It’s a given that every author hopes to maximize book sales, and as a result, they need to be sure to do everything possible to help people buy their books. When it comes to how to market a book, the best method is to work with a professional marketing firm with significant experience. They’re the ones with creative ideas and the people-power to make sure every conceivable opportunity is explored. At the same time, the author’s involvement and commitment to supporting marketing activities are critical. It has an enormous impact on book sales – or not. Self-published authors today are among the savvier when it comes to promotion. Many of them realize the significant potential of well-developed websites and dedicated book pages. Together, these can provide the foundation to develop their author brand and improve sales. The initial step is to plan book pages and build-out a unique author website. The best ones have clean and easy-to-read layouts free from pop-ups, automatic video start-ups, flash, and other elements that are user-unfriendly. Also, it’s vital to maximize mobile devices since an ever-increasing number of people surf the internet on phones and tablets. Also, it’s crucial to use a reputable hosting provider with quick load speeds.
For author web pages and social media fan pages, keep everything up-to-date, including your bio, images, and information about your latest books. Online visitors expect real-time information, so make sure you are providing it. It’s also important to keep content well-written and formatted so that it is easy and pleasant to read. If you will be going longer in some sections to help distribute keywords and attract search engines, make sure to use subheading and divide your text. Even bulleted lists are easier for humans and search engines to read and understand. Another possibility is to provide links to more detailed information for those who choose to learn more. Including book covers in digital content also is a good idea and helps build recognition for each title – especially useful if you have written more than one book. For sales, include links to places where visitors can purchase copies. When you have someone viewing a web page who is ready to buy a book, you must make it as easy and quick as possible for them to complete an order. Anything less, and you’ll lose potential sales when and if people become frustrated with a cumbersome process. Buy Now buttons are a popular formatting device used by many successful websites.
Building reader lists with an eye toward future emails are critical for success. If you can offer a newsletter with an option for people to sign up for upcoming copies by email, it’s always a great idea. Again, keep the process easy to use and understand and request only needed information. The shorter the response form, the more people will be likely to complete it. Privacy policies and statements also need to be present to reassure people that you will not share or sell their information. The most outstanding book marketing services will help keep all of these required program elements moving forward for you. They understand that well-rounded campaigns that are detail-oriented and well-executed are the ones most likely to produce successful results. Because you, as the author, may have a job, family, and other commitments besides promoting your book, having professional help makes sense on many levels. Even if you decide to try the do-it-yourself route with book marketing, you’ll only succeed if you follow all of these steps.
Scott Baylor is the author of this article. For further detail about how to market a book please visit the website.
