Marketing
Marketing is a very complex thing, and to be honest, I'm still very new at it. I'm mostly going to make recommendations and allow you to do your own research into it...because that's honestly what you're just going to have to do. There's a ridiculous amount of information out there, and I know I've only scraped the surface thus far. However, I will still do my best to pass onto you some marketing tips! I will also be sure to keep this page updated as I learn more.
NOTE even after your book's launch, you'll want to keep doing consistent marketing to keep up the book sales and bring in new readers. Just spend ten minutes every day doing some sort of marketing! Of course, during your book's launch, you'll want to run as many ads and do as much promotion as you can to get it off to a good start, but be sure to keep up some marketing afterwards too.
NOTE even after your book's launch, you'll want to keep doing consistent marketing to keep up the book sales and bring in new readers. Just spend ten minutes every day doing some sort of marketing! Of course, during your book's launch, you'll want to run as many ads and do as much promotion as you can to get it off to a good start, but be sure to keep up some marketing afterwards too.
KDP Keywords and Categories
On the KDP Walk-Through page, I mentioned keywords and categories.
Keywords are very important to get your book showing up in the correct search results. But you have to be careful not to go too broad ("fantasy") and not too niche ("fantasy book about talking trashcans") where nobody will see it. You have to find the right balance. But if you choose the right keywords, your book can be distributed better. You'll want to include some keywords in your book's description, but mostly utilize them in the actual "Keywords" section. You can change these keywords at any time, if you'd like to try out more specific keywords. Note that you canNOT reference other authors or books (like "Harry Potter").
Categories is another important part. You can only choose two categories when setting up your book on KDP, but after you publish it, you can reach out to KDP support and ask them to categorize your book into a more specific/niche category. This allows your book to be in a less competitive category and have a better chance of getting on the bestseller's list. Once you have the bestseller's badge, it doesn't go away, and you'll continue to make good sales as Amazon recommends your book.
On the KDP Walk-Through page, I mentioned keywords and categories.
Keywords are very important to get your book showing up in the correct search results. But you have to be careful not to go too broad ("fantasy") and not too niche ("fantasy book about talking trashcans") where nobody will see it. You have to find the right balance. But if you choose the right keywords, your book can be distributed better. You'll want to include some keywords in your book's description, but mostly utilize them in the actual "Keywords" section. You can change these keywords at any time, if you'd like to try out more specific keywords. Note that you canNOT reference other authors or books (like "Harry Potter").
Categories is another important part. You can only choose two categories when setting up your book on KDP, but after you publish it, you can reach out to KDP support and ask them to categorize your book into a more specific/niche category. This allows your book to be in a less competitive category and have a better chance of getting on the bestseller's list. Once you have the bestseller's badge, it doesn't go away, and you'll continue to make good sales as Amazon recommends your book.
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Author Central Page
I mentioned this on the Author Central section of this page, but I'll word it again. You'll want to go on your page and edit your book's details, to include "editorial reviews" and information "from the author" (this is also known as metadata). This metadata will make your book have a better presentation to potential readers, especially as you can put even more keywords in the reviews section (which CAN refer to other authors/books). People will see these editorial reviews and think more highly of the book. Or they'll see the information from the author, and be inspired to get the book because it's the exact type of story they've been searching for. This metadata is very important to getting more readers to actually buy your book, especially if you don't have any real reviews yet for them to look at.
I mentioned this on the Author Central section of this page, but I'll word it again. You'll want to go on your page and edit your book's details, to include "editorial reviews" and information "from the author" (this is also known as metadata). This metadata will make your book have a better presentation to potential readers, especially as you can put even more keywords in the reviews section (which CAN refer to other authors/books). People will see these editorial reviews and think more highly of the book. Or they'll see the information from the author, and be inspired to get the book because it's the exact type of story they've been searching for. This metadata is very important to getting more readers to actually buy your book, especially if you don't have any real reviews yet for them to look at.
Ads
KDP
KDP also offers advertising, particularly if you're running a discounted or free book promotion. Just go to the Marketing tab on KDP, and you can select which promotion you'd like to do and choose to set it up. You then choose how long to run the promotion. I recommend you also run an ad at the same time that the book is free/discounted. To do this, you'll have to go to Amazon Advertising.
For Amazon Advertising, Sponsored ads work the best (lockscreen ads are very limited). You choose when you want to run the ad (and it's recommended you always keep your ads running, but you don't have to, or you can stop them at any point), your daily budget (I recommend $5-10), and how you want the targeting down. You can allow Amazon to do the targeting themselves, or choose targeting on your own. You do need to have a good knowledge of which keywords to use for targeting though, and how much you're going to bid on these keywords (particularly if they're really competitive); again, you'll want to find the niche keywords. Negative keyword targeting would be if you have certain keywords that you do NOT want your book showing up for (and it's the same with negative product targeting).
