Marketing a Book Consists of Using Timelines, Consistency, and Creativity For Success
To authors, marketing is a tough area to conquer, but it doesn’t have to be
Marketing is the toughest part of the entire book publishing process.
To begin this whole conversation about marketing, it makes the most sense to discuss why authors have trouble doing it.
Three main reasons are:
Lack of experience
Insufficient tools
Weak consistency
The truth is, authors can all benefit from a little bit of research because we don’t know it all.
The market is always changing. By this, I mean the way readers purchase their books, how they hear about them, and what the trends are. Without keeping up to date on these and learning how to properly use them to your advantage, you’ll always be falling behind.
So what components attribute to the success of book marketing?
Telling authors that these three components alone will guarantee success would be a lie because marketing is complicated with numerous moving parts.
However, knowing that there are three basic building blocks that create a steady base for your future marketing is the truth.
Timelines:
Like many processes, the marketing process benefits from a well-planned timeline.
And, believe it or not, you can have this timeline start at the beginning of your writing journey for the project. From the time you start outlining your book or writing the first chapter.
Your timeline should span the length of the project and beyond, including these things:
Draft deadlines (first, second, third, final)
Reveals (Cover, location, character, description, release date)
Social media (what types of posts and how often)
Alpha reader, editor, beta reader, and ARC reader dates
Blog or book tours
When you establish this at the beginning, you set yourself milestones to reach. And, if you need to adjust the dates, you already have everything ready to do so.
Consistency:
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to remain active on social media.
When you consistently post and engage on social media, you keep yourself and your work in the minds of readers. And by doing so, they become more interested in your work, pulling them into your potential reader base. The thing we strive for.
If being consistent is difficult for you, try creating posts ahead with scheduling applications or making a schedule to complete social media posts.
Creativity:
Catching the eye of readers requires thinking outside the box.
Circling back to the research aspect, when authors research the market and genre for their book, they can see what other authors are doing. Looking at these portions will help give you the information you need:
Social media accounts of authors
Book reviews
Their websites
What are other authors in your genre doing and more importantly, what are readers responding to?
Thinking of these two questions will take you far.
When thinking creatively, authors should also take their own skills into consideration. While one author can make cartoons for their followers to watch, another may draw comic sketches that are short and easy to follow. Each author has their own strengths.
What can you create and how can you engage your readers?
Authors should remember that book marketing success is based on the foundational aspects of timelines, consistency, and creativity.
Marketing is tough, but you can make it easier for yourself when you assess your skills, do your research, and get creative.