Every author is obsessed with book marketing, and for good reasons. They worked hard on their book, and probably invested thousands of dollars getting it published.
So why isn’t anybody reading it? How do you get more book reviews? How come every time you pay for book promotion, you don’t don’t actually sell any copies. Is it all a scam?
What about those self-publishing authors who made millions during the self-publishing gold rush? Well, the truth is, you can’t just throw up a book and compete against the millions of other titles.
And most “book marketing” is thinly-veiled spam or self-promotion.
Here are three simple, infallible rules to book marketing.
#1, you don’t need more visibility.
Seriously, most likely, your book cover sucks. Before you do any promotion, hire a professional book cover designer to make something not only beautiful, but also on-target for your genre or audience. This is going to make the BIGGEST difference, so don’t skip this step! Every promotion or ad you run will depend on conversion, and the cover is the first step – if the cover fails, nothing else matters.
#2, not all views are the same.
Avoid those “million person book blasts” or massive email lists, they won’t work. Don’t assume getting a view will sell books. The truth is, you probably have no idea who your audience is, because you aren’t thinking about them. You’re only thinking about you and your book. You’re asking them to buy now, but not telling them what’s in it for them.
You need to get really clear on what YOUR audience wants, and communicate to them in a way that positions your book as a must-read.
Book Marketing is a Waste of Time:
A few years ago I wrote a book called “book marketing is dead” it’s free on Amazon or you can download it from my site, creativindie.com.
But it’s basically about what NOT to do. Here’s a video talking about the biggest book marketing fails and mistakes most authors make:
I recently updated it with this video:
Book Marketing Mistakes You’ll Regret:
But avoiding the mistakes is just the beginning. If you’re looking for some advanced book marketing tips, grab my book Guerrilla Publishing.
I also have some additional book marketing resources on my main blog.
Four simple steps to book marketing success
