As the years tick by, publishing a book becomes steadily more competitive.

And although indie publishing is easier than ever, it doesn’t mean that the process of getting attention for your book has become any less challenging, in fact it’s harder than ever.

But what makes it so hard, generally, has to do with the book itself – and hence the motivation for this post.

Books that have poorly designed covers, books that aren’t formatted properly or books that really don’t have a focused reader market, all these things can really impact how well your book does or how quickly it fails. So whether you’re publishing a book for the first time in the New Year, or your fiftieth, these tips are worth adhering to.

Have a Defined Readership and Genre

I know this feels like a “duh” moment, but you’d be surprised how many authors have tried publishing a book that doesn’t have a defined reader market.

By the same token, lots of authors I’ve spoken to aren’t keyed into any particular genre, or don’t know their genre at all, which is a bit like working backwards.

It’s important to know where you belong, and by “belong” I mean where your book will sit on the virtual shelf. One of the biggest mistakes I see authors making is what I call genre-straddling or not assuming they can just show up and create their own genre.

Yes, this happens a lot, which is equally as challenging, if not more so.

If you’re reading this thinking, “I have a unique book that’s never been done before,” you may want to ask yourself why.

There’s a reason publishers often say there are no new ideas, which is only partially true.

For example, twenty years ago you’d never find a book on social media, but now there are hundreds. So there are new ideas as long as pop culture and society and specific industries continue to evolve.

Generally though, it’s good to make sure that you have a readership ready and waiting for books like yours, because publishing a book that has to push a new idea to an audience that isn’t ready for it, or hasn’t heard of it – is very difficult.

Model Traditional Publishing

You may never aspire to get a traditional publisher, which is fine, we’re huge fans of indie publishing for a variety of reasons, but when it comes to publishing a book as an indie author, you should still let their retail examples be your guide.

Things to consider are color palates that match your particular reader market, cover styles, book layouts and all-around book presentation.

Following style guidelines is important, not just to your reader market because they expect to find books based on visual appeal, but to your brand’s longevity as well.

Think Long-Term

And speaking of your overall brand, thinking about where you want to be long-term can really help you to create a book that’s not just something your reader will gravitate to, but can begin to lay the groundwork for your future books as well.

For example, let’s say that you have a book series planned – you may want to consider creating mockups of covers for the entire series (even if you haven’t finalized future book titles). And while this may sound like a lot of extra work, for authors who know they have a series planned, it’s a really good way of visualizing what the entire series will look like which can help with your website design, too.

If you aren’t sure what your publishing future will look like, it’s still good to consider some long-term goals or benefits that publishing a book can offer you.

For example, if you’ve written non-fiction, maybe you want to publish a workbook, a companion piece to the book you’re publishing. Or maybe the book will help launch your speaking career.

Why would knowing if you want to do speaking make a difference when publishing a book? Well, you can include that at the end of your last chapter, perhaps some speaker topics, etc. It’s easier to do that earlier, rather than pulling the book and doing post-publication day!

Be Aware of Formatting Standards

I’ve seen authors do really odd things with their book. Like picking odd book sizes, or doing “unique” things with their interior formatting.

Books that are oddly sized make it difficult to get them stocked and shipped – they can also cost a lot more money to print and often you can’t print them via traditional channels, either.

Book interiors are equally important.

Book formatting can be tricky to understand, but interiors matter, so self-designing these is always a mistake. This is a common place for authors to cut corners, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Some of the most common problems I see are too much white space on a page, or having pixelated images, which are a turn-off your reader.

Consider Brand Marketing and Start Early

Book marketing and brand marketing are different, and understanding how they differ and complement each other is important when preparing for publishing a book.

Brand marketing starts before you have a book, and can really help give you a head start on the book marketing process.

Think of brand marketing is networking, with a twist.

So you’re on social media not promoting your book, but pushing your brand. Testing out language and messaging in social updates, different themes for content, narrowing down your best hashtags, getting to know influencers, bloggers and other people you may want to pitch your book to once it launches.

The best time to network is when you have nothing to sell. You’ll be more authentic and thoughtful, and less stressed about defining what’s actually moving the needle, when in fact, just being “out there” is early is as important as the work you do once the book releases.

Don’t Rush the Process

This time of year, especially as we get to the last few weeks of December, we get a lot of authors coming to us saying they want to release their book in 2022.

But my advice to you is wait, publish a great book in the new year, with a well thought out plan that isn’t rushed and doesn’t have you playing catch up.

Now keep in mind, this doesn’t mean there’s a perfect time to release a book – because I also get asked that a lot and there is no perfect time – but rushing to publish a book always brings with it challenges, mistakes, and often, unrealistic expectations.

And those are the hardest hurdles to overcome!

Publishing is easy, publishing a book the right way is much harder.

Remember: everything is your resume, and your book is no different.

Publish something that can stand on the shelf next to any well-known author’s title, because it is possible – you just have to prepare, plan and continue to educate yourself along the way.

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner and add your ideas for how you can plan a smarter release.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Check out the Amazon section of our blog.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed.

Definitely follow us on Instagram for book marketing tips and some much needed levity!

The post Six Things You Must Know Before Publishing a Book in 2023 appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

National Book Blitz Month has a really cool history that I can absolutely get behind, and I encourage every author to really kick their creative marketing efforts into high gear!

According to the website National Today:

The reason for the creation of the Book Blitz Month was to encourage authors to intensify their efforts towards promoting their books and create an ambiance that makes the reading culture thrive and grow in society. Every January, the holiday aims to recommit our intellectual minds by going to a book signing or launch in your area, meeting or e-mailing an author (that would be a much-needed morale-booster), or buying books from online or retail outlets, and gift them to your kids and neighbors.

So the reason I really adore this observance is because it’s actually designed to support authors, and encourages you to shamelessly promote your books, get involved locally, and connect with genre fans!

As authors we know book marketing and promotion really isn’t supposed to stop, it’s a year-round job even if we’re not always excelling at it, so I say, don’t waste this precious opportunity to ride a wave of support.

Clever Ways to Get Involved

Below are a few ways you can really make the most of National Book Blitz Month, and the best part, these are strategies that will serve you well beyond January!

And I encourage you to share the graphic or send this post to your author colleagues, especially other local authors in your area that you can potentially collaborate with. Don’t know any yet? Your local library can help you with that. See how it’s all connected? It’s a beautiful thing!

Let me know what other ideas you have in the comments!

Anyone who’s followed our blog or podcast for awhile now knows we’re big fans of using monthly observances and other wacky, fun or thoughtful holidays to inspire your marketing efforts, and National Book Blitz Month is no exception.

Book marketing can be challenging enough, and it just gets harder if you try to reinvent the wheel every month – so do yourself a favor and start tapping into events and celebrations that come with some built in buzz!

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner and add your ideas for how you can celebrate National Book Blitz Month!

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Check out the media section on our blog.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed.

Definitely follow us on Instagram for book marketing tips and some much needed levity!

The post How to Celebrate National Book Blitz Month and Build Readership appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Coming up with book promo ideas can be challenging because it’s hard to really know what your readers are looking for.

Sure, they’re looking for great books, but there are a lot of great books out there, so how do you come up with book promo ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd, that will make your work seem relevant and exciting?

There’s a saying in marketing, “It’s easier to get someone interested in something they’re already interested in,” which is why planning your book marketing around established calendar events can be a creative way to get more interest for your book.

It’s also a strategy that’s relatively simple to incorporate into whatever your current book marketing plan is, which is a real bonus.

Which Dates to Focus On

Let’s cast the net wide here, because when it comes to generating more book promo ideas, it’s great to have a longer list to work from, and I would say anything that you can tether to your book.

And get creative with this!

For example, during National Fire Prevention Week we pitched a book about getting organized, and the book was called: How to Get Organized without Resorting to Arson. It was cute, and catchy, and the media loved it.

We had another author who has a soccer-based romance which, since we’re in World Cup season, is a great time to promote the book, tethering it to the World Cup.

Creating a tie-in could be a calendar item, yes, but it could also be something going on in the news – a zeitgeist as it were. For example, when a big snowstorm hit the East Coast, shutting down most of the airports, we were working with a book on improving family relationships.

The pitch was: When Airplanes and Relatives Don’t Leave on Time.

It was timely, right around the holidays, too so even if you weren’t stuck with family for an extra week when you hadn’t planned on it, the consumer could still relate, and the media knows this.

How to Plan for Calendar Tie-Ins

Bigger tie-ins, like Breast Cancer Awareness month should be pitched pretty far in advance, but something like “peanut butter and jelly day” doesn’t have to be pitched that far out. The media loves off-beat quirky holidays. Like, “hug your dog day” to support your cozy mystery starring a lovable furry friend.

