Book Promotion Ideas for Libraries
Speaking at any kind of conference or event lends you credibility, which is especially important for nonfiction authors. Keep an eye out for events in your niche — you might hear about these on Twitter, through a relevant organization, or from another author — and always be prepared to pitch yourself as a panelist or presenter single malt or double malt. You can also take matters into your own hands and organize a local TEDx event.
No matter how carefully you’ve chosen your initial keywords and categories, you still need to update them every so often. Every few weeks or months, try switching out a keyword or two, maybe including a hot new comp title to capitalize on what’s trending. If your sales had been going strong but are starting to flag, that’s a clear sign to revisit and refresh your data.
Next you’ll want to create a proto-persona: a hypothetical reader who slots perfectly into your target market. Give this reader a profile that includes a name, occupation, and home life. You’ll think about this proto-persona every time you make a marketing decision, which will help you envision your readers as real people and cater to them more concretely.
Book Promotion Ideas
Customers love free samples—whether that’s tiny portions of a new frozen pizza at the supermarket or an excerpt of your novel! Consider offering a portion of it—one or two chapters, the first five pages, etc.—as a freebie for new readers. You can use a site like Bookfunnel to upload the excerpt and create a landing page where interested readers can download it. Be sure to include an option for them to sign up for your newsletter as well so that you can continue reaching out through drip campaigns and follow-ups that will keep your book in their mind.
eReader News is a great gig, but it can be hard to get approved and takes several days for a response. No reviews are needed, but they do check if you have reviews – and it may sway their decision to promote your book or not depending on review count.
Writing a book is a lot of work. You spend all the time to get your book published, thousands of dollars in outsourcing for the cover, editing, formatting…and then launch! But after the big buzz wears down, if you don’t know how to promote a book, your book will sit on Amazon like a ship that just lost its engines – lost and drifting in a sea of other books.
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Once your ad is live, it competes with other ad campaigns in an auction. When a reader opens an email from BookBub, they serve the ad to the highest bidding advertiser targeting that reader at that moment.
Basically what you’re doing is looking for authors to participate in this joint promotion that should run for 24-48 hours. Each author submits their cover and the link to a landing page where the book is given away for free. Every author who is going to be participating will agree to share this page with their email list, social media followers, and/or other influencers.
TikTok Video Ideas for Book Promotion
Aparna Verma, a novelist, has successfully used TikTok to promote her Indian fantasy novel, The Boy with Fire. Verma knew that she wanted to target South Asian readers and not just make writing advice videos, so she began creating videos that would appeal to her audience. Her book hit number one on Amazon in its category and was featured on NBC News. It will be republished as The Phoenix King next year by Orbit, a division of Hachette. Verma suggests that authors learn about the popular BookTok tropes and point to them in their work, and research other nonfiction writers and readers in their category to see what video styles work best.
Remember, TikTok is a whole different ball game. Throw out everything you know about social media apps and use the platform’s unique features to your advantage. With persistence, creativity, and engagement, you can effectively promote your books and grow your audience on TikTok.
Why did you write your book or series? What personal experience inspired it? Human stories drive connection. Getting personal on BookTok goes a long way, like author Christina Bacilieri. Post about your pets, your writing schedule, tour of your favorite indie bookstore, favorite local coffee shop (then tag all of them in your video). A lot of authors struggle with this aspect, but TikTok users want to see the personal side of you as well!
Jennifer Vance is a publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
As a first-time author looking to harness the power of TikTok for book marketing, it’s essential to understand the platform’s unique dynamics and how they can be leveraged to promote your work effectively. Drawing insights from various sources, here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate TikTok’s landscape for book promotion.