I would then choose the "Custom Text Ad" because you can add what text you'd like on there. You then choose which book and which format to promote (you should do one at a time). At the bottom of the page, you can type what you want to appear on your ad. Keep it short (there's a character limit anyway) and make it as eye-catching as possible. Think of yourself as a potential reader who sees this ad. What would inspire them to click it?
Now, there's tons of information out there with how Amazon algorithms work, but it's definitely confusing to understand if you've never taken any business or marketing classes. You essentially need to find your niche keywords and categories, then try to rise to the bestseller's list in that nice category.
Other Ads
You can also use ads through other websites, with my recommendations being Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (if you have a book trailer, which I highly recommend you do). For each of these ads, you just look up advertising with them, run through the self-explanatory setup, and off it goes. You can always stop the ads at any time too, especially if you didn't put an end date on. You'll need a page for your book on Facebook, and you need a business account to run ads on Instagram. If you have a book trailer you're trying to promote on YouTube, you'll have to go through Google to set up the ad.
Do Ads Actually Work?
As of right now, I've run ads on Amazon (twice), YouTube (twice), Twitter (once), and Facebook (once). I didn't do Instagram because I didn't want to make a business account (though I may in the future). This is how the ads did for me...
Amazon Ad 1: I used manual targeting and put in a bunch of keywords, and only got 5-6 impressions over two days. I decided to stop the ad since it wasn't going anywhere.
Amazon Ad 2: I used automatic targeting, allowing Amazon to take control of who to promote the ad to, and got 18 impressions but no clicks on the ad. I stopped it after two days again, as it wasn't going anywhere.
I still have to figure out Amazon's ad systems, is what it basically comes down to.
YouTube Ad 1: I several ads through YouTube before, one for someone else and one for my old videos; for both of these, I got up to 1,000 views on the videos after only one day. Note that most people probably hit the "Skip Ad" button though, so they probably didn't watch the whole thing. However, getting a lot of views definitely will promote your video more.
YouTube Ad 2: I just ran a new ad for my book trailer, and it got 400 views within one day. So it didn't do as good in terms of views, but it still went up a decent amount. I'll probably run another YouTube ad soon.
You'll want to use short videos for YouTube ads, so don't try to put a whole interview or chapter reading on the ads. People have short attention spans, so make sure your trailer is eye-catching from the start.
Twitter: I ran one ad on Twitter with a link to my book, which included several hashtags. This ad lasted one day. The ad reached 5,000 people, and had about 100 engagements (link clinks, likes, etc.). This was honestly probably my most effective ad.
Facebook: I ran one ad on Facebook once I set up a page for my book. This ad lasted two days, as it took awhile to get approved and I didn't want to cut its time short. The ad reached 1,000 people and only had 8 engagements, but these engagements were all link clicks.
KDP
KDP also offers advertising, particularly if you're running a discounted or free book promotion. Just go to the Marketing tab on KDP, and you can select which promotion you'd like to do and choose to set it up. You then choose how long to run the promotion. I recommend you also run an ad at the same time that the book is free/discounted. To do this, you'll have to go to Amazon Advertising.
For Amazon Advertising, Sponsored ads work the best (lockscreen ads are very limited). You choose when you want to run the ad (and it's recommended you always keep your ads running, but you don't have to, or you can stop them at any point), your daily budget (I recommend $5-10), and how you want the targeting down. You can allow Amazon to do the targeting themselves, or choose targeting on your own. You do need to have a good knowledge of which keywords to use for targeting though, and how much you're going to bid on these keywords (particularly if they're really competitive); again, you'll want to find the niche keywords. Negative keyword targeting would be if you have certain keywords that you do NOT want your book showing up for (and it's the same with negative product targeting).
I would then choose the "Custom Text Ad" because you can add what text you'd like on there. You then choose which book and which format to promote (you should do one at a time). At the bottom of the page, you can type what you want to appear on your ad. Keep it short (there's a character limit anyway) and make it as eye-catching as possible. Think of yourself as a potential reader who sees this ad. What would inspire them to click it?
Now, there's tons of information out there with how Amazon algorithms work, but it's definitely confusing to understand if you've never taken any business or marketing classes. You essentially need to find your niche keywords and categories, then try to rise to the bestseller's list in that nice category.
