3 Effective Marketing Tips For Self-Published Authors

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[AD] Self-publishing is a contentious subject amongst writers. Some writers maintain that you’re never going to make a living out of self-published books and the only way to build a good readership is to go through a traditional publisher that has the money and connections to market your book properly. However, there are a lot of people that have successfully self-published books and found a lot of readers for them. Writing an amazing book is obviously step one, but even the best book in the world is going to get lost amongst all of the other self-published work if it isn’t marketed properly. If you think that self-publishing might be the best option for your latest book, here are a few tips on how to market it properly. 

Get The Cover Right 

People always say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but let’s be realistic, everybody does it. People are still going to read the synopsis before they decide whether they want to buy the book or not but it will be the cover that first attracts them. If the cover looks amateurish or it isn’t that exciting, they’re likely to skip straight past it and find something else. You’ve got a few options when it comes to the cover design; you could hire a freelance graphic designer and get them to make the cover for you, but that is going to be quite expensive. It is possible to make a good cover yourself using a program like Microsoft Publisher (if you’re using a Mac, visit https://setapp.com/how-to/alternatives-to-microsoft-publisher-for-mac for information on the alternatives). It’s a fairly simple program but with a bit of practice, you’ll be able to create an eye catching cover which grabs the attention of readers. You should focus on writing a good synopsis as well but don’t underestimate the power of a good cover design. 

Use Social Media 

A big publisher has lots of money to promote a book but when you’re self-publishing and marketing it all on your own, you need to find cost effective ways to reach people. The best way of doing that is by using social media. If you can build a good following and advertise your book on your social media channels, you should make a lot of sales. However, it’s a lot harder than people realize for writers to build a good following. If you’re serious about selling your books online, it might be worth signing up for a social media class for writers so you can learn how best to market yourself. 

Encourage Reviews 

Most people will check the reviews before they buy a book and if yours only has one review from a friend or family member, it doesn’t look great. The more good reviews you have, the more sales you’ll make, it’s as simple as that. If you’re struggling to get anybody to review the book, check out https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2018/01/how-to-jumpstart-book-reviews-for-self-published-books/ for some great tips. Your social media page is a great place to start. Look for book bloggers and contact them, offering them a free copy of the book to review. The online writing community is a friendly one and you’ll find that a lot of people are willing to lend a hand by reviewing the book. 

Even if you write the greatest book in the world, it’s not going to sell unless you learn how to market it properly so make sure that you follow these basic tips.