Catherine: You wrote your book and got it published! Now, sell it.
Not as easy as it sounds.
Even if you’re with a big publisher and have a marketing team supporting you, it’s a tad intimidating. But, with careful planning, I believe we can all be successful marketers. Here are just a few things that have worked for me:
Reach Out - Once you have an estimated date of publication, gather your potential endorsers and influencers. Contact your community in a personable and friendly manner, giving them an out if they cannot commit to helping you. For most of us in the publishing world, these are your friends anyway, and friends love helping friends.
Create a strong online presence – Create a professional-looking Author Page on Facebook, post often (but not too often), be interesting, share your author friends’ new releases too, don’t be all about ‘me’ and your books. Update your website with current information relevant to your new releases or publishing journey. GoodReads is a must for authors. Create Pinterest boards for your books – readers love these. Instagram is another great visual social media platform. Twitter and Google+ are other ways of connecting online. You may find ‘doing it all’ impossible – choose platforms where you see the best results and concentrate on those. When you do post about your book, be sure to include buy links. Use memes with a quote from the story, this is much better than just blasting the cover a hundred times.
Get Help! - Create a team of enthusiastic readers who will do all they can to help promote. I have a secret Facebook group for my dream team – this is a great way to develop friendships too – because it’s not just about selling your stuff – it’s about creating community. Sales will grow organically from your authenticity.
Guest Blogs & Interviews – Secure these ahead of time so the posts start to hit around launch time and beyond. You want your book to show up in as many places as possible.
Author Chat and/or Launch Parties (Facebook) – This is a fun way to connect with readers and talk about your books and upcoming releases. Use videos. Be available though, because once conversation gets going, you want to be in the middle of it! Offer a few giveaways over the course of the party. I’ve found the best time is afternoon into early evening – I’m on Eastern time so this also allows west coast peeps to participate.
Be Yourself – Whatever methods you choose, one thing I can’t stress enough is just be yourself. Be approachable, be upbeat, don’t fake it. If you’re struggling with something, don’t hide that. Authenticity is everything. Have fun with the marketing process, and remember at the end of the day, it really is God’s thing. And what a gift to be able to follow our dreams!
Even if you're unpublished, you're building a platform. What have you found to be the most intimidating or successful technique for marketing yourself or your book?
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Award-winning author Catherine West writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or reading books by her favorite authors. She and her husband have two grown children. Catherine’s novel, Bridge of Faith, won the 2015 Grace Award. Her new novel, The Things We Knew, releases July 12th, 2016, through Harper Collins Christian Publishing.
Catherine loves to connect with her readers and can be reached at Catherine@catherinejwest.com
Website – http://www.catherinejwest.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CatherineJWest
Twitter - https://twitter.com/cathwest
GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4715219.Catherine_West
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/cathwest/
Google + - https://plus.google.com/u/0/108781711729974539211/posts Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-West/e/B004RWZUHK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
