The book market is tough to break into as a new author. With over one million books published each year, it is hard to get a solid footing and create a loyal audience. If you have a friend, family member, or even a colleague who has recently published a book, they face an uphill battle. Do you want to help them succeed? Here are a few sneaky ideas to help promote new books.
Be the first
Okay, this first one isn’t super sneaky, but it is helpful. On the release date, or during the pre-launch of the book, BUY IT! As well, see if you can get other friends and family to buy it too. The first day of sales dramatically affects the algorithm's success, which will later determine how popular the book becomes.
Talk about it in your book club
Are you a part of a book club, either in-person or virtual? A sneaky way to help promote a new book is to add the book to the book club's reading list. THEN, you can see if the author would be willing to do a drop-in. You can encourage members to buy and read the book before the drop-in so they can ask questions to the author! Author's will love the opportunity and the feedback on the book.
Spread the word through social media
We live in a world where people spend exorbitant amounts of time on social media, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19. You can use social media to help spread the word about a new book. Whether you are into Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or even LinkedIn, a brief shoutout can go a long way. However, if you really want to make an impact, we recommend these two!
Facebook Groups
There are literally thousands of Facebook groups solely dedicated to books, everything from romance to sci-fi to politics to historical time-traveling dogs (well…maybe not that one). If you are in a Facebook book group whose members are likely interested in the book you want to promote, recommend it to them. While you don't want to spam the feed, you can mention it when someone asks for a recommendation or a discussion about up and coming books.
TikTok "BookTok" Community
Have you heard of BookTok? It is a community of book lovers on TikTok. TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps for the younger generation, and this would be an excellent way to promote the book to this market. Again, don’t be spammy, but recommend it genuinely to those you believe would enjoy it.
Add it to your library
While selling or donating only one book to the library may not seem like a huge help, it has the potential to be. The library gives a book a lot of exposure, and the potential for an individual to fall in love with it. You might get lucky and have that one reader who checked out your book, absolutely fell in love with it, and ended up recommending or buying it for all of their friends. Plus, if the librarian adores your book, they will recommend it over and over again.
Digital Content Creators Can help
If you or someone you know is getting ready to publish a book, they will need help to launch it successfully. Here at Digital Content Creators, we help publishers and independent authors strategize their book launch to achieve maximum success.
Please book an appointment or contact us today for more information on how we can help you!
Helpful and energizing to think about these marketing tips.