When you self-publish a book, you are creating something that you want to be proud of. You took the time to contemplate, to organize, to write and to rewrite. Once you are finished and you see your book title on the cover and your name as a published author, it would be great if all you had to do was sit back, relax and enjoy the royalties.
While self-publishing a book is certainty easier than ever before, marketing your book is a different story. With self-publishing, you can enjoy the benefit of keeping a higher percentage of your royalties than you would with a traditional publisher. However, unless you are already an established author, you probably don't have the same clout or visibility as a traditional publisher when it comes to publicity and marketing for your book.
Do you know how to market your book to drive book sales? Here are 7 important tips for marketing your self-published book.
1.Tailor your marketing to the right audience.
No matter how great your book is, you know that it is a good fit for some audiences, but even you, as the author, realize that isn't right for everyone. Don't waste your time on low yield marketing by posting to social media audiences that probably are not interested in your topic. Find groups and websites that are interested in your topic. And take the time to compose posts, articles or short videos that are consistent with your target audience's interests and style.
2. Use social media effectively.
Social media is the key to marketing, especially if you do not have a huge budget. But keep in mind that over-tweeting or over-posting can seem spammy and will drive prospective readers away from your book instead of towards it.
3. Be honest
When you promote your book- don't promise anything that your book doesn't deliver. This opens the door to disappointed readers- who will write bad reviews because they didn’t get what they were promised.
4. Network with peers in your field.
Don’t look at peers as competitors. You and your peers are all in the same professional community and you can learn from each other.
5. Be yourself
Don’t pretend to be someone more accomplished or more qualified or smarter or better than who you really are. Make sure that your bio and everything you post is authentic.
6. Promote others
Don't hesitate to promote or recommend others who have done strong work in your field. You will become more believable and you will be viewed as a better resource if you promote others and not only yourself.
7. Continue to improve
Self-publishing is still relatively new. Some of last year’s suggestions for marketing are already outdated. The most popular social media sites are constantly changing, updating and some are even becoming obsolete. If you have self- published a book that you want to market, know that you are part of a relatively new industry that will continue to change very quickly.
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