Other Ads
You can also use ads through other websites, with my recommendations being Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (if you have a book trailer, which I highly recommend you do). For each of these ads, you just look up advertising with them, run through the self-explanatory setup, and off it goes. You can always stop the ads at any time too, especially if you didn't put an end date on. You'll need a page for your book on Facebook, and you need a business account to run ads on Instagram. If you have a book trailer you're trying to promote on YouTube, you'll have to go through Google to set up the ad.
Do Ads Actually Work?
As of right now, I've run ads on Amazon (twice), YouTube (twice), Twitter (once), and Facebook (once). I didn't do Instagram because I didn't want to make a business account (though I may in the future). This is how the ads did for me...
Amazon Ad 1: I used manual targeting and put in a bunch of keywords, and only got 5-6 impressions over two days. I decided to stop the ad since it wasn't going anywhere.
Amazon Ad 2: I used automatic targeting, allowing Amazon to take control of who to promote the ad to, and got 18 impressions but no clicks on the ad. I stopped it after two days again, as it wasn't going anywhere.
I still have to figure out Amazon's ad systems, is what it basically comes down to.
YouTube Ad 1: I several ads through YouTube before, one for someone else and one for my old videos; for both of these, I got up to 1,000 views on the videos after only one day. Note that most people probably hit the "Skip Ad" button though, so they probably didn't watch the whole thing. However, getting a lot of views definitely will promote your video more.
YouTube Ad 2: I just ran a new ad for my book trailer, and it got 400 views within one day. So it didn't do as good in terms of views, but it still went up a decent amount. I'll probably run another YouTube ad soon.
You'll want to use short videos for YouTube ads, so don't try to put a whole interview or chapter reading on the ads. People have short attention spans, so make sure your trailer is eye-catching from the start.
Twitter: I ran one ad on Twitter with a link to my book, which included several hashtags. This ad lasted one day. The ad reached 5,000 people, and had about 100 engagements (link clinks, likes, etc.). This was honestly probably my most effective ad.
Facebook: I ran one ad on Facebook once I set up a page for my book. This ad lasted two days, as it took awhile to get approved and I didn't want to cut its time short. The ad reached 1,000 people and only had 8 engagements, but these engagements were all link clicks.
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Promotions
It's common knowledge that you'll promote your book on social media, and to ask friends and family to promote the book for you. And if you're in any book groups, definitely utilize those as well!
But did you ever think about reaching out to creators with large audiences to do a paid promotion? Look up popular BookTubers and reach out to them, seeing if they'd be able to give your book a shoutout (if not read and review the book themselves). If you see a business email on their channel, that's likely there for paid promotion opportunities like this, after all.
You can also try reaching out to other creators with large audiences, depending on what type of audience they have. If their audience is the same as your target audience/they make similar content to what your book is about, you can always ask them for a shoutout.
Alongside this idea, you can also commission popular artists to draw certain (eye-catching) scenes from your book. They'll share this art to their large audience, likely across multiple social media platforms (not just YouTube), and then your book can garner more interest.
You can also try to get other people to promote the book for you. I used Fiverr to do this. There are plenty of people on there who will promote your book for you across multiple social media platforms or on their blogs. Always check the reviews though, as not everyone on there does a great job. You can also find someone to make book trailers for you too, if you don't have a trailer.
Another option is to get your book promoted on book websites. There are TONS of book sites out there. Here's a list I found that contains plenty of sites where you can promote your book, especially if you're running a discount or the book is free. They'll send out emails with your book included, or they could feature your book on their website for a small fee.
I myself will blog about books or feature them on this site here! If you're interested, click here. There are just so many opportunities when it comes to promotions, and you really ought to take advantage of them!
It's common knowledge that you'll promote your book on social media, and to ask friends and family to promote the book for you. And if you're in any book groups, definitely utilize those as well!
But did you ever think about reaching out to creators with large audiences to do a paid promotion? Look up popular BookTubers and reach out to them, seeing if they'd be able to give your book a shoutout (if not read and review the book themselves). If you see a business email on their channel, that's likely there for paid promotion opportunities like this, after all.
You can also try reaching out to other creators with large audiences, depending on what type of audience they have. If their audience is the same as your target audience/they make similar content to what your book is about, you can always ask them for a shoutout.
Alongside this idea, you can also commission popular artists to draw certain (eye-catching) scenes from your book. They'll share this art to their large audience, likely across multiple social media platforms (not just YouTube), and then your book can garner more interest.
