4 ways to sell more books
If you’re an author you know, that writing is the easy part. Marketing and selling your books is much, much harder. Since the gravy days of 2009-2013 (at least for me) the process of getting people to buy my books has gotten increasingly difficult. Self-publishing is a low barrier industry and so, of course, that makes for a lot of competition.
However, don’t despair. When I get frustrated, I remind myself there’s an average of a million Ebooks a day sold on Amazon alone so the book industry is a very large pie that has plenty of pieces for everyone to share and make a living.
Think about it this way. If 1 million books per day are sold let’s say one of those books is one of mine, and I have a $2 royalty. I only need to sell one of my books on one day to 25% of those people, and I’ll make a half million dollars. Invested wisely and I’ll never have to work another day in my life.
See……plenty for everyone.
The catch is I need to promote and get myself out there so those 250,000 people will see my book and want to buy it. That’s the part that is a struggle (at least for me), so I thought I’d share with you some of the ways I’ve been successful in marketing my fiction.
Say what you want about Facebook but in my demographic (female 29 to 45) Facebook is THE place to be. The audience I’m trying to attract is on Facebook, and so that’s where I focus many of my marketing efforts. I participate in many authors and reader groups. I promote on my author page and my personal FB page though I try to keep the blatant promotion to a minimum and try for more interactive posts. Some things you can post on FB is to ask questions of your audience, answer questions, share things you like such as other authors or things relevant to what you write. The goal is to get people to interact and get to know you.
Fan club/street team
This is a big one that I did very well for years and then when I took a step back in 2014-2015 kind of dwindled. Totally my own fault. But I’m working to build it back up again because there are so many awesome things that a team of people who like your books and you and are more than willing to help you reach your success.
A fan club/street team can be beta readers, can give you feedback on promotions, help you execute promotions and be your cheerleaders when the author life gets rough.
If you want to join mine click here:)
Paid ads
Paid ads are kind of a slippery slope. Sometimes you can make a killing off a small ad investment and sometimes you can lose your shirt. Book Bub is probably the most successful, and one of the most expensive, ad services out there but from my own experience and what I’ve seen the best ROI. Free Booksy is one I use often. It’s much less expensive and while also not as successful as Book Bub it has so far always given me my money back and any new reader is worth it. Even if I just break even. There are several services out there just make sure to do your research and have realistic expectations.
I’d encourage you to look at it from an exposure aspect. To gain readers not cash.
Contests
This is a great way to build up you FB author page, your street team, your email list and create a fun atmosphere for your fans that will get them excited and talking about it to their friends. I just finished a cover voting contest where I promoted two different covers for my upcoming book and let my social media audience choose which they like better with hashtags. It created a buzz, and I picked up several new email subscribers. It was a no cost contest with a huge return. People like to have fun, and a contest gets them engaged.
Talking about your books
This one might seem simple and almost a duh thing but you’d be surprised (or maybe not) at how many authors don’t talk about their books out in everyday life. Be proud that you’re an author and tell people. When you’re sitting at a coffee shop working on your manuscript, and someone asks what you’re doing use it as an opportunity to tell them about your books, what they’re about, and how they can buy them. It might be hard at first, but you should be proud of what you’re working on. Even if it’s your first book, it’s never too early to start building a fan base.
I would love to hear from you how you’re promoting your books.
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