Marketing for self published books

Depending on your goals for your book, self publishing can get you more customers, free publicity, and establish you as an expert in your niche. Self published authors dont have the resources of large, or even small, publishers. Avoid the most common book marketing blunders made by self publishing authors. Publishing after writing a book is just the beginning. Top 10 selfpublishing companies for firsttime authors. Moreover, smith publicity is widely credited with pushing the credibility of selfpublished books authors to new levels. This marketer is working on dozens of titles at any one time. If you want your self published book to sell, a marketing plan is a must.

Cnet s david carnoy discusses the ins and outs of what its all about. Heres a solid, stepbystep strategy to generate more. Marketing is the one aspect authors, again and again, lament. Marketing your book for selfpublishers and indie authors. Authors of selfpublished childrens books, in particular, have their marketing work cut out for them. Book marketing for selfpublished authors marketing takes planning, organization, and consistent action. Contact us and discover how we make indie authors newsworthy. Our xlibris marketing consultants can advise you on which of our huge range of marketing services best fits your genre, personal goals, and marketing needs. Most books, even good ones, will languish, invisible among millions of available titles, unless you do something to make them stand out and become visiblediscoverableto some target audience. Self published book marketing for authors smith publicity. Book marketing consultant tim grahl defines your platform as whatever plan and methods you use to connect with readers and sell books. With amazon advertising, you can create custom ads for readers likely to be interested in books like yours. Running ads for your kdp books can help you reach new customers. One other key thing to note, when selfpublishing books on amazon you dont have to write long books that can be timeconsuming and laborintensive.

But if its your goal to reach readers other than friends and family, then self promotion is a must. Topics include facebook ads, mailing lists, free promotions, bookbub, video marketing and one crucial design mistake. Smith publicity has promoted more selfpublished books than any book publicity agency. As a first time, self published to be author, youre cautious as to which self publishing companies to go for. Metadata is the piece of information that will differentiate your ebook from the rest and definitely should be part of your book marketing strategies. In this post, well discuss top digital marketing strategies to include in your book marketing plan. Advertisements if you are building an email list, services such as mailchimp are only free for a very small number of contacts. Before you publish a book or before you even start writing it. Book marketing and promotion for selfpublishers diggypod. How i sold over half a million booksmy self publishing story and my top tips for success i am so excited to be talking about this today, because i know a. Just like learning to write well and honing your craft, marketing also takes education and preparation but iuniverse is here to help. Books marketing and promotion authoramp is an uk based book pr agency that has years of experience in promoting books, managing book marketing campaigns, promoting books online and is the best among other book promotion companies. Today, this self publishing company has helped over 5,000 students from more than 65 countries self publish their books to bestseller status with programs offering 1on1 coaching, full education material from the process of starting your book, to a marketing plan, to a stepbystep guide to self publish your book on amazon with inside tips to.

How i sold over half a million books selfpublishing youtube. Some other ways to market suggested here may appear unnecessary. Unparalleled client communication, weekly written updates reputation. This is true for traditionally published authors as well as those who are self publishing. While nothing works like a secret weapon, there are things insiders use to effectively generate and maintain buzz. Ive seen firsthand that a strong grounding in online book marketing makes a decisive difference to any book s ability to succeed in the market. Until you know how to market your books, dont pay for a book marketing service. Nor do they have the marketing networks that every publisher relies on to create buzz for upcoming books.

You will notice that while uploading a book to a publishing platform you will be asked for details like the book s title, book s author, book description, genre, etc. For you to have the best experience on, we recommend using the current versions of firefox, chrome, safari, or upgrading to internet explorer 11 or higher. If you are self publishing, you are going to have to do all that work yourself. The ultimate guide to amazon self publishing everything you ever wanted to know about how to self publish a book on amazon, plus tips for actually selling your book. Successfully marketing selfpublished books will work if get the basics right. Self publish ebooks and paperbacks for free with kindle direct publishing, and reach millions of readers on amazon. The hardest task faced by self published authors is promotion. As the book marketing landscape continues to change, many authors struggle to adapt. You need to know what kind of promotion works best for your genre to maximize sales potential. Heres some key stuff to take care of before you publish. For many self published authors, book marketing can be intimidating. Yes, its common sense, but if youre going to self publish a book, you need a website to spread the word and keep the conversation going. The ultimate book marketing timeline for indie authors.

