by Kathleen Kaiser
Are you launching a book this year?
If yes, it’s time to begin your marketing. You read this correctly: a full year out to make an impact when the book releases. Few things, but a simple plan. Here are my steps to marketing a book that leads to success.
One Year Out…
First, create a budget to spread the money over the entire year. And be realistic. If you’re launching your first book, you must spend more than an established author with multiple titles. Next, you have to create a website, along with your author’s Facebook and Instagram page, not your personal profile page. These are public pages so the world can find you. If you like to make videos, get a TikTokBooks page. Post something twice a month to start. For the website, buy your name or YourNameAuthor.com. I prefer GoDaddy as they are inexpensive and easy to contact.
It would be best if you started writing blogs now – short 200 to 300-word mini-stories about writing your book, the locations, music you listen to while writing the book, your top influencers, etc. These will go on your website and then link to your social media. Post pictures or images from the book if you are writing nonfiction or memoir. Start with twice a month. With nonfiction, get or use your LinkedIn profile and start telling old colleagues what you’re doing. And start writing about your life. People today want to know the author. It’s our new Celebrity Media World.
Six Months Out…
Now is the time to get more active with your social media presence. Join GoodReads and start reading your competition and writing good reviews when deserved. Don’t leave negative reviews. Build an audience of other authors for your blurbs. When the edited manuscript is ready, request from these new “famous friends” if they will write a blurb. If you write nonfiction, send it to other well-known experts or scholars on your topic for a blurb. Post a blog once a week (this is why you’ve been writing them for months—years)—link to all social media pages.
Three Months Out…
If you hire a publicist, they must come on board NOW. Begin your social media campaign – book cover introduced, any blurbs – so exciting! Send copies for free reviews and purchase primary reviews like Kirkus Reviews or BookLife, my two favorites because they give honest reviews. Over 50 percent of reviewers will want an ebook. You must have a preliminary media kit printed. Do small runs so you can update with reviews. And have a PDF version on your website.
Start to post a blog twice a week. Arrange local book signings with groups. Stores will agree once the book is available. Contact stores once your book is listed for pre-order on Ingram. Have creative made for your collateral print materials designed but not printed because you might get a great review to add. These are postcards, bookmarks, banners, table signs, etc. Find all locally produced radio shows, especially weekend shows, that promote local people and approach being on the show the week your book comes out. Sign up for any advance review eblasts for reviewers and librarians.
Two Months Out…
Go over the keywords and the categories for your book on Amazon. Look for additional categories that are similar. Take your time and see which has the most books in them, and then FIND LESS CLUTTERED but appropriate categories. Post any advance attention. Put links on the website and social media. Prepare a press release on the book coming out and your first event. Keep blogs going, maybe up to twice a week. They don’t have to be long, just newsy.
One Month Out…
Contact everyone you’ve ever known and send an email about your book. Please direct them to your website. Let them know what date it’s coming out. Include the cover image. Let everyone know the pre-order date for your book on social media and by email. Have the cover on your Facebook banner. Arrange all Amazon and Facebook ads for your release week. Arrange any ebook promotions for after release.
Week of Release…
Okay, you really never stop this week. You live on social media, sending emails and posting on Facebook and Instagram. On the release day, you check your book’s hourly ranking on Amazon for each category. If you make the top ten, they will put a BESTSELLING NEW RELEASE flag on your page, but only for the hour or time you continue to sell. Yes, they rank each hour. Instantly make several screengrabs of your page and post your bestseller status. If the book does well, run a 99-cent ebook campaign to start a week after release. The objective is to keep your name and the book title active in the algorithms.
Now, the real work begins…
This is when you go public with in-person events like:
- Book Signings
- Appearances
- Contests
- Radio & Podcasts (depending on genre, rare for fiction-sorry only for the famous or very topical)
- Festivals or events
- Readings
It’s not overwhelming if you start early and stock up on blogs, short-written ideas, and images.
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Kathleen Kaiser‘s journey through the dynamic landscapes of marketing, technology, and the arts spans over five decades. Beginning as a music journalist and transitioning to publicity, Kathleen has left her mark on the most exhilarating industries of her generation. Her career has been a remarkable evolution from the electrifying world of rock and roll in the late 60s and 70s to the transformative digital and internet revolution of the late 80s, 90s, and 00s. She is President of the Writers & Publishers Network and a frequent conference speaker. Throughout her career, Kathleen’s words have graced publications in the United States, Japan, the UK, and Italy. In addition, she is the author of five published books, four dedicated to the music industry, a novel, and a collection of plays. Her efforts extend to producing webinars for WPN, and she launched the engaging podcast, “Talking Book Publishing with Kathleen Kaiser,” in March 2021, now co-hosted with poet and book marketer Adanna Moriarty.