I see so many authors leaving money on the table with these holidays and it’s such a shame because authors often wonder how to get more media/influencer hits for their book and calendar or seasonal tie-ins are a great way to do that and the beauty is you aren’t limited to just one, the only limits are your creativity.

Follow Trends and the Zeitgeist

I mentioned this earlier, but tie-ins to things that aren’t necessarily calendar-related but are in the news a lot – like promoting your book on strong marriages around the Brady/Bundchen divorce – is another way to get more attention for your book.

Getting Started

First and foremost, grab a calendar and start outlining days you could pivot to, even though some of them won’t require a lot of advanced planning, it’s still good to have them ready so you know what you’re doing ahead of the event.

Again, big, national events take up a lot of space in magazines and online and most of that content is booked pretty far in advance, so always keep that in mind.

For example, holiday magazine issues are often completed by July or August – so understand that the bigger the “holiday” the more competitive it will be and the more you’ll need to plan.

Who to Pitch

I love doing local media for many of the off-beat calendar stuff, especially if you can create a fun, local tie-in.

But you can also pitch to bloggers, Influencers, and online media, too – just know that many of them probably have long TBR piles (to-be-read) so you’ll want to plan for these, too – even for smaller observances like National Red Wine Day.

But you can also pitch bigger media and sometimes it’s fun (and a better way to get their attention) by positioning yourself to an upcoming calendar event.

This is especially fun if you’re not in a busy news cycle (like the just-finished election season).

Book Promo Ideas for Older Titles

There are things that can impact how well this is perceived, for example if you’re pushing an older diet and health book, the media could perceive that as being too out of date for their audience.

But in most cases, unique tie-ins are effective for older titles too – they make great informative pieces, filler, or end of segment fluff pieces.

And don’t discount fluff pieces – because consumers pay a lot of attention to those, they’re a psychological break from the heavier stuff.

By the same token, if you’ve been trying to get more online attention for your book, this could be a great opportunity to pitch topic bloggers, rather than book bloggers. Meaning, you’ll go after the calendar topic and your unique perspective or entertaining angle on that, rather than pitching for a book review.

But that’s okay, any exposure is exposure for your book if your platform is set up properly.

The Benefit of Timely Tie-Ins

Calendar tie-ins, pop culture observances and Zeitgeist trends are a great way to stay on top of your pitching game, it’s also a great way to keep breathing new life into your book promo ideas – and it’s a fun and creative way to boost your brand and get more visibility.

Here’s a sneak peek at the kind of variety you can find, literally something for everyone!

January 1: National Hangover Day, Veganuary, and Dry January

January 2: National Thank God It’s Monday Day, National Science Fiction Day, World Introvert Day

January 3: International Mind-Body Wellness Day

January 4: National Spaghetti Day, National Trivia Day and World Braille Day

If you’re ready to dig into more dates and plan ahead click here!

Using the calendar is a fun and inspiring way to keep your book promo ideas relevant, plus it also means you’ll never run out of options.

Just be sure to download our monthly book marketing planner below and start filling in dates and observances that spark an idea!

Resources and Free Downloads

The post The Calendar Lover’s Guide to Clever Book Promo Ideas in 2023 appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Book website design can be tricky. Mostly because it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to include everything you think should matter, when in actuality you’re making it more challenging for your visitor to simply buy your book.

So we created this simple quiz (it’s only 7 ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions) to kickstart the conversation about whether you’re on the right track with the creation (or maintenance) of your author website.

And try not to look ahead, I promise doing this organically will serve you better in the long run!

Now let me fully explain the biggest mistake authors make.

The biggest mistake I actually see authors make with their book website design, in terms of what really affects that final sale, is giving visitors too many choices.

An overstimulated mind has a hard time making decisions.

In fact, shoppers typically respond more favorably when a site has a strong, clear process for purchasing.

That’s why having more than 3 retail options prominently featured for each of your books can create problems.

Whether you love or hate Amazon, or land somewhere in between, the Amazon button should always be included, but do you really need others?

Hear me out. People know Amazon, they trust the Amazon shopping process, Amazon remembers their billing information, and Amazon has Prime shipping.

So the other retail sites you feature, if any, should be based on your understanding of your buyer market.

Based on your reader demographic some sites will make sense, others will not.

Be intentional with your choices and your visitors will absolutely pick up on the fact that you understand their needs and preferences.

Is “going wide” or “publishing wide” a problem then?

Not at all, but just know that selling more books is not as simple as publishing everywhere.

Everywhere you sell your book needs to be managed. Those retail pages need to be updated, and your metadata needs to be consistent.

So going wide can be lucrative if you have a platform to support it and a strong fan base to justify it.

But if you’re just starting out, it can make a lot more sense to focus on doing really well on Amazon, and maybe one other site, before creating more potential sales funnels to stay on top of.

Hopefully you’re intrigued enough to listen to the minisode that we’ve included in the Resources section below, it’s less than 5 minutes long, but may make a big difference in your book website design and sales potential!

Full-length episodes from our book promotion podcast go live every other Thursday. You can stream episodes from our website, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plus, you’ll want to follow us on your preferred podcast platform in order to catch our helpful (and often comical) minisodes that go live every other Friday.

The minisodes are a grab bag of topics to include industry rants, publishing predictions and breaking news, basic (yet critical) business advice for authors, and more!

Do you have suggestions for future episodes?

We would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner.

Listen to our minisode on book website design that inspired this quiz.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Check out the media section on our blog.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed.

Definitely follow us on Instagram for book marketing tips and some much needed levity!

The post Take Our Book Website Design Quiz to Improve Your Click Throughs appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Publishing trends can be tricky, because there’s definitely a fine line between staying true to the type of author you always planned to be, while also staying educated enough to compete in today’s market.

Most authors are shocked when I repeat this statistic, but there are more than 4,500 books being published every single day.

It hits hard right?

But listen, it’s not meant to discourage you, it’s honestly meant to motivate you to stay educated – about publishing trends, reader buyer behavior, genre-specific changes and evolutions.

It all makes you a stronger author who’s going to be more likely to rise above the noise.

So when I saw the below piece released by ALLi, featured a bunch of women in the industry I also respect and like to support, it was a slam dunk opportunity to give them a little more exposure and share their knowledge with all of you as well!

I hope you get a lot out of it, and I encourage ya’ll to ask questions in the comments!

How to Predict and Profit from Publishing Trends

The post A Quick and Helpful Education on Publishing Trends appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

December is read a new book month, and I couldn’t imagine a better time of year to celebrate!

So many of us are ready to slow down a bit, spend more time doing things we really love, and just leaning into the cooler temps and fewer daylight hours.

But as authors we should also capitalize on read a new book month in clever ways that enhance our book marketing and promotion!

Though I fully support you not spending too much time trying to come up with ideas.

So we’ve created a list of simple yet really effective ways to both engage current fans and followers while also getting in front of new readers.

How will you spend read a new book month? 

Please add your own ideas to the comments section, because we’re all better when we work together and there are more than enough readers to go around!

Resources and Free Downloads

It’s never too late to snag a few more holiday sales, download my holiday marketing book for only $1.99 right now on Amazon!

Check out our FREE Monthly Book Marketing Planner here.

Download our FREE reader profile brainstorm here.

Listen to our podcast episode about making connections with your local libraries, there’s plenty of time to get involved in holiday events for Read a New Book month!

Check out a full list of literary holidays.

The post How to Celebrate “Read a New Book” Month in Style appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are upon us once again and with that comes the ever-busy shopping season, and numerous (yet simple) ways to bolster your holiday marketing campaign!

Though prices have gone up everywhere (have you seen the price of eggs lately?) there’s one thing that hasn’t increased: the price of books.

So if you haven’t started thinking about your holiday marketing campaign now is a great time to kick that into high gear.

Books make great and thoughtful gifts, they’re also fun impulse buys while you’re doing other shopping.

Though it feels late in the season, there’s still time to grab some additional holiday sales without turning your world upside down.

Take Advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

With Amazon starting their deals well ahead of Cyber Monday and all retailers putting out “early Black Friday specials” the shopping season is well under way.

Given that, now is a good time to secure some key spots for your holiday marketing campaign.

Sample Schedule:

Launch promotion on Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Two sets of promotions in early December

One discount before Christmas

Drop price of book during week leading up to Christmas for last minute shoppers

Pro tips: multiple dates work best if you have a series of titles, but if you don’t that’s fine – just promote one or two of your books on these key dates.

If you do have multiple books, put them all on rotation from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

A Few Sites You Can Use:

Book Gorilla

Book Lemur

GoodKindles

Read Free.ly

StoryFinds

Bookbub

Clean Up Your Act

It can take less than an hour to clean up any loose ends on your website and button up your Author Central page and retail pages.

