+16096320350
Request a Consultation
Publishing is an ever-evolving landscape, one that’s quite unpredictable to be gauged. eBooks and audiobooks have taken over the printed versions as the way of the future; such advancements and innovations are always welcome. A recent Statista report states “revenue in the eBooks segment is projected to reach US$13.62bn in 2022. It is expected to progress at an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 3.38%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$16.08bn by 2027.” So, with bookshelves, online stores, and libraries flooded with plenty of Books, how do you get the deserving spotlight?
Books don’t sell themselves, especially when readers aren’t bound to go to bookstores physically—you must know how to market them and grab the spotlight.
Fortunately, there’s e-commerce as well as eBooks. In the top company revenues for the year 2021, Amazon commands 469.80 billion USD, followed by Apple (365.80 billion USD) and Alphabet (257.60 billion USD). (Source: Statista) Hence, these must be on your radar as primary eBook selling outlets. You need to establish a solid marketing strategy to get noticed by the readers, whether your book is print, digital, or both. Here are the dos and don’ts.
Promote First Then Publish
Cold Calling to the Rescue
Get Content Marketing Support
Build Your Own Online Real Estate
We first tend to develop a brand, and build a website, followed by the endless fuss over the jacket design to last-minute details and final touch-ups—these are the general steps authors usually jump to when it comes to selling a book. Though these are important steps, they’ll be of no use if the book doesn’t circulate. So, promoting early helps with priming the engine. Therefore, it is better to do the hard part first: promote, and then publish.
Besides, reaching out to professionals for eBook consulting is always a nice idea to help you create aesthetically pleasing and content-enriched end products.
Some old-fashioned cold calling works in favor of getting the book out there. Apart from book reviewers, influencers, and relevant bloggers, your targets should include key people from communities or industries connected to the audience. As a writer/self-publisher, it is better to be prepared to reach out to them, repeatedly (if required), as well as face a lot of rejections. Before clocking out, send as many groveling emails and make calls per day as possible.
Giving away copies of your book is a good-to-go option if you want people to be willing to read your book. It’s just labor that can be penciled in as a critical part of the marketing strategy.
If people are interested in what you say, they’ll more likely care about what’s in your book—so start blogging to crack those knuckles. Apart from the articles and blog posts, creating vlogs, podcasts, webinars, or white papers is a commendable practice for content promotion. Remember, all the free content produced is a vital aspect of marketing.
Posting useful links to other sites, creating your own social media posts, responding to followers, or publishing an article within two to three days is also a great practice. Though this might be sounding like a lot of work, you’ll never run out of ideas if you do it dedicatedly.
Having your website is like an anchor in digital space. Remember that the social media platforms are someone else’s real estate. Their rules can change anytime, and when this is done, it will disrupt your income stream. Hence, housing your entire presence around social media is not recommended.
Given the rise of ephemeral content, most social media material is fleeting. Social media can be used to engage the following, but not as the primary marketing or brand presence. Directing this social media traffic to personal websites and collecting email addresses is critical to having a direct line with the target audience.
Having a personal website is like controlling the narrative— the brand presence, the look and feel, and most importantly, the message. It is the place where press releases, blog posts, and professional headshots are kept safe.
Don’t forget that people are hungry to read new material, now more than ever. There’s a lot more to be done, but following these steps surely helps you gain momentum.
Final Words
Apart from the marketing hacks, it is the end product that ultimately grabs the readers’ delight and confidence as well as helps you carve a unique niche for yourself as a writer/publisher in the industry. This is where professional eBook formatting services help you out—they bring in expertise and skills to create delightful end products. In short, you automatically climb up the ladder if the reader finds your book enticing!
