Three digital book marketing strategies

And one thing to avoid (or at least, be wary of)

What motivates you to write? Writers tell me, “I’m not expecting it to be a best-seller or anything, but…”

They want to tell their story, share their advice, offer their wisdom on a topic. And though they say they don’t expect it to be wildly successful, they kind of hope that will happen. As if notoriety happens just accidentally, without a lot of marketing and effort and advertising.

Your book’s success depends on a few things:

• Excellent writing

• A great idea with high reader appeal

• Writing your book for a specific audience and knowing how to connect with that audience

• Luck

• A ton of marketing (digital marketing, speaking, going on podcasts, etc.)

• Getting recommendations and reviews

• More luck

The good news is, if you have access to the Internet, you can potentially connect with your audience and tell them about your book. Today I want to share three simple digital marketing strategies. But I also want to caution you about one thing you should maybe not do (but might be tempted to do) to market your book, whether it is self-published or traditionally published. These are simple steps that will help you to be ready when the luck happens, so to speak.

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/

Here are three simple ways to market your book:

1. Create a newsletter (maybe here on Substack) where you talk about the topic of your book, be it parenting, gardening, spiritual growth, or cozy mysteries. Publish consistently, and offer helpful content that isn’t always selling. Include a link to your book’s amazon or other online selling pages, but don’t be pushy. Offer readers something of value. You can even share short lists of helpful tips from your book, then say “for more strategies, order a copy of _____ (book title) today.” (If you’ve already got a newsletter here on Substack, leave comment so folks from this newsletter community can subscribe!)

2. Create a lead magnet. This is a short article, a sample chapter from your book, a checklist, a devotional, or some downloadable resource that readers can get if they subscribe to your newsletter. Offering a sample chapter of your novel, for example, is especially great if the first chapter ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. Include a “read the rest” link to a page where they can buy your book.

3. Ask for reviews. Reach out to people who are active on Goodreads, or like to write Amazon reviews, or have told you they enjoyed your book. Reach out to other newsletter writers and ask them to review your book. Ask folks in your target audience if they’d write a review if you give them an electronic copy of your book. When they do post a review, pull the best sentences from a couple of them, and put them on your website or in your newsletter.

Photo by Mikael Blomkvist: https://www.pexels.com/

While these are just the tip of the massive marketing iceberg, many authors skip these basic strategies. Give your audience some free, useful content, then ask them to help you by buying or recommending or reviewing.

Now for the strategy that one should approach with utmost caution.

All over the Interwebs, you can find literary contests, writing contests, various “awards.”

Authors can submit a manuscript, often for a fee, to enter said contests. They may seem like a way to market your book, to get attention and positive press.

Be very, very, careful here, my writer friends. We write because we have wisdom or stories we want to share—but if we are honest, we want recognition and validation. I know this from personal experience. But many literary award contests prey upon that desire for accolades. Some contests are legit, but some “literary awards” are just a way for someone (not the writer) to make money. Or they’re a way to find customers for an editing or manuscript review service, or a vanity publishing scam.

Some authors think winning a contest, and being able to then call themselves an “award winning author” will somehow help them sell books or get a publishing deal. That is not necessarily so, especially if the contest is not a reputable one.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich: https://www.pexels.com/

I highly recommend the Writer Beware blog, which exists to alert writers on publishing scams and other nefarious behavior within the writing and publishing world. Here’s an article from Writer Beware on literary contests that offers much more detail on what to look for and how to determine if a contest is worth entering.

Do your homework before entering a literary contest or award competition. At the very least, google “Is [contest name] legit” or “is [contest name] a scam” to see if you can find any online warnings.

I get it: the allure of having “award-winning author” in front of your name can be tempting. Sometimes, they are worthwhile. But sometimes, rather than paying contest entry fees, it might be smarter to invest your time into marketing your book by sharing your message via newsletters, lead magnets, and reviews.

How about you, Powerful Story writers? What has been your experience with marketing your books or other writing? What’s been your experience with contests and awards? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

P.S. Still working on your book? Need some direction? Not sure of your next step? Contact me for a free publishing consultation.