If your bio is out of date, update it.

If you have a blog linked to your Author Central that you haven’t updated in a while, remove it.

Also, add Video Shorts to your Amazon page and maybe update your author photo, too if you have a newer one.

Honestly, Amazon updates aren’t exclusive to your holiday marketing campaign, they really should be happening year round – so if that hasn’t been your typical approach, 2023 is a new year!

Grab a Goodreads Promotion

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Goodreads rankings are starting to show up on Amazon – Amazon is experimenting with this now and you can expect more of these Goodreads reviews and rankings to start showing up everywhere on Amazon.

The reason this is worth mentioning is because now is a great time to button up your Goodreads profile and do a giveaway to pull fresh eyes to your book this time of year.

Add Local Events to Your Holiday Marketing Campaign

Shop local is only getting more and more popular, and most communities have at least one, if not multiple, local shopping events.

Many of these don’t book up completely, and the closer you book to their event date, the more you may be likely to wheel and deal with them for a discounted booth.

I recommend going in with other authors so visitors have more options, and depending on the book genres you could even do a fun promo – like a discount for getting both books, or all four depending on how many folks are in the booth with you.

Pitch Your Book to Holiday Gift Guides

Add these to your holiday marketing campaign by searching for “gift guides” online, and you can also find them via the HARO newsletter, but here are a few below to get you started:

Holiday Gift Guides:

Nicole’s Nickels: http://www.nicolesnickels.com

Deal Seeking Mom: http://www.dealseekingmom.com

Southern Savers: http://www.southernsavers.com

Koupon Karen: http://www.kouponkaren.com

Dress Up Your Book Cover

This is a super fun way to add some holiday pizzaz to your book page – and I assure you it will help you stand out with shoppers this time of year – because shoppers want a sure thing.

The image below was done on Canva and then uploaded to Amazon via their KDP portal, and it was super quick and easy!

I hope I’ve inspired you, because beefing up your holiday marketing campaign to grab a bigger share of holiday book sales doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming.

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Check out the media section on our blog.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed.

Definitely follow us on Instagram for book marketing tips and some much needed levity!

The post Easy Last Minute Ideas for Your Holiday Marketing Campaign appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Figuring out how to pitch a book can be challenging, especially if you’re already well aware that it’s easy to get too close to your own work. Spoiler alert: that’s absolutely true.

But even under ideal circumstances, pitching a book successfully happens in steps.

We’ve done a few episodes on our podcast for authors and dozens of blog posts on different elements and phases of media pitching, so definitely check those out, but no matter what, selling your book to anyone, be it the media or to readers — starts with the elevator pitch.

Your elevator pitch is a 1-2 sentence introduction to your book as a product. 

It has to wow people. It has to have tension, and intrigue, it has to pose a question or provide a solution.

You have to imagine you have literally 1-2 sentences to sell your book, people get to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ based on that short pitch alone — what would you say?

No pressure right?

So that’s why we’re always talking about how it’s nearly impossible to figure out how to pitch a book all on your own. This kind of magic rarely happens in a vacuum.

A really great elevator pitch almost always requires objective feedback, and market demographic research, and competitive research.

What does that mean for different kinds of books?

For fiction authors it requires a really keen understanding of your genre and genre readers. And honestly, if you’re not a true super fan of your genre, you’re always going to be a couple steps behind.

For non-fiction authors it requires a realistic understanding of what’s going on for your topic in our current culture, how it ties into the news cycle, how your industry is changing, and even how views on your topic or needs for your kind of expertise and experience can change with the seasons.

Hopefully you’re intrigued enough to listen to the whole episode, and we look forward to your feedback on the show!

Full-length episodes from our book promotion podcast go live every other Thursday. You can stream episodes from our website, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plus, you’ll want to follow us on your preferred podcast platform in order to catch our helpful (and often comical) minisodes that go live every other Friday.

The minisodes are a grab bag of topics to include industry rants, publishing predictions and breaking news, basic (yet critical) business advice for authors, and more!

Do you have suggestions for future episodes?

We would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Check out the media section on our blog.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed.

Definitely follow us on Instagram for book marketing tips and some much needed levity!

The post How to Pitch a Book to Draw in More Readers appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Publishing a book can be confusing, and as if that isn’t challenging enough, you’re then expected to design a smart book marketing plan!

Which is why I decided to create this quick guide to common publishing definitions.

My goal was to focus on terms that I often see misused or misunderstood.

And why does it matter so much?

To start, using the wrong terminology could send you down the wrong path when making early publishing decisions.

But it can also really get in the way of a good book marketing plan, and finding a team to assist you in all the ways you’re really looking for publicity help.

I can tell you from experience it’s much more challenging to customize a book marketing plan for an author who thinks they’re communicating their needs, but are actually telling me something entirely different!

So run through all of these, some you likely know, some may surprise you because you weren’t entirely on the right track, and some may be new.

And even if you’re a seasoned author it never hurts to do a quick refresh, right?

Amazon Author Central: A free tool Amazon gives to all their published authors. You can upload your picture, bio, link your blog and add video to help enhance the reader experience. Keeping your Author Central up to date is an ongoing task and you should plan to include it in your long-term book marketing plan.

ARC (Advanced Review Copy): These are early bound copies of your book used to get advanced reviews, blurbs, endorsements, and media. ARC copies can be tape bound, or in some cases even spiral bound copies of your nearly completed book. Books should be laid out but could be 80% ready to go – meaning they need one more editorial pass and may or may not have a final cover. These are also referred to as Galleys.

Back matter: Pages included at the back of the book such as: afterword, epilogue, appendix, index, bibliography.

Backlist: A list of books that are older, not published in the current year but books that are still in print. Authors with a book series tend to fall into this category.

Beta readers: Early readers of your book before it’s published to give feedback, input, or ideas on what could enhance your story or content, or what should be removed. Beta readers can be existing fans or your Street Team (see: Street Team for more information on this), but are another key element to your book marketing plan.

BISAC codes: BISAC stands for – Book Industry Study Group. These codes are used by all major supply chains to categorize your book properly. When you upload your book to Amazon, or wherever, they’ll always ask you for your categories, these are set forth by the Book Industry Study Group and all categories are updated annually.

Book blogger: A blogger who focuses exclusively on books – reviewing them, spotlighting them, or doing author interviews. Often book bloggers will review across a few genres though some are genre specific.

Bookstagrammer: An influencer who reviews, features or spotlights books exclusively on Instagram. Some Bookstagrammers are also book bloggers and vice versa.

Blurb: Short promotional text (often referred to as an endorsement) of your book. Blurbs can be added to the book cover (though often aren’t because of timing issues). But they should always be added to your Amazon retail page.

Content editing: A heavier edit, often done before the copyedit. A good content editor should fix things like story flow, sentence structure, and overall book structure.

Copyediting (also called proof reading): Reading and correction of a book’s typographical errors. Looking at punctuation, for example.

Elevator pitch: A short 1-2 sentence high concept pitch for your book. This is a key element to your book marketing plan and brand messaging for your book and we even dedicated a recent podcast episode to creating elevator pitches. You can find the link to our podcast in the Resources and Free Downloads section at the end of this piece.

Foreword: This appears at the front of any book and is typically a short introduction by another established author or expert on the topic of the book.

Foreign rights: Print or translation reprint rights sold in other countries or territories.

Front matter: Anything that’s included in the front pages of the book, such as: dedication, copyright, foreword, about the author, and table of contents.

Galley (also referred to as Bound Galleys): See ARC’s

Genre: A classification for any book. Most books sit in dual genres, but you have to be very strategic about choosing these, don’t just guess.

Hybrid publisher: A hybrid publisher or press is a company that helps to facilitate the publication of the books they acquire. They are not traditional publishers and often don’t offer any kind of enhanced distribution of the titles they accept (meaning distribution into retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Target, etc.)

Independent press: Small but mighty, independent Presses are not part of larger publishing houses and often have more time and attention to invest in their authors. A few top Independent Presses in the US are: Graywolf Press, Coffee House Press, Melville House, Milkweed Editions, and Soho Press.

Influencer: Someone who has a large and engaged audience who is ready to buy anything (or almost anything) the influencer recommends! Getting the attention of influencers early on in your book’s shelf life is something we always recommend for an author’s book marketing plan.

ISBN (and ISBN-13): International Standard Book Number is a number assigned to any book that tells a retailer who published the book, the format in which it’s been published as well as the languages it has been published in.

KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing): Of all of the publishing definitions, this one tends to be the most confusing, which is why I separated out KDP from KDP Select (see below). The KDP portal is Amazon’s self-publishing system that allows you to publish your eBook and print book on their platform.

