Marketing your book
Self-publishing your book with us means your book stays entirely yours. We help you design it and make it available as a print-on-demand title to a global network of retailers. But you own the ideas, the content, the design, and you own the marketing. That's why you keep 100% of your royalties.
Saying that, we have watched thousands of authors over a couple of decades try all sorts of things. So by now, we have a pretty decent handle on what tends to work and what doesn't. On that basis, we thought we'd share a few of our thoughts.
Use your existing contacts and mailing list
For many non-fiction authors this one is particularly key. If you have penned a book on a specialist subject you will naturally have more contacts in this field than any generic "book marketing firm" will ever have. Chances are you will therefore have email or postal details for lots of your key readers. So use these wisely, once, when the book is done. If you already have a mailing list or newsletter that's even better, these are people who have actually asked to hear from you.
Compile an advertising flyer for your title to post out or attach and send round. And if you need something eye-catching to send, ask us for help creating the design.
Book launch, conference or events
An in-person book launch or book signing is always a great way to get word around about your title. Make sure you take plenty of copies of your book with you on the day to sell directly. Or perhaps you'll be attending other events or conferences on your specialist topic, in which case a few flyers or cards to hand out to those who show interest are pretty key.
For specialist non-fiction in particular, these can be exactly the people you want to reach. Fifty interested people at the right conference may be far more useful than thousands of random people seeing an advert somewhere.
Social media
Any social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or other platforms is a brilliant way to drum up interest for your new title. A little launch image of your book, perhaps as a 3D cover, can really catch people's eye. And importantly, you can provide direct links here to the sites where your book is available for sale.
We can also help by creating book promo images, flyers and social media graphics, along with other digital assets that make it easier to show off your book online.
Reviews and early readers
Think about who might be good to read your book early on, and then talk about it. This could be people working in your field, existing clients, bloggers, other authors or anyone whose opinion is likely to really mean something to your particular readers.
A few genuine reviews or recommendations can be incredibly useful when a book is brand new and nobody has heard of it yet. You'll very likely also get a lovely quote that you can use on your website or in other promotional material.
We're often asked to prepare a separate version of the book specifically for these early readers. An ePDF is often ideal for this as you can send it straight out without printing anything at all. If you do want printed advance copies, we can prepare a separate version for those too. Sometimes that's the full book with a watermark, sometimes it's only a selected section or sample. It gives you something specifically prepared for sharing before the finished edition is properly on sale.
PR company
There are a number of specific book marketing PR firms out there. They typically write good mailshots and potentially even get your book mentioned across a range of media like radio, newspapers and magazines.
From experience, we've found this tends to be most cost-effective for those writing fiction. Non-fiction texts tend to be aimed at a much more focused audience where you, as the author, are far more likely to have the most useful connections.
There isn't one right way to market a book. The author of a non-fiction title might find heaps of potential readers buried in their existing contact lists. A novel might get great exposure by a PR firm. A children's book might strike the perfect chord on social media. Really, it's always just about thinking where the people who might actually want your book are likely to be.
We don't offer book marketing itself, but we can certainly help with the bits around it. Flyers, promo graphics, 3D book covers and other marketing materials are all things we can put together for you. And once the book is ready, our book publishing services take care of getting it properly set up and available for people to buy.