Success in self-publishing is determined by a variety of factors. The biggest struggle first-time authors have to overcome is finding the most effective way to spread the word about their brand new ebook. Fortunately, with the help of useful strategies and impactful promotional actions young writers can make a name for themselves, even in today’s highly competitive world of self-publishing. Read on to find out the most creative ebook marketing techniques.
1. Consistent online presence
Marketing your book starts before you begin writing chapter one. First and foremost, you should have a compelling website, together with active social media profiles. Investing time, money and energy in your personal brand is a great marketing strategy to begin with. This way, you can network with your audience, talk your book up on social media and create anticipation in advance, way before the book launch.
2. Offline branding
Although the world of business changes rapidly, some things will always stay the same. One of them is the importance of positive word-of-mouth. To boost your chances at being noticed and to work on positive WOM at the same time, ask to be interviewed by local papers or radio. You can also take part in some local morning shows. Depending on your audience, organize book readings in coffee shops, community centres, schools, churches, hospitals, local bookstores and libraries.
3. The deadline
On release day, offer some perks to your social media followers and send a newsletter announcing the launch of your brand-new digital brainchild. Organize special promotions, make creative giveaways, and run relevant contests to spark interest and boost sales. At the same time, do remember to remind the people that this is a limited-time offer.
4. The importance of freebies
Everyone likes to get something for free once in a while. A great idea is to allow your readers to download a chapter of your ebook completely free of charge. Offering a freebie at launch creates much desired buzz and makes it more likely that you will get more reviews early on. One important thing to have in mind, though, is to provide the free content which has the value in itself. It shouldn’t be just a summary of your ebook.
5. Social media engagement
There are numerous ways to spread the word about your book on social media. Many authors use Facebook, but it is worth to turn your attention to Twitter and Pinterest as well. On Twitter, add the most applicable hashtag, which will be used any time someone mentions your book. Also, enable Pay With a Tweet option and offer a free chapter in exchange for a tweet promoting the book. On Pinterest, create a compelling board featuring covers, illustrations and fan art. An aesthetic moodboard guarantees more pins and likes, thus ensuring effortless promotion.
6. Reviews
Somewhere along the way you will notice that having a number of readers’ reviews is not enough to attract more potential buyers. Therefore, it is recommended to secure reviews from respected online and offline media. In order to do so, distribute some ‘review copies’ among popular bloggers and influential critics. Be careful though, as unprotected e-books often fall victim to notorious copyright violations. Use NetGalley to enable your prospective reviewers to download a PDF or an ePub file in a secure way.
Do not hesitate to implement all six strategies into your promotional plan, as only a consistent, well-thought-out strategy can bring spectacular results.
Tess Pajaron is a Community Manager at Open Colleges, an online learning provider based in Sydney, Australia. She has a background in Business Administration and Management.
Leave a Reply