More than once I’ve been asked a question like this: “My book comes out this week. What should I do to market it?” Unfortunately, by the time the author asks me that question, several important marketing opportunities have already passed. Book marketing should start at least six months before publication, if not longer.
Does that mean everything is ruined if you published your book already and are now looking to market. Absolutely not! You can always market your book, but setting things up before publication day gives you more of a pathway toward success with sales.
So let’s look at eight common marketing mistakes so you can plan ahead for this book or the next one.
Mistake 1: Waiting Until the Book Is Finished
Writers sometimes separate book writing and marketing, as if they are two distinct steps in the process. The truth is you should be marketing while you are writing your book. I don’t recommend starting when you only have an idea and nothing written yet. That’s too early. But after you’ve finished the first draft and are in the revision process, that is a good time to start marketing.
How do you market when you don’t have the book or cover yet?
It’s actually not as hard as it may sound. Share on social media and in person that you are becoming an author. Talk about what you are writing and share your passion and excitement. You can use images/graphics that relate to your book. Check out this great blog post from Erik Deckers on how to get royalty-free images to share. You can share setting photos, character images, or important symbols from the book. Whatever you do, be sure to continue talking about it and building buzz.
Mistake 2: Trying to Market to Everyone
If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard, “My book is for everyone,” I’d be a rich lady indeed. The truth is that your book has a specific audience, and it’s imperative you figure out exactly who that is. This is what we call your target audience, the folks who will definitely read (and of course love) your book. For example, is your book for children or adults? What genre is it? There are readers who are religious about sticking to certain genres they like. So if you are writing military romance, a historical thriller, a Southern memoir, or whatever else, narrow down who you are looking for. The more specific you can be the better, especially when doing targeted ads.
It may take some time to figure out your target audience (something like women over forty who read memoir). Don’t get discouraged. As you figure it out, you can adjust and tailor your messaging as needed.
→Book marketing is often an experiment in trial and error.←
Mistake 3: Never Building an Email List
While social media is great for starting off your marketing, you need to dig a little deeper. The trouble with social media is that you don’t control any of the visibility, and you are at the mercy of ever-changing algorithms. With an email list, you know each person on there is going to at the very minimum see your subject line and preview text, a much better chance at delivering your message.
Use platforms like Constant Contact, MailChimp, or MailerLite to manage your list. Create business cards or bookmarks with a QR code to sign up and hand them out when you meet people or do events. Using a reader magnet is also a great way to draw people in. You’ll start off small, but keep working to build your list every week. Even launching with 100 subscribers is better than zero.
Mistake 4: Treating the Cover as Purely Artistic
Getting a cover is one of the most fun parts of publishing. And it’s easy to fall in love with one because it’s pretty or has some special meaning to you. But your cover is one of your best marketing assets. It is a tool to deliver the message of what the story is about. Start by doing market research on what your comps (titles in the same genre) have for covers. Then consider the typography and thumbnail visibility since most people buy books on their phones. For an in-depth look into what your cover should have, check out this blog post.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Metadata
Metadata is all the information about your book including: ISBNs, categories, keywords, blurb/product descriptions, BISAC codes, LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number), title, subtitle, and author name. It’s essential that you keep a document or spreadsheet with this information. You want to be absolutely sure metadata is entered the same every place you have information about the book. This impacts the discoverability before anyone ever gets to page one.
I’ll share an example: I had an author for my press who wanted to use her middle initial as part of her author name. Well, I didn’t copy/paste from my metadata sheet, just typed her name in under author name when uploading the ebook. I didn’t realize that in everything else, we used a period after the initial (Author L. Name) and I didn’t put the period in when typing. Subsequently, her ebook and paperback book wouldn’t link together on Amazon because of the forgotten period! Something tiny like that can impact how easily people can find your book. Lesson learned!
Mistake 6: Waiting Too Long to Build Relationships
Networking is a key component to successful book sales. The easiest way to get started is to meet fellow authors, but they aren’t the only folks you’ll want to get to know. Stop in local bookstores and get to know the owners. Go to the library and meet the librarians. Reach out to bloggers, influencers, and reviewers. Work to get to know people and don’t just talk about your book. These relationships built ahead of time will be much more fruitful than a cold email at launch.
Mistake 7: Thinking Marketing Ends on Publication Day
This goes back to what I said earlier—you can and should always be marketing your book. Books have long lives, they don’t expire. Don’t just plan for launch then forget about it. You should do something each week to market your book. When you stop marketing is when your sales will slump. Keep experimenting and trying different strategies to market. If you’ve done a lot in person, switch to online, or vice versa.
Here are some quick ideas of year-round things you could do:
- Do a newsletter swap with authors in your genre
- Create a campaign encouraging people to request their library to stock your book
- Be a podcast guest
- Send out post cards to indie bookstores with your book information
- Share recent review quotes from Amazon or GoodReads
- Sign up for a table event where you sell in person
Those are just a few ideas to get you started. There is always a huge variety of options when it comes to marketing your book.
Mistake 8: Forgetting That the Author is Part of the Product
Personal branding is the deliberate way an author presents themselves to readers so people know who they are, what they write, and what can be expected of them. This can mean how you dress, having an author logo and color scheme, and having a sales phrase you use. When people see you in a dinosaur shirt with your children’s author logo at your color-coordinated table, they’ll know you are a children’s author and have an idea what to expect from you.
Beyond the exterior packaging, people respond to folks who have personality and/or expertise. Be consistent in how you present yourself to your audience and don’t forget YOU are part of the marketing. Connect with your readers and share your personality and knowledge.
The biggest marketing mistake an author can make is not messing up an Amazon ad or forgetting their logline, it’s believing marketing starts after publication. As you can see, there is plenty to do to get the ball rolling. If you are looking for a more detailed outline, check out this blog post on overall book marketing timelines. Remember, publication day is not the finish line. It is only one step in your overall marketing journey.
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