The Holiday season is one of the most lucrative times of the year for book sales, accounting for over 20% of annual revenue for U.S. booksellers. Starting in the month of October, readers are looking for seasonal reads, meaningful gifts, and new releases to share or enjoy. For authors, this time period presents an opportunity to increase a book’s discoverability and boost sales; however, success doesn’t come from last-minute efforts—it requires a thoughtful and strategic marketing plan.
Below is a comprehensive timeline for Holiday planning with key promotional strategies and resources to help you make the most of the season:
Late summer is the ideal time to start ramping up your ideas and plans for Holiday promotions. You want to give yourself ample time to brainstorm, gather reader feedback if needed, and set goals. The best first step is to assess your current assets and book details so you know what needs updated, enhanced, or created. These assets include:
Book metadata –This is detailed information about your book including ISBN, genre, book description, author biography, keywords, and BISAC codes/categories. Reassess the categories you’ve chosen for your book on Amazon.
Website / blog – You should have a website or blog in place, and ensure all book details and contact information are current. You’ll also want to double-check all links to make sure they are working, and that it’s clear where readers can purchase your book.
Social media profiles – Your social media profiles should state you are an author, and include the genre you write, your website, your other social links, and a link to sign up for your newsletter if you have one. If you haven’t created a Facebook business/author page, now is the time.
Amazon Author page – If you haven’t claimed your book and Author Profile page through Amazon Author Central, you’ll want to do that before you start promoting.
Email newsletter – If you have an email distribution list, scrub it to make sure your list includes active subscribers only. If you haven’t started collecting emails for a newsletter, the Holiday season can be a great time to start building this list.
Author media kit – If you don’t have an author media kit, now is the time to create one. This tool is key when garnering reviews, media coverage, and other opportunities.
Images and graphics for social media posts and digital ads – Make sure you have hi-res images of your book’s cover, and consider signing up for platforms such as Canva to assist with creating graphics.
Marketing materials – If you plan to participate in any in-person events during the season, you’ll want to make sure you have business cards or bookmarks, signage, table coverings, etc.
The next step is to set goals for the Holiday season. What do you want to achieve? Increased book sales are likely a given, so think outside of just sales numbers. For example, do you want more reader reviews or social media followers? We recommend following the SMART method for setting goals:
• Specific – detailed and precise• Measurable – easy to track and evaluate• Achievable – attainable based on your skills and budget• Realistic – practical and researched• Time-based – within a specific time frame
Once you’ve defined your goals, you’ll need to create a marketing budget to determine how much you can invest in paid promotions, and, if you can afford to offer any price discounts. Even if you have a limited budget, there are many affordable and free ways you can promote your book. Social media ad campaigns through platforms such as Facebook or Instagram can cost as little as $1.00 per day, while Amazon Ads suggest a minimum spend of $10.00 per day. These platforms can be a great way to test paid advertising before investing in something more substantial, like a BookBub or Fussy Librarian eBook promotion.
After your assets and goals are in order and your budget is set, we recommend creating a weekly marketing calendar that maps out your ideas for key promotional events, communications, and content, such as blog posts, giveaways, email blasts, social posts, and ad campaigns. While you don’t want every communication between the months of October and December to be promotional in nature, you need to start weaving in some messages that highlight special initiatives or discounts.
The final step in the planning and preparation phase is to create any images or graphics needed to support your communications and promotions. You don’t have to be a professional designer to create visually appealing newsletters, social media posts, and ads. There are many user-friendly design platforms and free stock photo websites that can support your efforts. Some of these include:
• Canva• Photoshop• Photoroom• Pixabay• Unsplash• Pexels
The month of October is the time to start putting your plans into motion. Here is a list of specific Holiday marketing, communication, and promotional ideas you can launch during this time frame:
Influencer outreach – Pitch your book to bookstagrammers, YouTube reviewers, and bloggers for inclusion in Holiday gift guides.
Pitch local media – Most cities have a small newspaper or lifestyle publication along with online blogs, to which you can pitch your book for Holiday reading or gift guides.
Garner reviews – Ask your followers and network to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads, and if they haven’t read your book, offer a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Positive reviews will help build social proof before your big promotions.
Apply for a BookBub ad – If you plan to run an ad through a platform like BookBub, you should apply at least one month in advance of your desired promotion date. Availability can be limited, especially for popular genres, time frames, and pricing.
Run a giveaway – Use platforms like Goodreads, KingSumo, or Booksweeps to conduct a book giveaway. It can be your own book or a book from one of your favorite authors. This will create excitement around your work, help build your email list, and boost your social media following.
Create a gift with purchase – Adding an incentive like a custom pin, character artwork, or signed copies can entice readers to make a purchase.
