How to Market a Book Using Social Media
If you're a writer who is struggling with social media and you're wondering,
“How can I use social media to market my book?”
“How can I actually see more book sales with social media?”
You’re in luck! I’m going to share how authors can use social media to market a book and see more sales.
Posting a pretty picture, an entertaining video, or an attention grabbing Reel or TikTok is one thing. But actually leading readers from being a mere connection to a book buyer is another. It requires a clear strategy, a plan, and most importantly - intention.
And to accomplish these goals, we need to follow five important tips. So let’s dive in.
TIP #1: A Mindset Shift
When I mention the word “marketing” to authors, many times they kind of coil up and say, “Oh I don't like marketing! I feel gross asking people to buy my book.”
But here's something very important to know: marketing and sales are two completely different things. Marketing is connecting with people. It’s creating relationships and building awareness. Asking for a sale comes later.
Social media is is an awareness tool. It’s letting people know that you and your book exist. It's about creating connections with people who are already interested in what you’re talking about.
TIP #2: Focus On Your Ideal Reader
I always tell my clients, “If you're trying to market your book to everyone you're actually marketing it to no one.” The online world is so noisy and overcrowded. And many times we feel like we're just yelling into a void. If you are sharing general and basic information online, you’re just going to blend into all of the noise.
When we speak to an ideal reader - the person that we want to connect with and know will benefit greatly from our books - and we share information that addresses specific topics, needs, questions, and emotions, we can cut through the noise and stand out.
And speaking to one person (your ideal reader) empowers you to do that.
TIP #3: Give Readers a Why
You know that your book is great. But here's the catch: readers - especially readers who are just discovering you - don't know that yet! So it’s your job to share with readers and potential readers the essence of your book.
You don't have to give everything away but you have to show them why your book is what they are looking for.
If you're a fiction writer think about the emotions that your reader is looking for. Maybe they want to be swept away with romance. Maybe they want to a spooky mystery or a funny story. Think about the emotion that readers want to get out of a book and what they're looking for. Talk about the characters, the settings, the consequences around those settings. That’s the essence of your book.
If you write nonfiction think about the problems and the questions that your ideal reader has and show them why your book provides the answers they are looking for. Sharing solutions or answers to those problems in your social media posts is a great way to prove that you know what you're talking about and that the information you provide actually works
TIP #4: Be Consistent With Your Messaging
Authors often tell me that they don’t like to talk about their book because they don’t want to be pushy or annoying. Yes it is a fine line to walk, but here's something important to remember. There are going to be new people following you all the time. And everyone doesn’t always see the posts that you share.
This means that you have to be consistent in sharing more about your book. I shared a recent video on how to create content buckets and that’s a really important tool in helping you stay consistent with your messaging and topics. Content buckets help you to stay consistent and - most importantly - become known for something. It’s a great tool to apply and makes the process easier.
TIP #5: Drive Readers To Your Newsletter
When it comes to driving sales, your newsletter is your most important tool. When people sign up for your newsletter they are saying, “You have my attention. I want to know more about what you have to say.”
A newsletter is information that you own. You do not own the connections that you have on social media. If your account were to be hacked or something catastrophic like that (which has happened many times before) you have lost all of your connections. You can't solely rely on your social media to help you stay connected. You always want to be driving people from your social media to your newsletter.
A newsletter subscribers is one step closer to a sale. And having an attentive newsletter list makes sure that you have readers that are paying attention. So when you do a promotion or when you're ready to sell your book you have this group of people that you know are ready for a purchase.
Social media really isn’t a great place to sell. Your social media followers are all at different phases. You might have followers that have been around for months and are well aware of you and your book. But there are also new followers who aren’t aware. If you share a post pushing the sale of your book, your new followers will be turned off and it won’t be effective. People don't like to be sold to when they're not ready to buy.
That’s where your newsletter comes in. You have a list of avid fans who are attentive, interested, and ready to buy from you.
It all comes down to being intentional. When we throw a bunch of posts at the wall to see what sticks we aren't going to see the results that we're hoping for. I call that “hope marketing” and that is not something that you can rely on. We want a sure thing. Being intentional and knowing exactly how you're going to attract and build that awareness on social media, lead them to your website and to drive them to your newsletter is key to making social media actually work for you and selling your book.
And to help you get started I have a brand new FREE resource called What Authors Can Post Before Publishing. This guide is going to help you accomplish your goals and to actually see results on social media, so be sure to grab your copy!
