In typical January fashion, various outlets have been doing year-end assessments of the book market—sales for the prior year and what to watch for in the coming year. Several point to a “soft” market for nonfiction: While fiction sales were up in 2025, nonfiction sales were down.
Publishers and readers appear to be looking for something more from nonfiction—more than a quick how-to, more depth, more nuance, more meaning. If your book is deeper nonfiction—idea-driven, expert-led, or memoir-with-argument—you may be in a stronger position than some authors. And your marketing will likely work best if it reflects the depth of your book.
Urgent, “loud” marketing tends to align with shorter attention spans and easy summaries—which might be perfect for quick how-to books. But books that reward sustained attention need “quieter” marketing—marketing that emphasizes trust and emotional resonance and that builds a case over time.
Here are four “quiet” marketing strategies that can be effective for thoughtful books.
Strategy 1: Provide context rather than promotion
You may have heard the guideline for social media that of every ten posts about your book only one should be promotional. Whether the ratio is right or not, I’d double down on that concept. Instead of promoting your book as “For Sale,” talk about the ideas in it.
Link your book to the events of the day, current business issues, or challenging situations people face. Discuss how one of your ideas applies and how it helps, or explain how we got where we are and where we can go now.
Potential readers often engage with ideas before engaging with a specific book. By demonstrating your depth of understanding, you give them the chance to know you and your thinking. The book is still there, but in the background.
Strategy 2: Reuse the thinking as well as the content
I regularly suggest repurposing book content. Now take it a step further and reuse the thinking as well.
For instance, repurposing content might look like taking a portion of a chapter and shaping it into a blog post, or turning a diagram into a social media graphic.
By contrast, reusing thinking might include taking a concept you covered briefly in your book and expanding it into an article for a professional journal, or developing a new case study that illustrates the processes described in your book.
In my experience, authors often have content they wanted to put in the book but didn’t have room for. Here’s your chance to share it in service of spreading your ideas and leading people to your book.
Strategy 3: Develop a go-to location for ongoing thought
As you reuse and expand your thinking on your book’s subject matter, have one place where that thinking lives. This builds the trust needed for readers to buy your book; after they do, it continues to develop the reader-author relationship.
For me, a website is one of the best options because it is “owned” real estate, unlike social media platforms that can change the algorithm or lock you out of your account. Adding a newsletter attracts interested readers, and when someone provides their email address, you have permission to stay in direct contact with them.
That said, AI is reducing traffic to websites and search optimization is becoming trickier. So it’s worth considering blog/newsletter platforms like Substack and Medium for their built-in discoverability. However, anticipate evolving platform incentives, and have a backup plan for porting content and contacts if you need to move.
Strategy 4: Focus on marketing depth, not just marketing reach
Marketing reach—visibility to large numbers of people—is important, but for substantive books, marketing depth may be just as important. This is especially true for authors who are using their books to support other aspects of their business (consulting, speaking, etc.).
Marketing reach strategies might include being a guest on as many podcasts as possible and posting on numerous social platforms.
Marketing depth strategies, by contrast, might include being a repeat guest on fewer podcasts so the audience becomes familiar with you, and narrowing the number of social platforms you use so each gets more regular content.
You don’t need an endless supply of new readers or clients. You do need readers who engage with your work and recommend it; word of mouth is still one of the best ways to sell.
Make your marketing as thoughtful as your book
In the current nonfiction market, readers are responding to thoughtful, substantive books. “Quiet” marketing supports these qualities by making space for ideas to unfold.
When you build trust through meaningful context and strong thinking, the right readers can see that your book is worth their attention.
Need help developing your book into something substantive? Get in touch at karin@clearsightbooks.com, and we’ll see if I can help.