Social media posts – Share your excitement for the upcoming Holidays and for the special initiatives or promotions you will be executing. You can tease at what’s coming in November and December so that your followers will keep checking back with you.
Email communications – If you aren’t already, start to consistently engage with and provide value to your email followers, rather than suddenly appearing in their inboxes in December asking them to buy your book. This will build trust and increase open rates.
Look for upcoming Holiday pop-ups and markets – The Holiday season is the perfect time to hone your in-person sales skills at local events such as Holiday pop-ups and markets. Look for opportunities to sell your books at craft fairs, book fairs, and other in-person events. Events offer the ability to do a special gift with purchase, bundles, or branded merchandise. Be sure to have plenty of copies of your book on hand to sell at these events.
Look for potential author collaborations – Other authors can be a great resource or support system, so look for opportunities to promote each other’s work, do newsletter swaps, or share a booth space at in-person events to save money.
November tends to be the most active spending month of the Holiday season due to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. All of your communications and promotions up to this point should be building toward this key shopping period.
Ramp up your email communications – Send value-packed, Holiday-themed emails highlighting any deals, rave reviews, and gift ideas.
Run social media ads – If your budget allows, advertise on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram leading up to and during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Run Amazon ads – If your budget allows, run Sponsored Product ads leading up to and during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you are able to offer a discount on the price of your book during this period, you can drive even more sales.
Execute cross-promotions – If you’ve partnered with other authors on cross-promotions or initiatives, November is the time to execute.
Update your website/blog – Give your website a festive feel with some Holiday graphics and messaging. If you have a blog, write and post Holiday-themed content.
Get festive on social media – Focus on holiday-themed social media posts. Emphasize gift-giving with messages such as "The perfect stocking stuffer" or "Give the gift of reading”. You’ll want to include any trending hashtags related to the Holidays.
Attend November Holiday pop-ups and markets – Most Holiday-themed events take place in the months of November and December. Participate in the November events that you researched and determined to be a good fit.
There are still plenty of shoppers looking to find that perfect, last-minute gift in the month of December. Don’t miss out on potential readers and buyers by letting your communications and promotions trail off. Keep the momentum going and finish the year strong.
Continue festive social media posts – Emphasize last-minute gifts, a countdown to the Holidays, or other festive posts and videos. You can even host a live Holiday event or celebration with your followers.
Social media ads – If there are funds remaining in your marketing budget, continue running ads on the platforms where you saw good results in November.
Amazon ads – If you saw good results from your Amazon ads in November and there are funds remaining in your marketing budget, continue running Sponsored Product ads.
Attend December Holiday pop-ups and markets – Participate in the December events that you researched and determined to be a good fit.
Email communications – As the year winds down, send an email thanking your followers for their support throughout the year, and give them a peek at your plans for the coming year.
First, take a breath. You’ve just completed the busiest marketing and promotional push of the year. Give yourself some time to regroup before focusing on the New Year.
The month of January is about setting goals and making resolutions, so you can tailor your communications to include messages about reading resolutions and goal-setting. You can get personal with your followers and share what’s on your TBR list for the year, or reveal some writing goals you’ve set for yourself. It’s also a great time to remind your followers how much reader reviews mean to you, and that you greatly appreciate their feedback.
Before too much time has passed, you’ll want to review any data that is available from your Holiday communications and promotions to see what worked well and what didn’t. This includes email open rates, click-thru rates, return-on-investment from ads, social media engagement, event sales, and more. A thorough analysis can help drive your decisions and strategies for the next Holiday season.
No matter your publishing path and genre, getting your book in front of readers during the Holiday season can lead to more exposure, new followers, and increased sales. By planning your strategies early and executing an integrated campaign across social media, email, events, and paid advertising, you can capture reader attention during the busiest book-buying season of the year. Start planning now, because a successful Holiday season starts as early as September. Depending on your goals and planned outreach, you may need to start sooner, as some media and event opportunities have even longer lead times.
No matter your publishing path and genre, getting your book in front of readers during the Holiday season can lead to more exposure, new followers, and increased sales. By planning your strategies early and executing an integrated campaign across social media, email, events, and paid advertising, you can capture reader attention during the busiest book-buying season of the year.
Start planning now, because a successful Holiday season starts as early as September. Depending on your goals and planned outreach, you may need to start sooner, as some media and event opportunities have even longer lead times.
Photo credit: sarah-b from Unsplash; Photo credit: daria-shevtsova from Unsplash; Photo credit: walls-io from Unsplash; Photo credit: max-fischer from Pexels; Photo credit: congerdesign from Pixabay.
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