In a traditional publishing house, each book is assigned a marketing manager or marketing director. This builds your authority and creates more revenue for. Ebooks themselves make up close to 40% of all books sold, and in 2018 they are set to outsell print books in the us. Self published authors can create and post content and videos and share them on social media. Marketing a book is a complex part of the overall publishing process and takes proper planning. Written, edited a dozen times, proofread and formatted. You can use them to market and promote your book, too. Writers digest hosts the 28th annual self published competitionthe annual selfpublished book awards. If you are serious about wanting to prepare and promote your book, whether self published or published with a small press, you will have to pay at some stage for certain services. Target by keywords and products to show your ads on search and detail pages to relevant shoppers. Promotions for these titles have to appeal to two distinct groups. How to create a book marketing and publicity campaign. You need a great story, a fantastic cover and a book description to hook readers.

Megalist of free promotional sites for selfpublished books. Get 20 effective book marketing tips and tactics that will help you sell more books and make more money as a selfpublishing author. Now, your prepublication job is to enhance its discoverability. Book marketing and selfpromotion resources iuniverse. Creating a book marketing and publicity plan is necessary for all authors, whether your publisher is a traditional house or youre trying to self publish. Five simple ways to promote your selfpublished book. You will notice that while uploading a book to a publishing platform you will be asked for details like the book s title, book s author, book.

Follow the wise and considered words of advice from irish indie author orna ross, founderdirector of the alliance of independent authors alli, in her post selfpublishers. Now its ready to submit to self publishing websites. Theres a big difference between making your own book and marketing it. Marketing selfpublished books explained in 9 basic steps. Authors who set up some personal market tactics to execute, whether standalone efforts or those in tandem with their publisher, sell more copies. If this all seems like too much bother to take on yourself, dont rush to hire someone to do it for you. I am a writer and i am in the process of editing my book for self publishing. It can be the beginning of a larger process, such as a product launch or a marketing funnel. For selfpublished books, some or all of the traditional book marketing functions may be made available from a selfpublishing service or from other book publishing consultants at a cost. The author writes childrens books and has been an independent publisher as well as a. Self published books now account for 30% to 40% of ebook sales. With so many book marketing strategies available to promote your book, its easy to get overwhelmed and have difficulty determining what to do and when to do it to give your book the best chance. All you need to know about amazon algorithms free course learn to pick the right keywords and metadata, and get amazon to do most of your marketing for you. You can start off by writing shorter books that are very focused on a singular topic and charge a lower price for those books.

Over 3,500 books promoted, from new york times bestsellers released by major publishers to first time, self published titles. Well help you learn how to market a selfpublished book with these basic tips. I studied extensively for two years self publishing and editing. Before your book launch, you need a book marketing plan.

Whether youre a professional writer, a parttime freelancer or a self starting student, heres your chance to enter the premier self published competition exclusively for self published books. Publishing takes less than 5 minutes and your book appears on kindle stores worldwide within 2448 hours. Still, stories of booksespecially selfpublished bookssucceeding without any marketing, are rare. Here are 9 uncommon tips that ive used to turn my books into bestsellers. Check out these tips and discover how to promote your book successfully. When it comes to book marketing and promotion, todays author has so many options. From many years agowhen we became the very first book marketing company to secure a full page feature story about a selfpublished novel in the new york times. We notice you are using a browser version that we do not support. The smith publicity name and reputation open doors to media media contacts. Include hotlinks in the back matter of each of your selfpublished ebooks. I graduated from an accredited on line school for creative writing.

Book marketing for authors self publishing through amazon and other retailers is a businessfinance selfhelp book written by alinka rutkowska. Strategizing about book marketing holds little importance for authors going through a traditional book publisher. The book marketing services at outskirts press help authors promote highquality books with exceptional book marketing services. How to market selfpublished books in the digital world.