In case you missed it, Bookbub released a comprehensive list of marketing tips for your book. Being that Bookbub is, well, Bookbub it would behoove us to listen. Eight million subscribers can’t be wrong. Or they could be wrong, but we’d still better pay attention.
Here are the tips that John and I can verify work well. These are also not your standard tips. We hope you get some new ideas!
Tip 1: Survey your audience
Try using Google Forms for this. You could include a link to the survey from your newsletter or social media. You could also use Twitter polls or ask a question on Facebook, though that may be tough to get traction (unless you have a highly engaged social media following). Watch our tutorial on how to do this here!
Tip 4: Create a list of target keywords.
They make good suggestions here but also try Hashtagify.me and Keyhole. Take these keywords and try them out on your own social media and use them to target your ads. I wrote a number of posts about choosing good keywords for your book. Check it out.
Tip 5: Create an author website.
Every author needs an online home. And every home should be shiny clean for your visitors.
Tip 11: Customize your Bookbub Author Profile.
LOVE this one. Bookbub has great profile pages. See mine here. Don’t worry, any author can set up their page! You don’t need to have a book offer on Bookbub to make it. Get started here. The page they’ve designed is extremely search engine friendly so expect to see your Bookbub profile to appear at the top of search results for you and your books soon. They also allow readers to follow you. Then, when you release a book they’ll get an email from Bookbub (much like Amazon’s follow feature).
Tip 17: Unify cover designs in a series.
Your inner artist may not like this but it’s good advice. Why? Because it’s what book buyers like and expect. They associate the design with your series and it makes it easier for them to spot when they’re browsing.
Tip 18: Relaunch a book with a new cover.
This is like printing money. It may not be enough money to make back the cost of redesigning your cover, but it will help sales. Lindsay Buroker just tried this with great success.
Tip 30: Make books available internationally.
YES! We’re a big world. Many people speak your language. Don’t limit your audience. It’s just silly. Plus, having international sales will make Bookbub much more likely to accept your book for promotion.
Tip 32: Create a box set for stand-alones.
This is an interesting one. If you have books from a number of series in a similar genre and you think your audience would enjoy them all then bundle them! It’s a bit of a crap shoot because readers can be finicky about jumping from character to character or world to world, but it’s worth trying.
Tip 39: Create images for teasers and quotes.
Be careful here. We’ve all seen those awful images across the web that pass for marketing materials. There’s some horrid stuff out there. To avoid that, either hire a pro or use a service like Canva to hold your hand. Imagery is essential to selling. We’re visual animals. If you have good visuals for your book, use them. Often.
Tip 40: Make sure your book gets a Bookbub New Release alert.
Okay, Bookbub, will do! Remember to make your Bookbub Author Profile first.
Tip 66: Run a Google Adwords campaign.
Yup. I do this with great success every launch. Use the keywords you found in your research, craft some elegant text ads and set your own budget. It’s easier to do than you think. And Google has excellent support for Adwords. Should we do a post on this? Let us know in the comments.
Tip 67: Time your campaigns with current events.
You should always have your eye on the calendar for Super Bowls, Valentines Days, and the like. But also be aware that every day is a holiday in the US! There’s National Cream Puff Day, National Umbrella Day and many other embarrassing topics. See the list here. But also watch hashtag trends on Twitter to see if people are talking about your book’s topic.
Tip 87: Pre-schedule social media content.
I only have a limited amount of time to promote. To make the most of it I do what they suggest here. Sunday night or Monday morning before work I spend an hour posting (with images!) to FB and (mostly) Twitter. It lets me relax for the rest of the week. Use Hootsuite. It allows you to queue up your posts for most social media sites. And it’s free.
Tip 91: Print business cards to hand out at events.
Most of us do this, which is great. Most of us also don’t bring enough cards to the event, which is stupid.
Tip 93: Partner with relevant local organizations.
My best allies are in the libraries and schools! I’ve started to break into the local bookstore scene and have high hopes.
And here’s our own #99!
Tip 99: Use Square.
For those moments when you can sell a book on the spot, Square lets you take credit cards! You get the little swiper/chip device for free and they take a small percentage per sale. I bring mine with me everywhere.
Thanks for reading! Please share any tips you would have added to/subtracted from the Bookbub list in the Comments section below…
