There's no doubt that an author's job is to write but in today's literary landscape where self-publishing is prevalent, an author also has to be the marketer of his/her book. And many of them don't have a proper idea about marketing their book. So, let us break down some important and simple aspects of social media book marketing:
The thing that comes first is Social Media Marketing
Creating a proper presence on social media and engaging your audience
The most important thing in creating an online presence is creating content. Now comes the question, what type of content should we create? The answer is you can create multiple types of content like sharing things about your writing life, relatable content, etc. But there are 3 types of content that can give you an exact idea of what to do:
Content related to the book: If you're asking people to read your book, you should give them reasons to do so. Share quotes from the book, an interesting scene, or dialogue, or introduce a character. Basically, anything that can pique their curiosity, or maybe something else that you think can make people want to read the book. And no one knows the strong points of your book better than you.
Personal content: If you use social media you must've seen how people post simple things about their lives, behind the scenes are also quite popular. The benefit that can be achieved from this type of content is that people relate with you. Under this category, you can share your pictures, some ridiculous writing habits, your writing space, etc.
Free content: This includes content like inspirational/relatable quotes, poetry, videos, beautiful sceneries, etc.
Now comes the question of what should be the Best time to post.
This highly depends upon the time when your followers are most active. You can find it by going to Professional Dashboard > Followers > Most active times
You should also focus on interacting with the audience via comments and messages.
Comments per day: 10
Messages per day: 25 - 30
Tips to find the target audience for your book
Know the genre of your book and the books that are already popular in your genre.
Understand the age group that would be interested in reading your book.
Find out the bestsellers of your genre on e-commerce websites like Amazon or offline retail stores. Make a list of the top 5 books in your genre, and look up to social media and other marketing strategies of those authors.
Fans of famous books always actively engage on the social media accounts of the authors. You can connect with them by adding them to your friends or following list. Keep posting actively on your social media accounts to engage them.
Analyze what kind of content engages your audience and be versatile in posting content on your social media handles. Finally, share the posts related to your book and persuade the readers to buy your book. Offer a discount on special days on your book to boost the sales of your book.
5 ways to Build Trust in Potential Readers
Be authentic and genuine in your interactions with readers.
Be consistent in your message and follow through on your promises. This will help establish a level of trust with readers and demonstrate that your words have value.
Engage with readers on social media, forums, and other platforms. This will show potential readers that you are willing to answer any questions or concerns they may have.
Provide content that is of value to readers. Make sure the content is relevant and informative to your readers’ interests.
Offer rewards or discounts for readers This will encourage readers to continue to follow and trust your work.
Stop spamming your followers because it may help you sell a few copies of your book, but in the long run, it can be fatal. Instead, nurture valuable relationships with them by asking them questions, giving them free advice, and responding to their feedback.
Steps to market your book on LinkedIn
Fill out your profile: Add your industry, your current job title (this should be "Author"), skills, education, and summary. You can include relevant courses you took in college and any certifications or awards you have earned. This will take some time, but once you’ve filled it out, you’ll never need to do it again! All you’ll need to do is update it at least once a year.
Add each of your books in publications: A great way to promote your book on LinkedIn is to put your books in the 'publications' section. Include a short description of the book, and add a few short reviews from well-known magazines, people, editors, or authors (not just some random Amazon reviewer). You can add a link to a page on your website where viewers can purchase the book. Also, upload the image of the book cover and the book trailer. Additionally, you can link to a sample chapter of the book or a Q&A session about the book on your website.
Choose a good profile picture: Find or take a picture of yourself. Make it professional and friendly; what works best is a headshot of your smiling, well-groomed face.
Fill out the summary: Use first-person and a conversational tone. Try to use keywords that relate to what you do.
Accept New Connection Requests: Be sure to check your LinkedIn invitations at least once each week to accept new requests from people who want to connect with you. Use your best judgment, but also be willing to accept new people into your network. Often you will receive requests from readers, people who attended a presentation you gave, or people who are fellow members of a group you belong to. LinkedIn is a business network, so be willing to expand your horizons and accept most invitations readily.
Use Endorsements: LinkedIn has also added a feature called Endorsements, which allows people to easily click a button and “endorse” your skills and expertise. You can indicate the skills that you want to be known for by adding these when editing your profile. LinkedIn will automatically begin to ask your connections to endorse you. In return, you can also take time to pass along endorsements to those in your network. This takes very little effort, though these endorsements can add up and can help demonstrate your authority in your subject matter.
Join author groups on LinkedIn: Through these groups, you can talk to fellow authors to receive and offer advice or exchange books to beta read for each other.
Share Content: Though the news feed on LinkedIn isn’t nearly as active as the news feed on Facebook, people do pay attention. Many LinkedIn users subscribe to daily emails that summarize the activity of people in their networks. With this in mind, be sure to share content on LinkedIn several times each week, or even daily. This can include your new blog posts, event announcements, quick tips, and other content that your audience would find valuable.
Benefits of marketing your books on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional networking site that works best for advertising non-fiction books. There is nothing to prohibit you from advertising fiction books, but finding the right audience would be difficult. If your book is more business-focused, you will notice that LinkedIn works best for you, since it allows you to connect with new readers on a more professional platform. We recommend that, as an author, you should set up a LinkedIn profile.
Consistent Branding is also a very important part of social media marketing. Across all social media platforms and websites, you should use the same profile picture and same signature in all the signed copies of your book. Spend some time picking out a color palette, and use these colors on your social media posts. You can also choose some fonts and use them consistently.
The most important element of your brand identity is your voice. Your voice should show up in your author bio, your ad copy, your website, your newsletter, and your social media platforms. Having a consistent tone will help your audience feel like they know you.
While marketing your book through social media, being consistent is very important, and it will also help you develop a connection with your readers, and leave a lasting impact on them.
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