Strategic Marketing Plan for Authors Demystified

Why Do You Need A Solid Proof Marketing Strategy When You Are Just An Author?

Being a published author is much more than just writing a book. Think of it, why are you writing your book? I’m sure part of the main reason is to make an impact in people’s lives. 

In order to achieve this, your book has to get out to the market and be read by your audience. This cannot be accomplished without a marketing strategy to promote your book. Each author needs a strategic marketing plan to sell to an audience. 

Be More Productive in 2023 

It is a new year and you have a chance to be more productive than you were in the last. Before we get to the strategic marketing plan, let’s review these 5 things that you can do for your business right now to set you into being more productive as you execute your marketing plan flawlessly.

Take down a sheet of paper, or a notebook. You want to write down all the things that you would like to accomplish. Having the thoughts running through your head each day takes up your time and bandwidth that you would have been using productively. Is it a cover you want to design, organizing a holiday sale, or a new book you want to write? Have these all down in your notes.

With these out of the way, you want to move to the next step which is working around these four aspects. On your sheet of paper or notebook, create a section for each of these four and fill them up as you read through. 

Do

List down what you can do right now. What is it that you are able to take care of? Assign a date when this item should get done so that you can keep on track.

Delegate

You are neither all-knowing nor a superhero. Don’t try to do everything by yourself. You can easily delegate to experts tasks they are well equipped in handling to get the job done properly. Don’t know how to set up ads or design a landing page? Get an expert from Upwork or Fiverr to do it. The budgets are quite affordable and will set you up for a great start.

Delay

Do not try to get everything done all at once. Many people love multitasking not actually realizing that this can be quite counterproductive. Failing to focus on a task or activity to get it done properly steals time and energy giving off less-than-perfect work. Identify what you can delay for later. Like you would like to master marketing your book and delay launching the book.

Now that we have these lined up, let’s move to how you can actually market your book right

5 tips to successful book marketing

Your book marketing plan is the only step-by-step guide you have to get your book right to your audience’s door. Whether you aim to become a best-selling author or just desire to get your book to the masses just to help them live better lives, you need the following marketing tips

1. Define your audience and budget

Your book isn’t for everyone. You need to niche down and focus on these to get the best sales. Some of the things that you need ready include the answers to these questions: 

What keywords best define your book?

What communities or groups have interests that match your keywords?

What is the process of approaching these groups or communities?

With your answers, you want to determine the amount you want to spend in promotions and allocate it to promotions in approaching the groups you identified.

2. Build an online presence

Though it sounds absurd, did you know it is best practice to start marketing your book before it is published? The aim is to ensure you have a large audience looking forward to buying your book right before it comes out. Your Social Media accounts as well as a website should be ready and with content set up before you have your book published

3. Get early reviews

The market is filled with books. On average, there are 2.2 million new books being published each year according to UNESCO. 

You want to convince readers that your book is worth their time and money. Reach out to fans of your genre, bloggers, and popular reviewers with a free copy of your book in exchange for a review. Have reviews lined up before your book launch

4. Set up your advertising

With your online precedes set up, you will already have a number of advertising channels open for advertising. Prepare advertising material planner to ensure that you are not overwhelmed when the advertising process actually starts. You want to always plan ahead and have your content ready in advance

5. Find Interview and speaker opportunities

Selling your book also means getting out there to meet the audience. Other than reaching out to Amazon, bookstores and libraries, you want to reach out to schools and media channels as well. You can give lectures and attend book signing events as part of your effective marketing strategy.

You do not want to wait for opportunities, but want to go find them instead. 

Did you find this helpful or do you have questions? Drop a comment below.