This month I have two cool book marketing tools I want to share. They are easy to use and—bonus—free! To be honest, marketing is not usually my favorite thing, but these make it practically enjoyable. Fun even… (Thanks to Tina Larsson of The Folson Group for letting me show off these tools with her newly […]
How to Sell Your Book on Consignment
Many indie (self-published) authors focus on online sales, bypassing brick-and-mortar bookstores. It can be easier and cheaper to reach readers directly using social media, targeted ads, and emails than to make the marketing effort needed to get into bookstores. And, you can maintain higher margins with an online strategy. But it sure would be nice […]
Amazon Author Central: Grow Your Audienc...
Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce search engine. On it, you can find anything(!) and even test possible search terms for your book. But did you know Amazon also offers some of the benefits of social media? If you’re an author, Amazon Author Central is a free marketing tool you should take advantage of. What […]
Three Smart Strategies for Your Nonficti...
Three Smart Strategies for Your Nonfiction Book Series Writing a book is like running a marathon. Some of us finish the first one and immediately want to run another to clock a better time. Then there are those of us who say, “Checked THAT off my bucket list—never again!” And then there are the folks […]
Book Endorsements: Who to Ask & How to D
Good reviews are a form of social proof—they demonstrate that people like, appreciate, or respect your book and would encourage others to read it. In other words, they increase potential buyers’ comfort level with purchasing the book. Book endorsements are similar to reviews in that they offer social proof, but while reviews can come from […]
Pre-orders on KDP and IngramSpark
Original article February 24, 2022; last updated May 13, 2022. When planning your book launch, one consideration is whether to make your book available for pre-order, which simply means that readers can order your book prior to its publication date. In this article, we’ll discuss why you might want to do pre-orders (or not), and […]
Reader Personas: Know Your Audience
Pre-social distancing, I had dinner with Hilary Davidson, author of Dress in the Age of Jane Austen, before she spoke to the North Carolina Region of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). Her book is a beautiful work, replete with full-color illustrations of Regency Era dress and robust descriptions of the clothes and […]
Beyond the Expected: 4 Surprising Benefi...
Business professionals considering writing a book tend to cite familiar rationales: to gain increased credibility and authority, a stronger speaking platform, or a valuable marketing tool. After publication, those perks often arrive—but sometimes the unexpected bonus shows up. Stephanie Scotti is the author of Talk on Water: Attaining the Mindset for Powerhouse Presentations. Since publishing […]
Position Your Book for Top Billing on th...
This two-part series looks at how to position your book for top billing online. In Part 1, we looked at front-of-house elements that make your book appealing to your audience: cover design, title, description. In Part 2, we cover the behind-the-scenes elements that make your book findable: metadata. You’re at a Broadway show. In the […]
Position Your Book for Top Billing on th...
You’ve written your book; it’s been edited by a professional. Your beta readers loved it. It’s finally time to send your baby out into the world. Whether you’re publishing in the Amazon ecosystem or going broader, make sure you’ve considered both front-of-house and behind-the-scenes essentials of indie publishing. In this two-part series we will look […]
Why You Should Give Your Book Away (for ...
In a recent discussion about writing books and using them as marketing tools, one participant asked, “Why should I give away my intellectual property?” After all, he argued, writing and publishing a book requires a significant investment of time, energy, and money—not to mention the hard-won professional experience behind it all. Indeed. On the whole, […]
Book Marketing? First, Answer These 4 St...
Grow your social media following. Give away free copies. Become a guest blogger. The number of possible book marketing tactics is overwhelming. Online articles can convince you to pursue tactics that ultimately don’t support your business goals or strategy. Take a step back and think about what marketing is intended to do. Marketing helps: make […]