Blog #46 10 Ways to Market a Book (or any other product!)
This year, I will be releasing a fiction book. Naturally, I want it to perform well and accumulate a strong readership.
This brings me to the topic of this post—marketing.
How does one market a book, or any product at all?
I’ve researched it, added a few ideas of my own, and have compiled all the ways one can market a book/product in this post.
A few may surprise you…
Without wasting any more of your time, let’s dive into my 10 ways to market a book:
Content—as a video creator, it’s only natural that I would start here. If you are unaware, I’ve launched a long-form series documenting my book launch on my Youtube/Tiktok channels, called: “Create a Book-Series with Me!”
The videos are part of a series—showing what it’s like to launch a book—from beginning to end. At the time of writing, I have the first two episodes finished (on planning and writing).
This series will double as marketing for the book, and my own personal goals of creating consistent content. Video content works! Videos receive way more engagement than these blog posts, and can communicate in ways that written text can’t. So make content—however it looks for you!
Send it to bloggers—bloggers are always in need of a new product to review; why not try your luck and send them your book? In the specific case of books, you could try Booktubers, Booktokers, or even Bookstagrammers. All it takes is an email explaining your situation and a copy of your latest draft. Do your research and start small; the biggest ones might receive too many requests to get to your book, so find niche influencers and be nice.
Review program—what do I mean by this? In terms of a program, I mean—pay. There are plenty of programs that get you in touch with people willing to review your product for a small fee, in order to get the word out. You could do this in conjunction with your other strategies, or skip it if you believe you can do it without the cost! Personally, I’m going to be leaning away from this program to focus on the other strategies.
Create an online author presence for your book—this includes doing a few things, such as:
Adding an author page to your website,
Creating a Goodreads account for your works—someone needs to,
Updating your Instagram bio, to include author,
Reddit page for your book(s).
These will all help you be taken seriously as an author/creator, and give supporters a centralised location to gather and post relevant content on.
Get a burble—what do I mean by this? Ask your influential friends to take a peek at your book and provide a hype quote for it, that you can put on the cover/inside/Amazon listing, etc.
This is just one more way that people can familiarise themselves with the product, and know what to expect from it. If you aren’t friends with Stephen King, just get any old friend to do it; it will still be worth it.
Pre-order campaign—if you already have a following, you could incentivise people to get in on the action early. This might mean a lower pre-sale price, bonus content, or merchandise like stickers, t-shirts, etc.
It could also mean a special physical copy, like a signed hardback. Many people collect these types of editions.
It’s one more way to get the ball rolling early—developing early momentum in your algorithm favourability.
A.R.C. readers—A.R.C. stands for advanced early copy readers. Most authors will do this as a way to test their book—seeing what people like, and don’t like. It is also, nonetheless, another way to market and get the word out. If people like their A.R.C. copy, they will pass it on to their friends, and their friends, until a snowball effect is created. This is a no-brainer for any author.
Physical event—this could mean different things to different people. The more standard events would be signing events in a library, or booths at a book-con. Physical events are a great way not just to market, but to network—seeing what’s working for people, what they’re up to, and their opinion of your strategies. They are often free/affordable and create another opportunity to meet your readers in the flesh and get more feedback on your product.
Social media-duh! I don’t need to explain this. Social media can be a gamechanger for some, dependant on their following and reach. It’s another no-brainer—free and important.
Trailer/Promo—this could be in the form of a video, to create hype, or any other form.
The trailer could be in the form of a reveal, such as a Cover reveal or Title reveal, anything that creates suspense and engagement. Just make the edits short and snappy, showing off the dynamicism of the product.
Bonus tip: cross-promote with other authors, for example on a podcast or livestream Q&A. You’re welcome.
I can’t think of any more; there’s plenty there to dig into. I find this stuff fascinating, and I hope you found something useful too.
Thanks for reading. If you’ve any comments, let me know down below.
Good luck out there.
-D.C.