If you’re a first-time author with a completed manuscript and a dream of publishing it as a best-seller, you need to do more than publish your work. Even though it seems that some authors get lucky with all the buzz their new book generates, no book sells itself, and the hard work starts before it’s released to the public. If you want to learn how to market your book, you’ve come to the right place.
Here at The Unapologetic Voice House, we aspire to help every unspoken voice be seen, heard, and witnessed, which we accomplish by helping you market and sell your book.
If you want to learn how to market your book, you’ve come to the right place. Luckily, the list of marketing opportunities is almost neverending. In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about marketing your book, from finding your target audience to creating an email list.
How to Market Your Book: 5 Essential Tips You Need to Know
Know Your Audience
Before you can start marketing your book, you need to understand who your target audience is and be able to identify them. After determining your target demographic, your next step will be figuring out how to gain their attention.
Whether your book is intended for teenagers or young women, you’ll want to consider where your target audience finds suggestions for books to read. Do they peruse websites like Goodreads? Are they involved in book communities on Facebook or Instagram?
Whatever they do, you should tweak your marketing strategy, so it’s designed specifically for your target audience. By doing this, the people you want to read your book will be more likely to find it.
Create a Website
Whether you’ve published one or 100 books, every author should have a website. After all, a website is a great way to share information about new releases and connect with your existing audience or potential readers.
A website should be responsive, beautifully designed, and easy to navigate. It should also provide guests with exclusive content, reviews, media coverage, links to your blog and social media accounts, and, most importantly, information about you as an author.
Use Social Media
In today’s digital society, social media is the easiest way to build a brand and connect with potential readers. Whether you use Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you’ll be able to spread the word about your book faster than ever before.
Additionally, you’ll also be able to connect with your target audience and learn a lot about them. You’ll be able to communicate directly with them, which can help if you’re trying to choose locations for an upcoming book tour or want to hear their thoughts about your latest book.
You can also use your social media platform to promote your book. You can share testimonials from real-life readers, start a countdown, and even share a snippet of your book to generate buzz!
Create an Email List
After you create a website and social media accounts, the work doesn’t stop there. There are so many other ways to market your book, and creating an email list is one of the easiest options out there.
It’s highly unlikely that people will continuously check your website for updates (unless they’re very dedicated). By setting up an email list, your audience can subscribe to an email newsletter that comes out once or twice a month.
With this email newsletter, you’ll be able to share information about new releases and even share exclusive content that can’t be found anywhere else!
Reach Out to Book Reviewers
You should never judge a book by its cover, right? Well, of course. To properly evaluate a book, readers have to consider what it’s actually about – but what happens when no one has read your book?
Before your intended release date, reach out to book reviewers and bloggers who read work within your genre. You can ask them to read your book and share a review once they’re done.
When it comes to how to market your book, reviews are an easy win, especially if they’re on Amazon. The more reviews you get, the more visible your book will be. Plus, it’s free marketing!
Share Your Story With Us
Want to learn more about how to market your book? We can help. As an independent book publishing house, The Unapologetic Voice House offers a blend of traditional and self-publishing services, as well as developmental editing and proofreading and platform building options, to provide you with flexibility.
To learn how we can help bring your story to life, submit a query letter today!