KDP Select: Kindle’s publishing arm also gives you the opportunity to publish your eBook exclusively to Amazon, and gives you some bonus promo items to do so. You can enroll your book for 90-days or you can have your book automatically enrolled so every 90-days it renews in the system. Amazon gives you freebie days to promote your book (5 free days per 90-day enrollment) and other promotional pieces to whet the appetite for authors to include their books. Not all books do well in KDP Select though, so make sure you know whether your genre is right for this exclusive market – remember if your eBook is in KDP Select your electronic book is exclusive to Amazon (though your print book can live in a variety of places like Barnet & Noble, etc.)

NA (New Adult): Books written for readers between the ages of 18 and 30.

National media: Also called “legacy media” national media is typically in broadcast and print. National media are outlets that have national audiences such as: NPR, The Today Show, Good Housekeeping Magazine, FOX News, Real Simple Magazine, The New York Times, and CNN. Adding national media to your book marketing plan sounds appealing, but you often only get one shot with these big opportunities so be sure you’re ready – or consult with a marketing team.

Metadata: The specific data about your book. At its most basic, metadata is the title of your book, publisher, and author name. but if that’s all you’re using in your metadata you’re really missing a lot of opportunities. Keywords should be a big part of your metadata both during your book upload and on your Amazon retail page.

MG (Middle Grade): A classification of books written for readers ages 8-12.

Online media: A media outlet that lives and publishes online, though this can also be the online arm for many news outlets, legacy media, print media and radio.

POD/Print-on-Demand: This form of printing was developed over twenty years ago, essentially its ability to print books as they are needed, exploded the indie publishing industry to what it is today. Previously, books had to be printed in lots of 500 minimum, but most authors printed lots of 2,000 and more. POD essentially removed the need to print big lots of books, but the printing costs for POD are higher since you aren’t printing in large quantities. Most indie publishers like IngramSpark, Lulu, Amazon’s KDP and Author House all use this method of book printing.

Post-publication reviews: Reviews that are sought after your book’s publication date.

Pre-publication reviews: Reviews that are sought prior to your book’s publication date, often 3-4 months in advance. Incorporating this kind of pitching into your book marketing plan takes serious planning, and you’ll need ARCs.

Super Fan: This is someone often on your newsletter list who loves everything you write, may or may not review all of your books but often pops up on your social media and also consistently reads your newsletter.

Street Team: This is a very active fan, a reader who reviews all your books, may also help you promote your books by sharing new releases on their social media, to their book groups, or even help spread the word to their local markets.

TOC: Table of contents.

Trade media: Media that is specific to a trade, profession, or hobby. This can be both online media, broadcast or print media (such as crafting magazines, sporting magazines, legal industry publications, etc.).

YA (Young Adult): Books written for readers between the ages of 12-18. What’s interesting is that YA is actually really popular with adult readers as well, typically because the world building is so vivid and many authors who write YA focus on creating series.

Keep this list of publishing definitions handy because it’ll help not just in your publishing journey, but it will also help when developing your book marketing plan as well!

Resources and Free Downloads

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed!

Definitely follow us on Instagram.

Understand more about what makes an exceptional Amazon retail page.

The post A Quick Education to Improve Your Publishing and Book Marketing Plan appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Pre-orders on Amazon can be really lucrative, but they can also work against you if you’re not prepared.

And it’s definitely not a book marketing strategy you should just jump into and figure out as you go!

We actually did an episode on our book marketing podcast recently that covered the potential problems with long pre-orders, and we encourage you to listen to it here before starting our quiz.

And don’t worry if you’re short on time, it’s only a 6-minute listen!

What to learn about pre-orders on Amazon

After listening to the show and taking the quiz below you can expect to learn more about the proper timing for pre-orders. Because not all timelines are created equal and you really have to plan.

You can also expect to learn how Amazon ads play a role and best practices for using them.

You will also get a heads up on how social media, your mailing list, and even your personal network of family and friends can make or break both pre-orders on Amazon and release efforts!

So do you feel confident running pre-orders on Amazon now?

Did you ace the quiz? Or did some answers surprise you?

I hope both the episode AND the quiz were insightful, whether you’re a first time author with a debut coming up, or a more seasoned author that feels like you just haven’t reaped all the benefits from a successful pre-order campaign.

And if you landed in the middle – we have you covered as well.

I do a lot of coaching with authors who simply (yet smartly) want to know they’re on the right track and are looking for some feedback on details they may have overlooked.

We also run campaigns dedicated entirely to pre-orders on Amazon to ensure clients really kick off the life of their book with a strong start.

If you’ve run pre-order campaigns I’d love to hear what you’ve learned in the comments.

Every author journey is unique and there’s no single blueprint for success, but we can still learn a lot from discussing successes and failures, so let’s keep the conversation going!

Resources and Free Downloads

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed!

Definitely follow us on Instagram.

Understand more about what makes an exceptional Amazon retail page.

The post Perfecting Pre-Orders on Amazon for Maximum Impact appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Figuring out how to promote your book globally can be challenging, and honestly, I think it’s because we all want to broaden our reach, but international efforts sound intimidating at best.

That’s why when I came across the below piece on The Fussy Librarian I knew I had to share it.

They’ve also always been fabulous about sharing my tips, and those by other thought leaders in the industry, so if you’re not following their site or at least their social, they’re worth an add for sure.

How to market your book globally and reach international readers

Posted on The Fussy Librarian

It can seem intimidating at first, but rest assured that choosing to market a book globally to international readers is a worthwhile approach.

It’s also strongly recommended if you’ve hit a wall in expanding your reader base. Shifting your marketing efforts beyond the U.S. allows you to connect with more potential fans and increase book sales.

The world is a massive place, and avid readers are everywhere. If you haven’t researched other markets, you may be surprised by how much opportunity there is for authors…

Here are a few statistics about book reading around the world:

• Tied with France, Canada has the highest average number of books read per year (17).
• Book readers in Europe spend more than an hour a day reading.
• A quarter of UK adults have started reading more after COVID-19 lockdowns.
• According to a national reading survey in New Zealand, 55% of readers read ebooks.
• Some of the most popular genres include poetry (Canada, South Africa, India), fantasy (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Switzerland), thriller (Netherlands, Belgium), adventure (Australia, Korea), horror (Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina), and romance (Spain, France, Brazil).
• Worldwide, millennials read more books than any other generation.

Common Misconceptions About Taking a Global Approach

Despite the compelling data on international readers, it makes sense if you’re wary of taking the plunge to figure out how to promote your book globally.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about taking this kind of global approach. And if you haven’t made any moves to grow your reader base outside the U.S., you probably share the same concerns.

So, let’s clear up a few things…

IT REQUIRES A LOT OF ADDITIONAL TIME AND EFFORT.

Marketing takes time, so it’s assumed that marketing to readers in other countries will double the workload.

Not true!

In fact, you may be reaching international readers via social media and third-party promotions without even realizing it.

To be more strategic, you will need to do some research in the beginning. However, the information you gather on this new audience’s behaviors and preferences will serve as the foundation for your efforts.

Once that’s done, you can simply tweak your assets and adjust settings (e.g., for emails, social media posts, and ads) accordingly.

Penny Sansevieri recommends handling tasks in spurts when marketing to international audiences. That way, it may only take a couple of extra hours each month.

YOU HAVE TO TRANSLATE YOUR BOOK INTO MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.

Part of figuring out how to promote your book globally doesn’t mean you have to translate it into multiple languages.

For starters, English is a major language in many other countries besides the U.S., including the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Plus, several countries have high English proficiency levels.

Moreover, readers in foreign countries can include expats and military personnel who speak English.

THERE ISN’T A HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

Taking a global book marketing approach may require a slightly greater investment of time and money, but it can also yield a significant return in book sales.

It’s just a matter of identifying international readers who are likely to enjoy your work and connecting with them. Doing so can encourage a whole new audience to read, download, and buy your book.

Ebook market revenue worldwide is expected to reach $18.7 billion by 2026. Remember — it’s not just U.S. residents who buy ebooks.

Giving a wake-up call to authors who don’t think globally, Kris Rusch stated, “If you sell your books in the U.S. only, you’re ignoring 94% of the people in the world who could buy your books. If, like traditional publishers, you only focus on the U.S. and the U.K, you’re still ignoring over 90% of the market.”

How to Promote Your Book Globally to International Readers 

Now that you understand the value of getting your work out to international readers, you’re probably wondering how to market a book globally.

Fortunately, we’ve put together some basic steps and practical tips below.

Let’s get started…

DISCOVER WHICH COUNTRIES TO TARGET.

As part of the initial research stage, you’ll want to discover which countries to target. Ideally, you’ll want to find a few and narrow down the list. This will make your new global book marketing approach easier to manage.

