I’ve been teaching marketing strategies to authors for well over a decade. Everything from how to get interviews, using speaking to market, article marketing, blog tours and lots in between.
There are dozens, even hundreds, of ways to market your books. Book marketing guru, John Kremer, shares 1001 Ways to Market Your Books in his book by the same name.
Book marketing is not a “one size fits all.” What might work for one author may not work for another. Yet, many times when an author learns about a strategy, they assume the person teaching it is saying, “Every author MUST use this strategy if you want to succeed.”
Not so. You have free will to either do, or not do, what is being taught.
Why You Must Market … Regardless of the Details
The reason an author markets is to raise awareness about their book(s). When
you raise awareness, you tend to have a better chance of selling books. When you sell, well… you make money. When you make money, you don’t have to be a struggling writer.
When an author says they want to sell books, and lots of them, they must be willing to get out of their comfort zone.
“I’m a writer, not a marketer,” is something I often hear from those reluctant to do much of anything remotely resembling marketing.
This type of thinking is what prevents many authors from selling more than a handful of books.
Resistance is High
Recently, I wrote a blog post about speaking to sell books. Quite a few people loved the information while others were frustrated with the post.
“Some people would prefer to market in a way that they don’t have to be seen by their book buyers,” one person wrote privately.
“I’m not a speaker. I don’t want to present to sell books,” another wrote.
Here’s the deal. Based on your goals, you must decide what you are willing to do.
If you say you want to get your book in the hands of as many readers as possible, why would you not do everything in your power to market your book(s) including speaking?
Sure, some things may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable, but does that mean you will never try it?
Someone must do your marketing
Regardless of whether you do the actual work, or you outsource, someone must do the marketing. Successful authors accept responsibility for the marketing and promotion of their book(s).
If all you do is write the book, but fail to market, you will never know what’s possible with the success of your book.
Reach your readers through OPM
If you really want to expand your marketing reach, figure out ways to get in front of OPM … other people’s markets.
There are many ways to do this including speaking on the platform, being a featured expert on a webinar or teleseminar, interviews, guest blogging and social media.
Speaking
With my recent blog post, I shared information about the advantages of speaking to sell books. Not only is the platform a great place to reach lots of people, speaking is a great way to position your authority.
If you don’t have any desire to get on the platform, so be it. There are plenty of other ways to get in front of potential readers.
Teleseminars and webinars
A great choice for those who don’t want to do actual in-person speaking engagements are teleseminars and webinars. You can literally get in front of hundreds of potential book buyers from the comfort of your home or office.
Interviews
There is no shortage of opportunity to set up interviews on podcast and radio shows. The beauty of either is the reach you get from people listening after the live interview. The shelf life of radio and podcast shows is incredibly long.
Guest blogging
One of the best ways to have an extended reach is through guest blogging. I’m a proponent of blogging on your own blog AND finding opportunities to be featured as a guest blogger.
One of my clients hit the holy grail of blogging in the pet space when she was invited to blog for PETMD. Not only did she reach thousands of potential readers, the credibility that comes with writing for a blog of this caliber is incredible.
Social media
A huge advantage of posting on social media, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or any other network, is the viral aspect of your content.
You can’t always know if something will go viral, but when it does, it can get dozens, hundreds, even thousands of views in a very short period.
Figure Out What Works for You
There are so many ways you can get the word out about your book. It’s up to you to figure out what you’re willing to do.
Whatever you choose, the more, the better. If you did even one thing a day, at the end of a year, that’s 365 actions you took to get the word out about your book.
It’s obvious doing one thing a day for a year will get you results far beyond authors who either do nothing at all or try one thing and then give up.
The success of your book is up to you. At the end of the day, you must decide if your actions match your goals.
Want to learn proven strategies in a step-by-step format? Check out Book Accelerator program. I’ve designed this for authors ready to jump-start their book marketing in a very effective way.