You’ve written a book, and you may be wondering what to do next. The answer: you must start marketing. This is how potential readers find out about your book, get excited, and ultimately make the decision to buy and read it. Marketing helps your book cut through the chatter, reach its target audience, and garner interest.To succeed in the noise-filled, content-saturated market, you need to stand out from the crowd. Here’s a list of some marketing methods you could try and what they entail.
Every marketing campaign needs content. First, authors need to create a press release for their book. But a press release by itself does not constitute a marketing campaign. In addition, you need to create press kit material. You should prepare an author bio, a book summary, and an elevator pitch to ensure you're talking about you and your book in the most concise, interesting way. In addition, choose reviews and excerpts and from your book that will showcase it. Also prepare a list of interview questions. All these elements work together to form the press kit, which will help you grab as much attention as possible when marketing your book.
Beyond a website that offers a virtual press kit, authors should get involved in social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. These mediums allow you to connect with potential and existing readers, garner excitement about your book, and provide information on how to purchase it. You can share positive reviews, quotes from the book, or stories of funny things that happened while writing it: all of which helps potential readers connect with you and get excited about reading your book. Online marketing can also include creating a blog or website of your own, or reaching out to other bloggers to write reviews on your book for their subscribers.
Some authors, believe it or not, prefer to print and assemble their press kits to offer to local, regional and national media. However, printing out these kits can get expensive, so they should only be sent out when specifically requested to keep costs at a minimum. Other promotional materials, such as postcards and bookmarks, can also help authors get the word out about their books. Such promotional materials can be especially useful at book events, book fairs, and signings because potential readers can take them home and remember to purchase your book.
It’s important to know the market for your book, as well as what fits your personal style. Successful marketers think about their book's target audience and adapt their marketing efforts to fit their consumers. A local or grassroots kind of marketing should start with your own network. You should also seek media coverage on local radio stations, TV stations, and in newspapers. Reach out to people you know with the hope of turning them into a kind of adjunct sales force. National marketing campaigns are about reaching millions at once. If your book has global significance and is newsworthy, it needs press. Using a fee-based service like PRWeb or PRNewswire is a way to reach a large audience at one fell swoop. Or, you might consider fee-based, national advertising through Facebook.
Finally, events can also be part of marketing plans. Most authors hold a book launch event to get the word out when their book is finally available for sale. Many authors partner with non-profits and hold events in local bookstores and museums. Such events can generate media coverage and, in turn, create publicity for a book. Authors also participate in signings, conferences, book fairs, and non-profit benefits. All of these events can generate press for your book and help you reach your target audience.
My newly published book "Year Round Stories with Good Endings" gives an optomistic view of the goodness of things happening in the world, now and in the future.
Good advice, I am finding it so hard to tell people my book for all ages, In a Quarter of a second is available to buy online Amazon/kindle, Barnes and Noble/Kindle, Ebay, Xlibris/Kindle, Foyles online only at the moment. I am trying my best to get it into shops with no success sending emails, ringing, going in person it never ends. Is there any way of getting my book into any physical shops at all as it is on Gardners and many more suppliers. Can anybody advise me on this please. It is magical with magical items and places, action packed, adventure and much more with my second book on the way following this book. This could also be made into a film hopefully. Thank you.
Great advice
I have tried using social media, primarily Facebook to tell people where they can buy my book. The problem I encounter when I used social media is when I try to name retailers that carry my book for sale, Facebook refuses to allow my posts about my book to be viewed. They are saying that my advertising through social media is against community standards, and they ate refusing to allow my more recent posts to go through. St first, before I named retailers they allowed posts. I recommend setting up your own website promoting the sale of your book through your self publishing company you used or if you published yourself without the backing off aajor company try using blue host website to create your own website. I also recommend using word press to design your web page if you are doing it yourself.
Author House did a terrible job publishing my book they published one poem twice it was in small print no wonder I have a hard time selling it then they had the nerve to say that I would have to pay for a reprint when it was their mistake that they published one poem twice and in small print. They should be reprinting the book for free.
Kathyrn Martell MacKenzie at kathyrnmartell@gmail.com Author of Life And Passion