Here are some questions to ask:

• Where do your current international readers live?
• What countries have high English literacy?
• What countries have high ebook sales?
• Where is your genre popular?
• Where have similar titles done well?

The more information you can gather, the better.

CONSIDER CHANGING UP YOUR BOOK COVER DESIGN.

If you’ve already put a lot of effort into designing your book cover, you may be hesitant to change it. However, it’s worth considering if you plan to market a book globally.

Creating a unique book cover for international readers can increase the chances of your ebook getting noticed.

Why?

There are different cultural tastes and preferences from one country to the next. Even if your book cover has tested well among U.S. readers, it won’t necessarily be the same for non-U.S. readers.

So, spend some time looking at covers from books in your genre sold in other countries and take notes on common colors, images, styles, fonts, etc.

EXPLORE OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.

Reaching international readers is no different from reaching readers at home — you need to be where they are. And that means expanding your social media presence to include the platforms they frequently use.

Examine popular social media platforms around the world, paying particular attention to those visited in the countries you’re trying to target.

If there are any you don’t currently use, develop a presence there. That way, you can start forging a connection with a new audience via organic posts and paid ads.

Tip: Remember to consider time zones when planning posts and virtual events, taking on new levels of marketing, especially sorting out how to promote your books on a broader scale, means leaving no details unchecked.

CONNECT WITH BOOK BLOGGERS OUTSIDE THE U.S.

If you want to market a book globally, you can’t afford to ignore book bloggers based in other countries.

Building relationships with bloggers allows you to…

• Tap into their audience
• Get editorial reviews
• Gain publicity

And when you select bloggers who specialize in your niche and are based in countries you’re trying to target, those relationships will be more beneficial. Readers are more likely to take notice of your book if there’s a write-up in their favorite blog.

So, do some research into book bloggers worldwide, noting which ones are located in the countries you want to gain traction in. Reach out to them according to their guidelines, and see if they would be willing to review your book. 

EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT EBOOK RETAILERS.

If you think listing your ebook on Amazon alone is sufficient to reach international audiences, think again.

Outside the U.S., other platforms have carved out a significant market share that you could miss out on. That’s why you should experiment with adding your book to Apple, Google Play, and Kobo.

OPTIMIZE YOUR AMAZON LISTING FOR DIFFERENT MARKETS.

If you want to market a book globally, optimizing your Amazon listing for different markets is important.

Failing to do so could result in your book going unnoticed by overseas readers. On the flip side, tweaking your listing according to each market you’re in can help you improve sales and rankings.

You should start by choosing the right international categories. This includes categories that are most relevant to your book and those that give you the greatest chances of ranking in the top 10. 

Dave Chesson offers additional tips on boosting Kindle book sales in other markets, including selecting specific keywords for each.

SET UP PROMOTIONS TO BE AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE.

If you run an Amazon promotion in which your ebook is available for free or at a discounted price, make sure the special pricing also applies to international readers.

We’ve found that our subscribers in Canada and England get frustrated when they see a sale price but find it’s full price where they live.

The last thing you want to do is mislead those you’re trying to turn into fans, so taking on the task of outlining how to promote your book to international readers means you’re also making big changes to how you execute marketing strategies that may be super familiar to you.

My Two Cents and Recommendations

Deciding when and how to promote your book to an international audience is no small feat.

But if you have the drive and you feel very strongly that your book has real potential with global readers, then I honestly recommend chatting with a marketing and branding professional before you launch into anything.

And no, it’s not just a shameless plug because I do coaching (although I love coaching!), I just know from personal experience that it’s very easy to get too close to your own work, and some objective feedback and recommendations will likely make a huge difference on your potential return for your investment – both in time and money.

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed!

Definitely follow us on Instagram.

Understand more about what makes an exceptional Amazon retail page.

The post How to Promote Your Book Globally and Build an International Readership appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

It’s true, planning for a book release is stressful, yet exciting – so much so we often forget that an effective marketing plan for a book really needs to take you through the first 12 months and beyond.

Does that sound like a lot of work?

It can be. But it doesn’t have to be work you resent!

On a recent episode of our book marketing podcast we decided it was time to take on the less sexy topic of figuring out how to create a marketing plan for a book that really addresses what you need to be doing at month 2, month 6, month 12, and even beyond.

Because the reality is, no book earns (and keeps) their bestseller status based on the efforts in the first 30 days alone, unless your name is Jodi Picoult, or John Sanford, or Colleen Hoover.

So what’s in a 12-month marketing plan for a book?

Planning. Ouch. You saw that coming. Download our free monthly planner in the Resources section below to get started.

Consistency. You probably saw that coming too. That’s where the planner really shines, don’t execute a marketing strategy once and cross your fingers. Put it on your planner and do it every month.

Strategy. A truly effective marketing plan for a book takes timing into consideration. Some efforts need to happen between months 1 and 3, others you can save for month 9 and beyond if you’re short on time or can’t hire a team.

We provide more details and specific tips in the episode so don’t miss this one – if you plan on making a career (even if it’s a side-career) as an author you MUST think long term.

Hopefully you’re intrigued, and we look forward to your feedback on the show!

Full-length episodes from our book promotion podcast go live every other Thursday. You can stream episodes from our website, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plus, you’ll want to follow us on your preferred podcast platform in order to catch our helpful – and often comical – minisodes that go live every other Friday. The minisodes are a grab bag of topics to include industry rants, publishing predictions and breaking news, basic (yet critical) business advice for authors, and more!

Do you have suggestions for future episodes?

We would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed!

Definitely follow us on Instagram.

Understand more about what makes an exceptional Amazon retail page.

The post How to Create a Year-Long Marketing Plan for a Book appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Creative and effective book cover ideas and concepts are sadly not as common in the publishing industry as I’d like them to be.

Why is that such a problem?

Sure, it’s nice to think, “once they start reading my book they’ll love it,” or “once they read my description they’ll want to buy it,” or “once they see I have mostly 5-star reviews they’ll for sure purchase it.”

But this isn’t how it works.

Your cover is your first impression. It tells shoppers how professional you are, it also tells shoppers what genre the book belongs in, and like it or not – it tells shoppers whether or not your book is worth their time. Ouch.

That’s why book cover ideas, and brainstorming, and market research, are all critical elements to prepping for book for retail sale.

It’s hard to hear, but I always want to be honest with authors, “good enough” doesn’t count in publishing anymore.

So when I ran across a piece published by Anne Carton on DesignHill, I knew I wanted to run through her tips for you all so you start to understand how much goes into coming up with amazon book cover ideas.

I also want to be clear that I think the following tips are critical for both independently published authors and traditionally published authors alike. Because no matter how you publish, you have to be educated on your market, and you have to be ready to be your own best advocate.

I’ve seen plenty of ineffective and just plain bad covers from publishers, so don’t assume just because they’re designing it for you, that it’s going to be spot on. Be prepared to push back and request revisions until you feel you have a cover that will help you sell more books.

So read on and educate yourself!

1. Hire an Experienced Designer

This may seem like an obvious point, but what’s important to consider here is that a designer doesn’t just pump out the cover files for you, good designers are advisors as well, and industry experts in their own right.

So hiring a designer to discuss book cover ideas is an investment in the life of your career as an author, it goes well beyond the current book you’re working on.

2. Have a Unique Book Cover Concept

What this means is unique to your story. This doesn’t mean come out of left field with a design that doesn’t look like it belongs in your genre – it just means it’s really smart to come up with a book cover idea that incorporates unique elements of your story or brand.

3. Highlight a Single Element

Don’t let your cover get too busy, plain and simple. Go for the “wow factor” and avoid making a shoppers eye try to process too many elements at once.

4. Use Size and Scale

We talk to our clients about this a lot, it’s a common problem. Title font that’s too small, or an author name that’s too small is the most common issue I see. Scale matters.

5. Avoid Clutter

Too many colors, images, font styles, all of it, confuses the eye and no one has time for that. Don’t try to cram all your storyline concepts into one book cover idea, it never works.

6. Choose Typefaces Carefully

Typefaces, or fonts, are art all on their own. Different fonts convey different moods and vibes, and you’ll see this if you check out the most common types of fonts used for books on the thriller bestseller list versus the cozy mystery bestseller list, versus the spiritual self-help bestseller list – you get the idea.

7. Consider the Cover Size

Oh my gosh we say this all the time! It’s easy to fall in love with a book cover idea when it’s taking up your whole computer screen.

But shrink it down to a thumbnail, does it still have the “wow factor” we’re looking for? Sometimes it does, and that’s a good design. But oftentimes it doesn’t, which means it’s time to tweak a few things.

8. Keep the Cover Design Simple

This kind of pulls together a lot of these tips into one, but it’s worth driving it home. You have two tenths of a second to make a visual first impression. Wild huh?

