. For example, you can create bookish Christmas-tree ornaments designed for a specific book (either DIY, or hire someone on Etsy if you have the budget).
You can also create shareable digital content. Scholastic created holiday cards that anyone could send to their friends, each with a tie-in to one of their books. They compiled these cards on one Pinterest board.
17. Ask readers to post photos of your book as their holiday gift
Once everyone’s unwrapped all their holiday presents, there’s still plenty you can do! Ask your audience to share photos on social media of any of your books they received for the holidays. Their friends will see these photos, giving your book even more exposure!
James Patterson posted on Instagram: “Did you find one of my books under the tree today? Send me a picture and I’ll share it with the world!”
He then reposted pictures from people who shared these photos (using the Repost app), boosting their profiles in return.
Diana Urban is the industry marketing manager at BookBub and was previously the head of conversion marketing at HubSpot. She’s an expert in inbound marketing and lead generation. Diana is also an author of dark, twisty thrillers, including All Your Twisted Secrets (HarperTeen, 3/17/2020). Follow her on Twitter at @DianaUrban.