Self-publishing School Part 8: Marketing

Marketing is essential to success in the self-publishing world. It isn't just something you want to start thinking about after the book is done - it's something that should be considered all along the way, from naming your book to designing and writing it. Who is your target market? How will you tell them about your book? How will you convince them to buy?

A catchy and unique title is essential to success, yet in a saturated market it can be difficult to find just the right one. I usually run through thirty or forty different ideas before finally selecting a title that I feel will appeal to the audience I'm trying to reach. Keep in mind that a subtitle can be a very effective tools for communicating the message of your book, even if the title you wanted is already taken.

Long before your book is complete, you'll want to start thinking about the description. Good back cover text can also be helpful, but it an increasingly electronic world a good Amazon description is essential to success.

Writing marketing text is different than writing your book. It requires different skills, and a different mindset. Look at the Amazon descriptions of your favorite books, preferably ones that have a lot of positive reviews and are selling well. What is the author doing right? How does he or she describe the content of the book being sold?

Here are are few tips I've learned about descriptive text:

1. Make it long. Amazon allows up to 4000 characters. This gives readers who want to know more a chance to get their questions answered before clicking the "buy now" button. It also provides more opportunities to appear in search results.
2. Make it compelling. Boring, flat, cliche writing won't serve you here, any more then it will serve the story you've written.
3. Make it count. Choose your words wisely and put the most important ones at the top.

It can also help to provide "Look inside" content for readers to view. CreateSpace and Lulu both provide this content to Amazon automatically.

If you are writing your first book, congratulations! Now start working on your second. Multi-book authors, especially authors that write books in a series, will have a much easier time building a platform than single-book authors. When you are a multi-book author, consider making strategic use of free books (such as giving away the first book in a three-part series) and content to get readers interested in your other books. There are sites that will allow you to advertise your free books at no cost to you. You can also consider running free promotions for a week or two at a time, and you could include your book in Kindle Unlimited, which makes it free to members. Never underestimate the power of free.

Another absolutely essential marketing consideration is reviews. In my experience, these can be harder to obtain than book sales -- but they are far more valuable. You may get a small royalty for a sale, but several good reviews can help you create a steady stream of income. Offer a free copy of your book to Facebook friends in exchange for a review. When you start building an audience, ask loyal fans to become preview readers and give them early access to your book in exchange for a review the day it is released.

There are other techniques, such as Facebook and Google ads, YouTube videos, etc. that can also help you sell books. Much of your efforts will be trial and error at first, but as you learn the price sensitivity of your audience and experiment with different marketing approaches you'll eventually find a mix that works for you.

It's important to remember in all of this the reasons you wanted to become a writer in the first place. Was is just for the money? Or is there something more? You don't have to be at the top of the New York Times best seller list to call yourself a writer. You just have to be in the game, and thanks to the emerging self-publishing market, it's easier than ever to make your work available to a worldwide audience.

If you've already self-published a book, leave a comment below and let me know the title. If you're in the middle of working on one, come back when it's finished and tell me about it. If you haven't self-published a book but would like to, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Start writing today!