So if your book cover idea doesn’t immediately tell a shopper what your book is about and what genre it belongs in, the work isn’t done.

9. Consider Print and Digital Aspects

This is something that doesn’t get discussed a lot so I was thrilled to see this included. There are still a lot of authors who release their eBook first, and I’m totally good with this, I often recommend it, especially for genre fiction.

But don’t be so focused on your eBook that you forget your print cover dimensions and needs will be different so plan for that.

10. Prefer Vector Over Pixels

This is more technical – but what it comes down is not all files are created equal. A good designer will know what will work best based on the platforms you’re planning on using to list your book.

But again, you should know these things, take notes, be prepared to be your own best advocate.

11. Consider Visual Branding

Everything is your brand, I say it all the time. Book cover ideas should also support your brand just like everything else you put out there. And brand consistency is important.

If you have a fiction series the covers should all be very similar so they clearly stand out as a series.

If you write non-fiction and have multiple titles under the same general topic, consistency is also key and your book cover ideas can help strengthen your brand. Simple details like using the same font size and style for your author name across each book can dramatically improve the perceived professionalism of your brand. It shows you’re paying attention and long term, which naturally makes you more trustworthy and more of a sure thing.

Resources and Free Downloads

Be sure to check out the original piece on DesignHill’s website for Anne’s full tips and some excellent book cover examples!

How closely are marketing and book sales linked?

Be sure to check out (and follow and review!) our book marketing podcast!

How to get more book reviews on Amazon through special promotions.

The post Book Cover Ideas & Design Tips for More Sales Conversions appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Marketing and book sales are definitely entwined, but how closely?

How much marketing do you have to do to create significant sales opportunities?

Let me tell you this, we had an author come to us recently and say, “If the book sells on its own, I may not need to do a lot of marketing.”

And what was our response?

There are 4,500+ books published every single day. No book sells on its own. No author becomes a success without a lot of hard work.

So what should you do to improve both marketing and book sales?

Think of marketing and book sales as a single concept.

You can’t have one without the other.

So to keep them closely connected (and know you’re making real progress) you have to have a plan.

1. Download our free monthly planner in the resources section.
2. Print at least 3 copies.
3. Fill out all 3, that’s 3 months of marketing and promotions.
4. Repeat efforts are encouraged!

Yes, consistency is key. So some efforts can, and should, be repeated monthly.

Your social media plan should be consistent. Choose a few themes for certain days of the week and keep that going for at least three months so you can get a real feel for how followers are responding and what they tend to engage with most.

Limited time discounts are also great on repeat, especially if you have multiple titles, rotate through them.

BookBub ads are another slam dunk that you can run every single month. They’re great for any topic, but they’re really popular for genre fiction especially. BookBub ads are inexpensive, available to anyone, and create hundreds (if not thousands!) of impressions with new potential buyers who are avid readers.

Marketing and book sales also get a big boost from special promotions.

Plan to do some sort of special promotion at least once every three months.

Not sure what your options are, or feeling a little short on creative ideas? Sign up for email coaching and we can brainstorm.

And please share this image on your social, it’s especially appropriate this month! 

Caption what your most effective book marking strategy has been for your brand and encourage others to share theirs in the comments of your post – there’s a lot to learn from each other.

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner

7 Reasons your book isn’t selling – what to check on Amazon

How marketing and book sales are supported by your backlist

How to sell your self-published book to bookstores and other retail

Understanding how to make a stronger connection with readers

Marketing your book without social media is possible – here’s how

Check out our podcast and all our latest shows! 

The post Marketing and Book Sales: How Closely Are They Linked? appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s working and what isn’t, you’re trying to follow all the tips for marketing and branding books properly – but you feel like you’re pushing mud uphill.

Or maybe you’re feeling stuck and wondering where the gaps are in your book promotion?

If you’re ready to start generating more book sales, you’re going to appreciate this quiz!

And please know the goal of this quiz isn’t to shame you, but instead, show you what’s missing in your toolbox for marketing and branding books and your overall platform.

For each question pick a number between 1 and 5 that best describes your situation.

Choosing number 1 means you haven’t done it, don’t know how, hadn’t thought of it.

If you choose number 5 on any of these, you are really hitting it out of the park and you know for a fact it’s doing something positive for you.

Most of us fall somewhere in between.

And while the majority of these questions should apply to every author, from someone releasing their debut self-help title to someone releasing the 8th title in their 3rd romantic suspense series, if a question really doesn’t apply to you, select number 3.

But be honest with yourself – just because you don’t have a website yet doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to you!

Pick the number that most resonates with you and your situation.

For example, if you get to the book cover question and you feel your book cover is good, but you catch yourself being wowed by other covers in your genre, you might pick a 3 for that answer.

Successfully marketing and branding books in ways that lead to sales does require the management of a lot of moving parts, but it doesn’t have to be stressful, and you shouldn’t be spinning your wheels.

And for any of the questions that spark interest – maybe it’s something you haven’t done yet or started but never finished – I’ll link to some helpful podcast episodes we’ve done on these topics so you can do some additional learning!

Understanding Your Results

Mostly 1s

You have a lot of work to do, but the good news is you’re self-aware enough to know that you need help.

My recommendation is to start by polishing your Amazon page.

Why? Because it’s one of the most overlooked marketing tools.

And you have a website, right? If you don’t, that’s a must-have for sure.

Remember this: we often launch a book expecting a seat at the table when in fact, we have to earn our seat at the table.

Authors are so often perplexed by this, and it’s not always your fault.

The industry gives a false sense of “success” once you hit “publish” on that book. And finishing and publishing a book is a fantastic achievement, but you can’t skip steps, I don’t care how awesome your book is.

You’ve got to put in the time, and learning about marketing and branding books the right way, is part of that time.

Finally, if you’re too focused on book sales, you’ll stay at this level – I can promise you that.

Mostly 2s

You aren’t new to the game, but you know there’s a lot you still need to master when it comes to marketing and branding books strategically, without spinning your wheels.

Why not start here: check out your Amazon book page, and your website. Are they doing all they can for you? Are you sure?

It’s possible that you’re at this level because you launched your book and then didn’t do much with it, or the whole idea of marketing was just confusing to you. Ring a bell?

We just did a podcast on this in fact – what happens if you miss your launch window (because it happens).

But what if this isn’t you – what if you launched a book and feel like you did all the right things but still nothing happened?

Well, maybe you thought you did all the right things but maybe you didn’t. Because there’s a lot that you *can* do for book marketing, but that doesn’t mean all those strategies are appropriate for your genre, audience and platform.

How are your reviews looking? Not great? Or are they good but you have fewer than 20? Then this is something I’d absolutely push.

And if your book is still fairly new, start pitching more bloggers for reviews and features to gain a wider audience.

Mostly 3s

Do you feel like you’re kind of reaching for that next level but aren’t quite there yet when it comes to marketing and branding books in a way that ALWAYS gives you some sort of return on your investment?

Most of you taking this quiz probably landed on this number and for a reason: it’s pretty normal to feel like you’re treading water and doing all the things, but nothing seems to be happening.

That’s why it’s time to level up.

You probably have more than one book out, but you haven’t spent a lot of time focused on your backlist at all, am I right?

That’s a good place to start. Always keep one book in some kind of promotional rotation – even if that means you’re just doing a limited time discount for your eBook.

And since you’re all about the next level, now is a great time to take a fresh look at your Amazon book descriptions and add some new reviews you’ve gotten.

If you haven’t written to your newsletter list in a while, now is a great time to kick that into high gear to ensure they stay engaged and are primed to buy your next release – this isn’t the field of dreams, you have to keep them interested.

Mostly 4s

Congrats! You’re doing almost all the things, but there’s still more to do if you feel like you’ve peaked a bit.

For you next-level book marketing ninjas I would suggest it’s time to level up your fan base and turn some of your readers into Superfans and build a Street Team that can help you promote your work.

Confused about how to do this? I’ll link to a podcast episode below!

Mostly 5s

You’re an absolute rock star and I bet you could teach me a thing or two about marketing and branding books in your genre!

You’re doing all the things, that’s for sure.

But have you explored audio books yet? If not, that might be your next go-to. Audio is tremendously popular right now and though it’s an investment to create an audio book, it can absolutely be worth your time.

If you aren’t running Amazon ads (or at least not successfully) now is a good time to start or check in with someone who really understands the Amazon ads beast – send us a email!

And I bet you’ve gotten a BookBub daily deal before, right? Now is a good time to submit again. Daily Deals are hard to get, but they can really boost your exposure.

Resources and Free Downloads

Listen to our minisode on using your Amazon bio as a sales tool.

Listen to our episode where we cover 10 myths about success in publishing!

