Let's Seal the Deal
Okay, sucky blog title but "The End" is so, blah. Not to mention it doesn't fit the metaphor I've got going on. *ahem* This post brings our Sell It September series to a close (pun intended because I doubt if it was obvious, so had to point it out).
To make things a bit easier to follow, below is a summary of what we covered this month.
Wearable Advertising—nothing says “buy me” like a simple graphic tee. A picture of the book cover with a clever, eye catching tag line and where someone can go to purchase, is all you need on the back of a tee shirt. Wear that shirt as often and to as many places as you can in order to spread the word about your book. Enlist a few friends and family members and have them wearing your book as well.
Car window decal—same as a tee shirt, having a simple vinyl decal made with the book title, release date, tag line, and website link, on your car window is a great way to get the word out about your book.
Be seen reading your book— be out and about with a physical copy of your book in hand, or better yet, open while you actively (pretend to) read it.
Niche down - or rather, get more specific about who you’re marketing to. You have a target audience or ideal reader (I hope); the person(s) you wrote the book for. Example - your ideal reader is between the ages of 15 & 35, identifies as female, and loves romantic comedies. Niche down even further to a 25 year old, female, who really enjoyed the "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" series of books and movies. Armed with this specificity, you can hone in on several key social media platforms, develop more appropriate IG reels, and TikTok shorts.
Pitch directly to the facilitators, leaders, organizers for groups that share your target audience. Instead of marketing to the reader directly, you’re now talking to the person responsible for scheduling, organizing, etc
Host your own event - there are so many ways to do online events now (that don’t start with a “Z”). You can go live on almost all the social media platforms for free, so it’s a matter of setting up the time, having the book ready for sale, then sending invitations to friends, family, acquaintances, ie. EVERYONE. The event doesn’t have to be extravagant or long. Take an hour and answer questions, play a game, do a reading from the book, offer a give away all the while making sure you point participants to how they can purchase your book.
Definitely helpful to develop a marketing plan, not just for your book(s) but for your other author like activities such as readings, signings, presentations, etc. You can go as simple as a wall calendar or fall down the planner rabbit hole and pick up a specific content or marketing themed planner. Whatever you use, plan out what methods you're going to use and when you're going to use them.
Because i know how hard it is to get the word (yes, another intended pun, just roll with it, lol) out about your book, I'm incorporating book reviews and author spotlights into my 2022 content. If you're a newly self-published author (first self-published book in 2020 or 2021), and would like to be featured on my YouTube channel and here on the blog, send an email to: nowatapress@gmail.com.
Include the title of your book, genre, and word count. Adult contemporary fiction titles are eligible for both book review and author spotlight posts, let me know if you prefer one over the other. I have slots open for (11) Author Spotlight's and (12) slots for book reviews. Offer to sign up closes October 31st.
That's a wrap friends. Hope you're well and looking forward to the new month! I'll see you back here next Wednesday for the kick off of spooky season and Prep-tober activities. (don't know what Prep-tober is? Definitely stay tuned!)
Sending love & inspiration,
Dana