How to Market Your Book in Four Easy Steps (Part 2)
by Christina Kaye @topshelfedits
Find part one here. And now the final two steps for marketing your book: building a website and participating in interviews:
Build a Website
This is crucial. You have to have
real estate on the internet where readers can find you and your books. It’s not
enough that they’re listed on Amazon. People, when they start hearing about you
and your book, will naturally become curious. Then, they’ll Google you. Trust
me. They will. And if they look you up online and find nothing aside from your
Amazon or Goodreads listing, they’ll subconsciously think you must not care
enough about your brand and your books to have a place for them to learn more
about you. Websites nowadays are simple to create by yourself. You can use
WordPress, Wix, SquareSpace, or many other website design sites to create and
host your website for as low as $10-$15 per month. It’s so well worth it. Make
sure your website has the following pages: “About the Author,” “Books,” and
“Contact Me.” It’s also a good idea to start a blog and have that be another
page on your website. Blogging can build your following and your tribe and be a
perfect avenue to not just sell your books but also engage with readers.
Bonus Tip: If you are too
intimidated with the thought of creating a website yourself, you can hire a pro
for a bit more money, but you’ll get a totally cool, professionally made site
custom designed for you. Nicole Tuxbury of Love, Live, Hustle created and hosts
my website for a very decent rate. Reach out to her through her website
Media Interviews
Another great way to get the word
out about your book is to find mediums where you can be interviewed and discuss
your book in the process. It’s easier than you might think to secure interviews
in the media, especially local media in your hometown. Media outlets are always
eager to feature local residents who have accomplished something big, usually
in a community type forum or article. When my first book was published in 2017
(my award-winning novel LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER), I literally emailed every
news station and newspaper in my local area. I told them briefly about myself
and my upcoming book release and offered to do an interview with them. I told
them how I was certain readers and viewers would be interested in hearing about
a fellow resident who published a book. And sure enough, I had interviews
published in three local papers, including one Page One article, and I was
interviewed by the local NBC affiliate reporters in my hometown of nearly half
a million people. The month those media spotlights went live, I saw a huge
spike in book sales. Another medium for interviews that is increasingly popular
these days is podcasts. Look up on your podcast app several book-related shows,
find out who hosts the show, and email them, offering yourself up for an
interview. A lot of podcasts features regular guest hosts and interviews, and
many love to interview up and coming authors. Whichever medium you choose to
pursue, it might be a good idea to create a press release which includes a
picture of your book cover, your release date, ISBN, and a brief blurb about
your book as well as your own picture and short biography. This can look more
professional and might increase your odds of securing interviews.
Bonus Tip: I often interview
authors on my growing, popular podcast WRITE YOUR BEST BOOK, and I do accept submissions
for interviews, though I’m pretty booked for 2020. If you’d like to be
considered for an interview or even a book plug on my podcast, email me at
info@topshelfedits.com
and
simply ask.
Again, these are not the only
ways to market your book. That’s why entire books are written on this topic.
But these, in my opinion, are some of the most important things every author
must nail down first if they want to sell their books.
I hope this has been helpful, but
no matter what you do to market your book, remember that the first step is to
write an incredible book that is well-written, clean, polished, and edited with
a great cover and compelling blurb. If your book is not edited and you haven’t
really taken the time to make sure your book is really, really ready for
publication, none of these tactics will make much difference. The biggest and
most important advice I can share with you is to take your time, learn all you
can about the craft of writing, and write your very best book. Then, you can
focus on these and other tips on marketing your beautiful book baby.
4 Steps to Market Your Book (by @topshelfedits ):
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About the author
Christina Kaye is an award-winning author, editor, and writing coach. She’s the Founder and CEO of Top Shelf Editing and the host of the weekly podcast for authors, Write Your Best Book, which is available on iTunes, Spotify, and her website www.topshelfedits.com. She teaches creative writing courses at the university level and teaches digital courses on many topics relating to writing, publishing, and marketing books. She lives in Kentucky with her two adult daughters, two rowdy pups, and a very fat cat.
To work with Christina and Top Shelf Editing, or to ask her
advice on anything related to writing your best book, reach out to her any of
the following ways:
Email: info@topshelfedits.com
Instagram: @topshelfediting
Twitter: @topshelfedits
Facebook: Christina Kaye
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