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I was a recent participant in an indie publishing panel, tasked with sharing my expertise. I opened my portion with a revised moniker from ‘expert,’ defaulting to sharing my ‘experience.’ I did this for a couple of reasons: 1. I was a peer, a member of this writers group, and one is never a prophet in one’s own land, and 2. I don’t believe that anyone is an absolute expert in marketing. As my co-host contribution this month, I’ve decided to share my Marketing Busy B’s
- BEST BOOK
- You love and believe in your book (and yourself) = you can sell it!
- professionally edited (content and copy) and formatted
- genre-specific, eye-catching cover
- BRAND
- Prepare a cohesive story around your author persona and journey and why you write
- As a person, I am ardent, authentic, and undeniably outgoing
- As a writer, I write humor and satire with a literary bent
- Thus, I write Contemporary Women’s Friendship Fiction
- Two series: “Faith, Family, Frenzy” and “I Am…”
- BEGIN: 6 months before release date
- Logline, blurb/description: adjust as needed to include your selected Amazon keywords
- Author headshot and bio
- Author website
- Blog/Substack – share your personal journey, your book’s keywords, and related topics. (People will buy your books if they like you and are legit. We don’t buy from strangers, do we?
- Newsletter using magnets: free content such as a short prequel, bonus chapters, or short stories tied to your book to build an audience/fans
- The holiday gift shopping season is prime sales season, btw
- BENEFIT and BOND
- Who is your book’s target audience? Research their interests and likes
- What social media platform are they on? YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok
- Consistent engagement: reliable and reciprocal, not just dump-and-go
- Blog/Substack/Newsletter: the trifecta of reader engagement and interaction
- Find readers where they are and give them what they’re looking for
- BROADCAST
- Frequent engagement with meaningful content true to your brand
- Master your logline and clear plan of action to tell everyone everywhere you go
- Blog/Substack/Newsletter
- Get reviews: ARC to fellow writers, friends, and services like Kirkus, NetGalley, Publishers’ Weekly, Reedsy
- Book Launch Party – note that this is only one component of your book marketing campaign, not your solo foray
- Presentations to Community and Writer Groups
- Book clubs and Blog hops
- Wide: D2D, Book Funnel, BookShop, IngramSpark, Bookstores
- vs Amazon only – 3 categories and 7 keywords to enhance search visibility. Change/update
- BookBub (best yet very competitive) and other giveaways = massive reach @$.99 or free: Book Gorilla, Facebook Readers Groups, Goodreads (FB for readers)
- Don’t stop at 1; stack promotions; monitor and adjust
- engage with influencers on Bookstagram or BookTok (or hire someone to do it)
- Awards: Reader’s Favorite, Chanticleer, and others
- Bookmarks and other book ‘bling’
- Book trailer and/or create short-form videos/reels (like joy of unboxing books) to post
- Take Bryan Cohen, Jane Friedman, and Kindlepreneur ‘how-to’ courses
6. BUSINESS
- Commit; Patience; Persistence
- Marketing works best as a learning loop: test what readers respond to, then use those insights to make your next campaign stronger
Thanks for co-hosting with me this month. Your lists are excellent. And I’m sure being on a panel like you were is both helpful and a great marketing tool.
Thanks for the acknowlegement and compliments of high value because they come from you –
Thank you for the excellent tips for launching a book! All good advice!
Thank you for co-hosting this month!
Thanks for the compliment and thanks, Catharina –
Great info, PJ. Thanks for sharing. AND for co-hosting.
You’re welcome, and you’re welcome. This was a proper forum to share my experience to the benefit of other writers
Great advice and excellent tips for a book launch!
Thank you for co-hosting this month!
Thanks for the double stuff!
That is a lot of B’s. All useful. Thank you.
Yes. There are many steps and tasks in an effective marketing campaign. ‘Tis the busy-ness of business. I hope my tips serve you well.
Happy IWSG day and thanks for co-hosting. Your blog post is so useful and detailed. Thank you for this.
Thanks for your read and acknowledgement. It was the best advice I could give, based on my experience. I hope it serves you well as you move forward with your author career.
Thanks for co-hosting this beautiful March day! And thanks for the great advice.
Advice freely given, as suggested to me – you’re welcome. I believe in this blog.
Thanks for co-hosting today, and for the great suggestions for launching a book.
That’s quite the comprehensive list! All valid points. And yes, it’s just from experience.
Thanks for co-hosting today!
You’re welcome for co-hosting – this blog is a worthy endeavor on behalf of writers, so I’m glad to support it.
Yes, book marketing is an in-depth, protracted experience, but worth it if one believes in one’s book – and one’s self!
PJ, I’m exhausted just looking at your lists of things to do to launch a book/market a book. And to read that list…it was painful to see how many things I have NOT done for my memoir Determination: A Mother of Five Conquers College. Yikes! I need to get moving. But I’m scared.
Thanks for a solid post and thanks for cohosting this month’s question for IWSG.
Please don’t feel exhausted or pained or scared. Remember: you wrote a book! That was likely an exhausting, painful, and mildly frightening endeavor. Give yourself a pat on the back and go forward – others are waiting to read your words and benefit!
Wow! Your post is impressive and very helpful. If I were home, I’d be printing this out!!!! And using it as a checklist. Thank you for sharing your very specific strategies and for co-hosting this month’s IWSG.
Thanks for checking in and for the compliment. As you know, what’s posted is forever, so you can print out the list at your leisure. Hope it helps, as was my intent.
That’s an extensive and somewhat daunting list! I’ll have to come back and keep looking at it for how it can translate to my reality.
Thanks for the abundant marketing advice! Also, thanks to you and the others for co-hosting!
That’s one thing I have to do, especially with my upcoming book/launch, is improve on and strategise my marketing skills. I was never really good at it, but im looking for ways to improve all the time. Thanks again!
You’re welcome – and be aware that not everything on the list must be done to market your book(s) effectively. Especially look at the gurus, like Jane Friedman and Brian Cohen, who provide low-cost courses and instructions.
Good luck!
Wonderful bullet points! I considered NetGalley for my recent release but it seemed too pricey for me. Thanks for co-hosting this month.
You’re welcome, Jennifer!
Thanks for the advice! There’s so much to learn to be successful at book marketing.
You’re welcome, Janet. I hope that all of the techniques you choose yield big benefits for you –