by Penny Sansevieri
The following is an excerpt from the newly released, updated, 5-Minute Book Marketing for Authors.
If you hate the idea of marketing or don’t know where to begin, you’re not alone. I get it. Believe me. Marketing isn’t easy, especially if you still have a full-time job and want to focus on your next book. The challenge is, if you don’t market, no one will know about your book. The simple act of putting your book on Amazon does not a marketing plan make. Contrary to what your mom, family, and friends may think—or perhaps what you’ve been told in your writers’ group—your book is not Field of Dreams. The mere act of publishing won’t bring droves of people beating a path to your door. So, what’s an author to do? Well, the good news is, the marketing steps are actually pretty simple and straightforward!
1. Build your fan base.
Fans, and Superfans in particular, can be invaluable in helping you market your book. In fact, if you truly engage with your Superfans, they often help you sell your book. And wouldn’t that be great?
So how do you build this fan base? I talk a lot about putting a letter in the back of your book—something engaging and inviting, something that encourages readers to contact you. Building a loyal base is worth its weight in gold, and if you really don’t want to spend your life marketing your books, then you must invest in the fans who find you organically.
If you resonate with this approach, I’ve built a road map of sorts, including templates to build from, and we include it with most of the campaigns we design for our clients. It’s a concept all authors should fully understand, because there are always ways to work these techniques in your favor. Contact me if you want to discuss this more.
2. Pitch reviewers
I know how tedious this is, but if you only pitch five bloggers a week, that’s still twenty new blog pitches in a month. And it does add up. I’m serious about consistency here, whether it’s bloggers, genre readers, reviews on specific platforms, or other reviewers. The online media landscape changes, and it’s important to make smart decisions based on what’s happening in the news, lifestyle trends, and so on. Not sure how to find them? Check out these links for a list of bloggers you can pitch:
- New Releases from… (WPN)
- the Book Blogger List
- Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs
- Book Bloggers of Goodreads
Just be sure to read up on the biggest mistakes to avoid, and improve your chances of getting a positive reply.
3. Boost your Amazon visibility
It’s hard not to venture onto our blog without seeing a post about Amazon optimization. Yes, I’m a huge fan, not just because I wrote a book about it, but because it works. If you want Amazon to help market your book for you, it’s crucial to check your keyword strings and categories quarterly, at a minimum. If you have single keywords, replace them with actual keyword strings.
4. Blog and use social media
I get that this is a turnoff for most authors. You already have another book you want to write, and now I want you to blog and be on social media, too? Well, yes, but don’t overthink this.
Be interesting or be funny or “open the kimono,” as they say, and share a glimpse of a writer’s life. The blogs don’t have to be long. In fact, some of the best posts aren’t long at all. But they should be interesting, insightful, and even funny, if being humorous is your thing. How often do I want you to blog? Well, twice a week ideally, and once at a bare minimum.
In terms of social media, keep in mind that it’s not about being everywhere, but everywhere that matters. If you have time for only one site, then do just one site. Post one piece of content a day, that’s it. It literally takes less than five minutes, and it’s free. Engage, build fans, and network.
Whatever you do, whether it’s one of these things or all of them (rock star!), do it consistently. One blog post every once in a while, one social media update, or one pitch to a blogger will not move the needle. But if done consistently, this will have an effect on your success. All of these things are easy to work into a schedule. And some, like the Amazon keywords, have to be done only one time, or a couple of times a year if you’re in a popular genre with lots of new competition.
Now that you’ve written at least one book, you owe it to yourself and the book you spent so much time writing to do something, even if it’s at the smallest level. We do a monthly post highlighting fun and inspirational holidays that make creating content a breeze—no excuses!
It’s easy to throw up your hands and say, “I don’t get it!” And believe me when I tell you I see this a lot —authors giving up and walking away.
When I first started in business, I hated a lot about what I was required to do. Taxes and accounting are great examples. I did them myself for a while, and it wasn’t pretty. But I did it, and it got me through. When I finally had the means, I outsourced those tasks. I’m glad I didn’t walk away from my business just because I sort of suck at math. Why am I telling you this? To emphasize that we all have pieces we hate to do. But if this journey and your book are important to you, you’ll make time to do them or learn how. You fail only if you fail to try! So dig in with me, and learn some great marketing efforts that you can do in around five minutes!
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME) and an adjunct professor at NYU, is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.