Book Marketing Tips – Increase Your Author Visibility – Sell More Books!

Marketing Tips: After extensive research, trial, error, and long-time experience, Artisan Book Reviews has discovered the most effective ways to market your books, create an online presence, and connect authors with readers worldwide.

In this article, we provide authors with the very best ways, to implement immediately, to increase book sales, author visibility and build their brand and platform as a published author.  Read on for great author and book marketing tips.

Create a Complete “Author Platform” Which Must Include:
 

• Your author website
• Your blog (have a separate page for your blog and blog regularly)
• Your Amazon author page.
• Your Goodreads author page.
• Your social media presence and profiles. Place your social media icons with links to your social media profiles in a conspicuous, easy to find, spot on your website – near the top of the page, so readers can easily click on them, and connect with, and follow you.
• Join as many book related sites as possible and create your author profile, such as Bookbub (google “book clubs” and “book sites” to find as many book related sites as possible.)
• Google “free author interviews” to find sites that will allow you to do free author interviews with permanent links on their site. (Yes, they are out there)
• If possible, have a book trailer made for all of your books and include them on your website.

Keep Your Website Up-to-Date, Visually Appealing and User Friendly

• On your homepage, the first thing readers should see is your books for sale (leave out your synopsis on this page).Include a picture of your book covers with links to purchase your books that is large and visible. Also link your book cover pictures to your purchase site, as well(Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.)
• If you have more than one book, put all of them on the home page. Readers can scroll down to each book and see your awesome covers and be motivated to purchase them. ALWAYS include your purchase link for readers to buy your book immediately.
• You can also have a page titled something like “Books” or  “Shop Books.” Many authors today are choosing to sell their books directly to readers from their website, rather than using Amazon. Either way, it is a great idea to have a “Shop Books” page where readers can buy your books either directly from you or from Amazon etc.
• Your website domain name should be called your “author name,” not the title of your book or some other made up title. GoDaddy, NameCheap and BlueHost are all easy websites to buy your domain name. Your website designer and host can help you integrate your domain name to your website and get you all set up.
• We recommend that you have your website professionally designed and that authors use wordpress.org not wordpress.com – for a more professional striking website.
  That is our preference for many reasons including  very important SEO purposes. Many people have the belief that having a professional create a website for them is expensive. While some website designers may be overly expensive, many are not and many are extremely affordable. Your website designer should be specific to designing themes for authors and displaying books. We highly recommend Ashley at Nose Graze. She has beautiful and amazing themes (something for every taste) that she will customize for you. She is the most affordable website designer and host that we have ever come across. She is always available to help with any technical issues and has awesome customer support. She has many themes to choose from, so when you visit her website, be sure to check it out closely clicking on each theme to see it’s variations. You may visit her site and contact Ashley by clicking here.
• On your “Homepage,” be sure to have an email sign up box, so readers can subscribe to your website/blog and receive updates about your books, and your creative interesting blog posts. Use your website’s themes email sign up widget. Or you can utilize a paid Email service like Constant Contact or Mail Chimp in order to easily send out mass emails to your readers.
• Be sure to use photos and graphics on your website in your blog section. Blog regularly. You can find blogging ideas by googling “blogging ideas for authors”
• Have a separate “Author Bio” and page-make it fun, personal and interesting, be sure to add a picture of you or of your very best book cover.
• On a separate page, show your book covers again, each should include your books synopsis and any good book reviews that you have received. Title your page “Books & Reviews”
• Have a separate page for your blog. This is where you will write about your writing, life, books and other interesting topics. Your subscribers will receive your blog entries in their email box. That is why it is important to have an email signup box on your home page in the top right hand sidebar. Title your blog page “Blog.”
• Don’t forget your “Contact Page,” so readers, publishers, industry professionals, etc. can contact you. Use the contact form that comes with your website’s theme.

Note: Do not bog your website/blog down with other authors books or reviews. This will distract from your own particular work and books. The only exception to this rule is if you are collaborating with another author, and sharing your books on one another’s sites.

Participate in Social Media Regularly – Marketing Tips

Social media is vital to gaining a following of readers that will look forward to hearing about and buying your books. You can have discussions with them about books and hook them on your books. Twitter , Facebook Instagram  LinkedIn and Pinterest are all social media platforms which authors should promote themselves on.

• Join book groups within the social media platform. Readers groups, writers groups and book  clubs are great for promoting your books.
• Create a Goodreads profile and be sure to include your book covers and all your information,   including your website and social media links.
• When using social media, don’t just promote your books. Include interesting, humorous and  fun ways to engage with other users and readers. Post eye-appealing pictures to go along with your posts.

 Have a Complete Amazon Author Page-Book Marketing Tips

• A photo of you
• Your full author bio
• Add your website and social media links to your author bio, at the bottom of your bio.
• Make sure that when readers click on your Amazon author profile that all of your books are listed in the horizontal list of your books.
• For each individual book, each and every format must be on the same page for that one particular book. Very important.
• Utilize the “Editorial Reviews” section for each separate book to highlight the best reviews with a blurb from each one. You can put blurbs from your paid reviews in this section.
• Make sure to write down and save your Amazon login information, so you can access it to make changes as necessary.

 Your Goodreads Author Page – Run Plenty of Giveaways 

• Make sure your Goodreads author profile is update, with all of your books listed with their book covers.  Don’s forget to include your website address on your Goodreads author profile page.
• Give away as many signed “paperback” books as possible to get free book reviews.
• Include a nice note when sending the paper back to the winner’s, kindly asking them to please leave Amazon and Goodreads reviews for your book.
• Goodreads giveaways are vital to an author’s success

Reach Out to Book Clubs: Offer to Speak and Share about Your Book

• Speak at local book clubs and associations, book stores and various businesses.
• Gain notoriety locally.

Get as Many Great Reviews For Your Book as Possible

Excellent quality book reviews are vital to selling more books. Utilize free and paid reviewers to maximize your efforts and receive the best quality professional and marketable book reviews that will increase your book sales substantially. Always ask your book reviewer to kindly post their review on Amazon and Goodreads.

 Enter as Many Book Award Contests that Are Available

• This will help your author credibility substantially.
• Display Your Awards on a separate page on your website entitled “Book Awards & Recognition’s.”
• Google top book contests to find the top contests to enter.

 Book Marketing & Promotion – Book Marketing Tips

Marketing and promoting your book is one of the most difficult parts of increasing your book sales and author visibility.

We recommend that authors should hire a book marketing professional to achieve the best results to substantially increase book sales, and connect with readers and the book industry professionals worldwide

To increase your book sales and author visibility., check out Artisan Book Reviews and Chick Lit Cafe, as well as Kids Lit Book Cafe for your children’s books. All have a large readership base with hundreds of thousands of followers across the board. They review and promote numerous books and authors of all genres. They utilize many readers and book related websites, book news magazines and media sites to market qualified authors books on. They will get your book out there, and it will be well worth the cost effective price. They get results. Be sure to read their author testimonials.

For a full list of where you can enter book contests, find free and paid book reviews, free author interviews, and find book marketers, please contact us through our “contact form” to request your free list of resources for authors.

Yes, creating an author platform takes time and work. But, in the end you will definitely reap the benefits by becoming visible as a published author, spotlighting yourself and your books and ultimately selling more.

Note: This article is for the sole purpose of helping authors to promote themselves and their books and to achieve success in their writing careers.

About the author:
Article Contributed by Ella James
Editor/Social Media and Book Marketing Specialist/Book Reviewer
USC Berkeley
Degree Field of Study: Marketing, Journalism, Business Management

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