When new authors ask me for advice on book marketing, I dread answering because it’s the most difficult part for me. I think most authors struggle with marketing. Who wants to harass strangers, friends, and family 24/7? Because of my aversion to marketing I try to do as much as I can by not marketing. I know that seems counterproductive but hear me out. There’s a host of actions you can take to get your name and books out there without directly marketing them. These are my top suggestions:
1. First make sure your settings on Facebook allow people to follow you and find you and your posts.
2. Put the link for your book in your description on every social media account you have so anytime your name comes up. Your link is there.
3. Post often on multiple platforms always include your title and name so eventually they will come up when googled etc. it takes time for algorithms to find you and connect the dots.
4. I’ve been posting a weekly blog for 39 weeks.
5. I try to post on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, threads, X, and LinkedIn at least once a week.
6. Get your book link out on those platforms as much as possible.
7. Find groups that allow authors to promote, there’s hundreds. Some only allow a certain day or on a specific thread, always follow their rules.
6. Don’t post the same post over and over again, eventually you’ll get flagged as spam. Alternate what you post where.
7. Use Canva to make interesting posts and other free apps.
8. It takes time and consistency to build up your name.
9. Also get your book on Goodreads, ask readers to post reviews there, it’s easier than Amazon who rejects and deletes them at random.
10. Put your book for sale on multiple platforms. Just remember if you’re on KU your ebook can only be on KU. Your paperback can go on other sites.
11. Just keep chipping away at it and you’ll get there.
12. I’ve read that many authors start to see traction after book 4.
I only have two, but you can google me now and you don’t have to put my title and pen name into Amazon to find me anymore.
13. If you haven’t, try an ARC campaign. You should pick up a few reviews that way.
14. Find groups that cover topics you know about and enjoy. Post your wisdom by helping others in the group. Answer questions, share pertinent information. If you’re a friendly source for others, you’ll gain followers by the dozens.
15. Make a website or use some other method to collect emails for a newsletter or a blog. Your subscribers will become your readers if you share fun and helpful information with them. Don’t overwhelm them with your sales pitch, you’ll send a sales pitch when you have an event, cover reveal, new release, win an award, or any other big event that’s worthy of an announcement.
16. Make it easy for people to find you and follow you, give them simple links to click.
17. Post videos. Post on TikTok and Instagram. Videos, reels, and stories gain followers and get your name out there. Put your book links everywhere! Wherever your name is, your link should be.
18. Don’t get discouraged. It takes time. It takes reviews. It takes a loyal following who want to read your books.
I was hoping to have 20 items to share, but that’s all I got. These are just my own suggestions based on my experiences. It’s how I’ve grown the number of followers I have on my socials. I don’t have a huge amount, but I feel like a brand-new author that’s got no experience and doesn’t market is doing all right with over a thousand followers on multiple platforms in less than a year.
But I don’t gage my success in the standard way. My scale is based on how much effort do I put into each activity? How many times do I have to post a day? A week? How many hours do I have to spend creating things to post? If I miss a day does my world implode? These are the things that matter to me and I’d much rather spend time writing than marketing.
The Readers Break the Internet virtual book signing event, romance edition is happening this weekend. We ended up getting 24 (I think) paying attendees. I think that’s pretty good for a brand-new inaugural event. I’m excited to get it behind me. I’m always a little nervous. I’m signed up as a reader for the fantasy edition in August and a participating author for the horror edition in October.
I’m doing a podcast in September, the 14th I think. It’ll be right between both of my upcoming releases. I hope to book a few more events around the releases as well.
I’m probably going to do an ARC campaign again. We’ll see how it works out. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome, turnout, and reviews. I’m hoping the new release will boost my debut as well.
I’m almost done with the edits of Force Majeure. I’m so excited to see it formatted and with the beautiful cover. It’s going to be incredibly fun to see the Violet horror duet come together. I’m really liking my new editor. Her notes and suggestions are great. She points out flow issues and makes great suggestions on how to resolve them. Plus, she gets most of my dorky humor, I hope the readers will appreciate it.
I normally wouldn’t do this, but this once, I’m going to offer you a free book. My only request in return is that you post on my social media what you think about the story and tag me in it. I don’t have it released yet so I can’t have you post a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Here’s a FREE link to my newest short story: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/xz90d0fmgp
Thank you for reading! Thank you for following! Thank you for reviewing!