You can also try to get other people to promote the book for you. I used Fiverr to do this. There are plenty of people on there who will promote your book for you across multiple social media platforms or on their blogs. Always check the reviews though, as not everyone on there does a great job. You can also find someone to make book trailers for you too, if you don't have a trailer.
Another option is to get your book promoted on book websites. There are TONS of book sites out there. Here's a list I found that contains plenty of sites where you can promote your book, especially if you're running a discount or the book is free. They'll send out emails with your book included, or they could feature your book on their website for a small fee.
I myself will blog about books or feature them on this site here! If you're interested, click here. There are just so many opportunities when it comes to promotions, and you really ought to take advantage of them!
Reviews
Book reviews are obviously important, more so for other readers to know if a book is any good than for helping sales. Verified purchase reviews definitely hold more importance than regular reviews, since readers then know that the reviewer DID actually read the book. How do you obtain these reviews? Ask friends, beta readers, and family (for Goodreads reviews, at least, since family members and people living in the same house can't write reviews for your book on Amazon due to bias).
It's also really effective to put a "please review my book" page at the end of your book, for a reader to see right after they've finished. It also helps to thank these reviewers too, whether just in the book or even on Amazon and/or Goodreads; after all, they've taken the time to read your book and write you a review, which can boost your sales!
I do not recommend you pay people for reviews, especially as they'd probably be "fake" reviews anyhow. In fact, Amazon has a policy about paid reviews, and you can get in trouble for this. You also can't do a "review for a review" or an art trade (you draw something for someone else to review). However, there's nothing saying you can't hand out copies of your books to people in real life and ask for a review in return!
You can also enlist your book on Reedsy Discovery and Pubby, where readers will review your book. There are more websites that do this type of thing, but be sure to check into them first!
Book reviews are obviously important, more so for other readers to know if a book is any good than for helping sales. Verified purchase reviews definitely hold more importance than regular reviews, since readers then know that the reviewer DID actually read the book. How do you obtain these reviews? Ask friends, beta readers, and family (for Goodreads reviews, at least, since family members and people living in the same house can't write reviews for your book on Amazon due to bias).
It's also really effective to put a "please review my book" page at the end of your book, for a reader to see right after they've finished. It also helps to thank these reviewers too, whether just in the book or even on Amazon and/or Goodreads; after all, they've taken the time to read your book and write you a review, which can boost your sales!
I do not recommend you pay people for reviews, especially as they'd probably be "fake" reviews anyhow. In fact, Amazon has a policy about paid reviews, and you can get in trouble for this. You also can't do a "review for a review" or an art trade (you draw something for someone else to review). However, there's nothing saying you can't hand out copies of your books to people in real life and ask for a review in return!
You can also enlist your book on Reedsy Discovery and Pubby, where readers will review your book. There are more websites that do this type of thing, but be sure to check into them first!
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Book Events and Raffles
Book events are a great way to get the hype up for your book after it's published, and it's something you can do consistently. You can even add more books over time as you write them. You can hold them in-person or stream online; whatever floats your boat. I've personally held events at a library, a park, and at my own house. I'll be doing my first online stream event soon!
I recommend holding some sort of "core" event, whether that's a Q & A, a small speech about the book, or reading a chapter. You can also have art and/or videos playing in the background, to immerse the audience into the story even more. I also sold merchandise alongside the obligatory signed books. I recommend you do merchandise after your story's out there a bit more, so people are more excited about having X character on a shirt after they're read something of your series, for example. A new reader is rarely going to be interested in merchandise, so save this for further along in your series.
Raffles are important too. After all, what reader doesn't want a free book? Post about raffles online at any point, or host a raffle at your book event! Sure, shipping might be expensive (especially if you're shipping to another country), but it helps get you more exposure for your book--as well as excitement!
Book events are a great way to get the hype up for your book after it's published, and it's something you can do consistently. You can even add more books over time as you write them. You can hold them in-person or stream online; whatever floats your boat. I've personally held events at a library, a park, and at my own house. I'll be doing my first online stream event soon!
I recommend holding some sort of "core" event, whether that's a Q & A, a small speech about the book, or reading a chapter. You can also have art and/or videos playing in the background, to immerse the audience into the story even more. I also sold merchandise alongside the obligatory signed books. I recommend you do merchandise after your story's out there a bit more, so people are more excited about having X character on a shirt after they're read something of your series, for example. A new reader is rarely going to be interested in merchandise, so save this for further along in your series.
Raffles are important too. After all, what reader doesn't want a free book? Post about raffles online at any point, or host a raffle at your book event! Sure, shipping might be expensive (especially if you're shipping to another country), but it helps get you more exposure for your book--as well as excitement!