You’ve finally done it – your copy has been meticulously edited, you’ve spent too many hours tweaking the design of your book jacket, and now your book is ready for distribution – you’ve published your book.
But just when you’re about to get that freshly-printed, new book in your hands, someone says it. It creeps up on you, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up, your stomach tightens and a wave of uncertainty hits you; then someone asks you the question: “How are you going to market your book?”
It’s okay, breathe.
It’s a long, labour of love getting your book published. It’s a monetary and time commitment. So why then, after going through the editing process, the tedious design process, and setting up distribution, do you need marketing for your book?
Well, the reality is, when you decide to self-publish, you’re involuntarily signing up to be your own publicist (unless of course you actually hire a publicist). Much like the term suggests, being a self-published author means a good portion of your book sales are going to be dependent on the effort you put into book marketing.
Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire way to dictate how successful your book is going to be; however, they are some marketing strategies which can greatly increase the chances of your book being seen by a larger audience. One example would be having an online presence, which is imperative in this day-and-age for a self-published author. In essence, both social media and a website will help you brand yourself as an author and publicize your book to your online readers.
Without marketing, it’s going to be a struggle to reach your target audience. Not only that, but it’ll be even more difficult to grow your readership if you’re not advertising or publicizing your book. You need to be your own advocate for your book and let your target readers know you have a story they should read.
After you’ve published your first book, you’re probably going to write another book (after all, you’re a writer!) Well, if you do a successful job of marketing your first book well, it means you’ll have a foundation to build off of for future books. In essence, marketing will allow you to continue to grow a readership as you publish more books.
Ultimately, marketing your book allows you to stand out as a self-published author. Amazon lists millions of titles written by self-published authors, so standing out in such a saturated market is important. If you’re a first-time self-published author, marketing your book to reviewers, bookstores, and the media will help you to build credibility and reputation as an author.
I know what you’re thinking: “But my book is excellent, I don’t need marketing!” Well, that could be true, and even if it is excellent, there’s no guarantee it’s going to sell well. It could be well-written, cover a popular topic or niche genre, and have a horseshoe as a bookmark, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to attract a large readership. Ultimately, if you want to ensure you’re doing everything you can to get your book to readers, you need to market your book.
Oh hey, did we mention that Tellwell has a marketing department?