Listen to our episode about book covers that sell.

Listen to our episode about the critical first 30 days on Amazon.

Listen to our episode on how to recover after a failed book launch.

Listen to our episode on Superfans and Street Teams.

Check out all of our podcast episodes.

Check out our Amazon category on the blog for more sales conversion tips!

The post Marketing and Branding Books Quiz: Why Isn’t My Title Selling? appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

It’s time for our November observances post that features reader and book-centric themes and ideas totally focused on content marketing and social media for authors!

We know it can get tedious coming up with new blog post ideas, social content, newsletter items, special promos, the list goes on.

So if you’re nodding your head, we encourage you to use our monthly observances as a guide for inspiration.

Of course November is NaNoWriMo, but there’s even more going on, it doesn’t stop there!

That’s why our ideas go beyond that to ensure all of you have something interesting to say or a new angle for self-promotion.

As always, your posts should encourage your fans and followers to respond, chime in, share their feedback, insight, stories, etc.

Don’t forget to work that angle: let them know you want to hear from them!

Your goal is to encourage engagement – never post flat content, be creative with how you pull others into the conversation, and offer ways for them to engage easily.

You can do polls, giveaways, fan art contests.

You can run a BOGO, where buyers can forward you a receipt of the print edition to have a Kindle edition gifted to a friend for free!

This is an opportunity to get creative when a lot of social media for authors can get really dull and repetitive.

Just remember to make it about your readers – not about you – and you’re guaranteed to see better engagement.

Social Media for Authors with a Festive, Frosty Twist

I know there’s a lot going on this month that seems fitting for children’s and young adult authors only – but I encourage you all to think bigger. This is why our reader brainstorm is so helpful.

A lot of you write for adults — but a lot of those adults are parents, caretakers, or grandparents.

So while these holidays may not be the perfect opportunity for you to sell your book, they can be fabulous opportunities to connect with your fans when you’re not trying to sell them something. And I’ve always said that’s when we often do our most effective networking.

Make Yourself a Part of the Conversation

And don’t forget to grab our Monthly Book Marketing Planner from the Free Resources and Downloads section at the end of this post as well.

Planning ahead is essential to your success!

And while being an author demands creativity, and it also demands authenticity when developing a marketing plan.

I hope this reminder is a good head start for November.

And please use the comments to let me know how you plan to use these holidays to inspire your content, and share this graphic on your social, in your newsletter, or simply email it to an author colleague!

Resources and Free Downloads

Check out our FREE Monthly Book Marketing Planner here.

Download our FREE reader profile brainstorm here.

Listen to our podcast episode about making connections with your local libraries.

Read this blogpost on the 6 reason to self-publish your eBook.

Check out a full list of literary holidays!

The post Timely & Inspired Social Media for Authors in November appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

There’s a lot of information out there for authors, and while some of it is great, the best book marketing strategies are fairly simple.

That’s right, I’ll say it — book marketing doesn’t have to be overly complex or confusing!

But I realize it can get that way, and quickly, when you’re lacking a clear roadmap and you start spinning your wheels.

So this week I was inspired by a post I saw on Inc.com because it hit all the high points that aren’t just important, but are often overlooked.

Plan Your Launch Around Your Goals

I think this is so smart. Too often authors jump headlong into publishing a book without identifying their specific goals and, more particularly, their marketing goals beyond their publication date.

The problem with a lot of launches is that authors hyper focus on the first week or so of publication, but beyond that they really don’t know what they want to achieve, besides sales.

And in case I haven’t said it enough, sales aren’t a goal because you don’t control how other people spend their money.

Goals need to be comprised of action items, which should drive your marketing plan, and well beyond publication day.

Yes, launch day is exciting, but trust me, it’s more exciting to see your book doing well 90 days after it releases.

So planning a launch that supports both long- and short-term goals is the best book marketing plan you can create.

Build Relationships Before You Need Them

I often tell authors the best kind of networking is when you have nothing to sell.

When we aren’t in sales mode we’re often more authentic (and certainly less pushy), and genuinely more curious about those we’re networking with, we’re not just seeing them as a means to an end.

The other reason I like this is because you can get to know influencers much better by actually supporting them.

So how do you do that?

Share their content, comment on their posts – engage with them!

Pre-Publication is a great opportunity to do this.

Then when you’re ready to launch, the influencers you’ve been networking with will already know you, they’ve likely interacted with you, so your pitch to them won’t come in cold, which makes it more natural for them to give you a yes.

Engage Your Audience

This is often hard for authors. I mean, I get it.

Being an author is isolating and the idea of doing tons of self-promotion probably makes you want to run and hide. But trust me, it’ll be worth it.

To those of you who feel like this isn’t your “thing” I would offer this: find ways to communicate about your book’s progress (and launch) in a way that’s exciting and engaging.

Tease that you’re up to something, share the cover and get input from potential readers. Ask them for feedback and opinions.

One thing that authors always underestimate is how interested people are in the fact that you wrote a book. Use that to your advantage.

Readers are your best book marketing tool every single time.

But engagement goes well beyond teasing a book that’s not out yet and that’s why (much like networking) it’s a really good idea to start this early, you’ll find other kinds of content that come naturally to you, and you’ll learn what your audience responds to positively.

The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll be able to figure out what works and what doesn’t because readers will tell you what they like by their reaction to what you’ve shared. That’s something to pay attention to.

Don’t Copy Blindly

You see something that someone is doing and marvel at how strategically clever it is, It’s the best book marketing idea you’ve ever seen, and you want to do it too!

But should you?

I say maybe, because remember, not everything belongs in your repertoire of sales tools.

For example, you may love that an author created all this cool swag and their readers are tagging them on social after buying it, but is designing and selling retail something you’re really ready to take on?

Another example is Facebook ads. Some authors swear by them, so other authors hear this and start pumping money into Facebook, but what the newbies don’t realize is that the authors who get conversions from Facebook have established platforms and lots of superfans and followers that make the ad targeting work.

So again, just because it works for one author, doesn’t mean it will work for you, no matter how good your intentions are.

All that being said, getting to know authors in your genre is still a super smart move.

Not only is it great networking, it’s a fun way to see what everyone else is doing and it may spark some creative ideas that are in your wheelhouse – it reminds you of what’s out there, and it’s a reminder that marketing does work when all the details come together!

Get Into Amazon’s Also-Boughts

I’m a fan of most of the points in this piece but this one is a bit tricker.

Yes, Also-Boughts matter and I talk a lot about this concept in my Amazon book and in the Amazon classes I teach, but one of the best ways to make sure your book is getting seen by the right people is through Amazon ads.

When good ads are started early in the life of your book (or ideally during pre-order) they can really help to train the Amazon machine to get your book sitting in the right category.

The same can be said for optimizing your book, which is equally, if not even more important than creating ads – the truth is your ads will fail if your book isn’t properly optimized.

Yes, Also-Boughts are important, but they’re just one piece of the Amazon optimization puzzle.

So to let them stand on their own as one of these 7 tips without addressing all the other Amazon elements is a bit misleading when it comes to pulling together the best book marketing strategies you should be adding to your list.

Get Reviews

People like what other people like and reviews go a long way to helping you create a more “likable” product page on Amazon.

Your #1 goal and one of the top action items on the list of the best book marketing tips should be getting reviews.

And we often rely on our friends and family to review our books and therein lies a problem: most of them don’t post a review.

It’s not because they don’t want to support you, or they didn’t enjoy your book – a lot of times it’s just because they forgot, or they genuinely don’t realize what a big difference their one review can make.

Remind them, help them understand, they will appreciate it and they want to support you so this is a time where you have to set aside any hesitations you have about being pushy.

Go Beyond the Book

Most authors don’t like the drudge work of being a self-promoter, for this reason the New York Times reported that, “only a small fraction of self-published authors sell enough books to make a living.”

This may seems like a depressing factoid, but here is the cornerstone piece to why this happens: authors neglect their current fan base.

The easiest person to sell a book to is someone who already knows (and hopefully loves) your work.

That’s why creating superfans is a fantastic way to keep building your empire. Quality over quantity matters here, don’t let your first 100 readers (sales) disappear into the night to never hear from you again because that’s 100 fewer sales you’ll get for your next book.

So where do you start?

Well, start with your book. Make sure there’s a letter in the back of your book so readers know how to reach you and invite them to get in touch and be a part of your tribe. Give them all the ways they can connect, and if you have a newsletter, special offer, bonus content, etc. highlight that specifically to sweeten the deal.

If you already have a newsletter list, when was the last time you used it to ask for help?

Things like: please rate my book on Goodreads, or “Don’t forget to review my book on Amazon” are great ways to generate some activity and to make getting your current fans involved in your success a normal part of your communication with them.

And spoiler alert: readers love this.

