One of the most important activities an author needs to engage in is marketing your acim . Yet, many leave it to chance and sales suffer as a result.
When you sell books, you open up lots of opportunity.
When my book, Power Up For Profits; The Smart Woman’s Guide to Online Marketing was released, I had been laying the marketing foundation months before the book was available on Amazon.
Because of a very focused marketing campaign, I sold thousands of copies in a short period. On the back-end, I made a lot of money AND had incredible opportunities open for consulting and speaking gigs.
Even though the book was published in 2013, I still market it. The mere fact I am using it in this post to show you essential ways to market a book means I am still marketing it. The great thing is that the content applies as much today as the day it was released.
Yet, many authorpreneurs do little, if anything, to market their books. There are dozens upon dozens of ways to market your book. My friend and colleague, John Kremer, has identified 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. When I got really serious about marketing one of my first books, I went through John’s book with a fine-tooth comb. The number of ideas I implemented was in the dozens and thus, I GOT results.
Even though John’s book is currently out of print, you can still get a used copy off Amazon. I highly recommend you do. It’s worth its weight in gold.
For the sake of simplicity, here are five activities you can focus on that will definitely get your books in the hands of eager readers.
Message your current subscribers
Social media posts
Media releases
Blog Tour
Speaking from the platform
1. Messaging your current subscribers
Don’t have a list? That’s one of the first things you need to focus on. A targeted email list is definitely something every author needs. When you have a list, you have control over what you send to your subscribers. Without a list, you can miss a lot of great opportunity.
An easy-to-use database management system is AWeber.
The best way to build your list is to offer something of value in exchange for someone’s name and email address. I have several ways I encourage people to opt-in to my list. For example, my complimentary report, Hit #1 on Amazon, is a favorite with my community.
2. Social media posts
Rather than trying to be seen on every social network, pick 3 – 5 (maximum of 5 with 3 being better – less is more in this case) and go deep into those networks. The ones I tend to get the most traction from are Facebook and Instagram. I use Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, but the greatest response is with Facebook and Instagram.