They love getting opportunities to connect with and support authors they love to read and admire!

I definitely recommend you check out the full article from Inc. here.

Resources and Free Downloads

How networking really affects your author brand

Understanding how to successfully incorporate diversity into your books

How to revive older titles so they contribute to your bottom line

Publishing is evolving, check out this social platform that’s helping poetry author monetize their work

Keep an eye on these audiobook platforms that are challenging Audible

Are you ready for more media coverage? Let’s find out!

The post The Best Book Marketing Strategies Are Simple: 7 Things You Should Focus On Now appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

In a recent episode of our book promotion podcast we put the spotlight on very real problems and challenges authors have presented to us through blog comments, coaching sessions, and contact form inquiries.

And while we’ll continue to present topics we feel authors need to be aware of, we want to keep balancing our ideas with solving issues you’re dealing with in the present – so keep the blog comments and show idea submissions coming!

Where do you start?

Let’s get real, usually when we decide something isn’t working it’s because we’re not getting the positive feedback we’re looking for.

That positive feedback can take the form of book sales, reviews, newsletter sign ups, engagement on social, and more.

Basically anything that encourages you to keep going!

And it’s important to ensure your time is well spent.

We started our book promotion podcast to help authors work smarter, not harder.

So in this episode you’ll listen as we analyze a number of scenarios, for both fiction and non-fiction, and we’ll assess the likely problems or roadblocks, and provide feedback and recommendations for fixing them.

Hopefully you’re intrigued, and we look forward to your feedback on the show!

Full-length episodes from our book promotion podcast go live every other Thursday. You can stream episodes from our website, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plus, you’ll want to follow us on your preferred podcast platform in order to catch our helpful- and often hilarious- minisodes that go live every other Friday.

Do you have any suggestions for a future episode?

We would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Resources and Free Downloads

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed!

Definitely follow us on Instagram.

Understand more about what makes an exceptional Amazon retail page.

It’s not too late to plan a special promotion for October!

An inside look at the ghostwriting process and finding a ghostwriter.

The post How to Fix What’s Broken: Book Promotion Podcast appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Typically when someone is publishing non-fiction it’s because they’re looking to cement their thought leader status in the market for a specific topic, industry, or area of expertise.

But we see it all the time, specifically when publishing non-fiction, that authors get hung up on all the wrong things. It throws the momentum out of whack, and can even create critical delays in getting the book to market at the optimum time.

And by the optimum time I mean before their content starts to become dated. Very few books are truly evergreen in this day and age, so publishing non-fiction comes with some time constraints and requires a healthy level of urgency and fortitude.

Without a doubt, you or another author you know is delaying their book because of one of these three reasons, and honestly, it’s time that can’t be wasted!

In fact, I’ve had authors delay their books indefinitely waiting on these three things, and in some cases, they become so discouraged that they never release the book.

So if you’ve been sitting on your book, or you’re getting ready to launch a book but are holding back, this is a must-read article!

Writing a Book to Grow Your Thought Leadership? Here’s What You Shouldn’t Waste Your Time Worrying About.

By Anna David for Entrepreneur.com

When it comes to launching their first book, many entrepreneurs sweat the small stuff while ignoring what really matters.

You’ve heard it said 101 times: If you’re a successful entrepreneur who wants to grow your thought leadership, you need to write a book.

The problem is that you may not know much about publishing beyond the fact that you have favorite books, and you’d like yours to be like them. Without knowing what to prioritize when it comes to publishing, you can end up caring about small aspects that don’t matter while ignoring the most important aspect of all: producing an excellent book.

Having been in the publishing industry for over two decades — first writing six books for traditional Big Five publishers, even making the New York Times bestseller list on one of them, and then moving into the indie world where I publish books for entrepreneurs — I’ve both made a number of incorrect assumptions and seen many others do the same when publishing non-fiction.

Don’t bother with a foreword

It can be fun to fantasize about getting that big-name person you know or have met once or are sure would love your book if only he or she could see it to write your foreword.

Forewords also don’t matter.

Have you ever bought a book because of the foreword writer? I haven’t either.

The only reason forewords matter today is that the foreword author can be listed alongside you on the book’s Amazon page. It’s undeniably impressive to have a celebrity as your “co-author.”

But does it really matter? See above.

Forewords are simply credibility enhancers — proof that you know someone impressive. So, if you are friends with a bold-faced name and are comfortable asking, by all means, ask that person to write your foreword.

Otherwise, forget it. Your book doesn’t need it, and publishing non-fiction without a foreword is really common.

Blurbs from famous people aren’t essential

Blurbs (otherwise known as endorsements) from famous people are equally unimportant. In other words, it’s fantastic if Elon Musk or Tony Robbins or Marie Forleo wants to blurb your book, but it’s not worth pulling your proverbial hair out trying to make that happen.

I’ve watched authors put off release dates, take books back from the printer and even hold off entirely on writing a book because they were so obsessed with getting a certain person (who inevitably doesn’t come through) to blurb. For years, I judged that behavior — until, on my last book, I was guilty of it myself. I told myself I was in a different situation — I was waiting to hear back from a famous person I had once known well to find out if I could use something very nice she’d once said about my book as a blurb — but I was falling for the same old glass house.

I almost changed my release date for something that did not matter! My point is, it’s easy to fall for that.

I’m not saying don’t gather endorsements from impressive folks. I recommend gathering as many as you want. (We had a client who gathered so many the blurbs took up the first third of the book!)

But remember that someone with a credibility enhancer (say, New York Times bestselling author, TEDx speaker or even just a professor in your field) may provide just as much if not more credibility for your book than a household name.

I say if you know terribly important people and want to call in a favor, wait until the book is launched and ask them to post about it — or, even better, have you on their podcast or send out a newsletter about you and your book.

And you don’t need bookstores to place mass orders

It’s absolutely wonderful to have your book available in stores; there’s nothing like going to “visit” your book at your local bookstore. And I know how much first-time authors care about this — it’s the number one reason people give me for seeking a traditional publisher (a notoriously difficult process).

But having an order for 1,000 books placed through the bookstore’s main distributor isn’t necessary. If you’re going the self- or indie-publishing route (which, increasingly, more and more experts are recommending) making that happen can be challenging. So my advice is, don’t worry about it.

Instead, try walking into your local bookstore and introducing yourself to someone who works there. Explain that you’re a local author and ask if they’d be open to selling your book. If your book is listed in Ingram and it is returnable (meaning that the bookstore can return the book if no one buys it), many salespeople will not only be open to doing this, but also excited about meeting a local author.

Once your book is in stock, come in, sign copies, take photos and show them off. What does it matter if that store had 200 or two copies of your book?

In short, when you launch a book, there are a lot of moving parts, so it’s important not to sweat the small stuff. But before you can ignore it, you have to know what it is.

You can read the original article about publishing non-fiction and other related content here.

My final thoughts on publishing non-fiction

Many of you know I live this, I publish non-fiction and my books need to be updated almost annually. It’s a grind. But it’s worth it.

So if you have something new and unique to say, and you feel very strongly that you can help others, buckle down and get that book out. And be sure to email me so I can check it out on Amazon!

Resources and Free Downloads

If you’re publishing non-fiction these are some marketing services you should hire out.

If you’re planning a series of non-fiction books on the same topic read this article.

Critical tips for becoming a thought leader.

How to become a thought leader on social media. 

The post Publishing Non-Fiction the Strategic Way Without Delays appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..

Your Amazon book sales potential is tricky, if you haven’t already figured that out!

Yes, of course you need to have a great cover, we talk about that all the time.

You also need to have a great book, no, an exceptional book, that readers are (hopefully) reviewing positively.

So what’s the secret to Amazon book sales?

There are a lot of other, often overlooked, elements that affect your Amazon book sales that need to come together before you start seeing real success.

And we’re not talking “good enough” — we mean putting the best of you, and your book, out there.

Because statistics show that shoppers need at least 7 interactions with a product or brand before they decide to buy, and that’s definitely true for books.

Here’s why: books are a HUGE demand of someone’s time.

Sure, most may cost less than a fancy coffee in Manhattan, but you’re also asking for hours of their life. And time is more precious than money for a lot of us these days.

So your book needs to convince someone it’s worth their time.

Do that effectively, and your Amazon book sales will definitely improve.

And without further delay, here’s our quiz that uncovers a handful of really critical elements that can dramatically improve your bottom line!

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Resources and Free Downloads

Check out our podcast, Book Marketing Tips and Author Success

5 simple reasons your Amazon ads aren't working.

The importance of boosting your backlist on Amazon.

Check out the new releases by category to see how your book cover stacks up!

The post Quiz: What’s Your Amazon Book Sales Potential? appeared first on Author Marketing Experts, Inc..