9 Things Even a Marketing-Phobic Author Should Do
Hey, you, hiding in the back of the room, I’m talking to you. Yes, you. You should be thinking about marketing your book, even though you really, really don’t want to.
It’s the rare author who loooves marketing. Let me tell you a secret, I’m a marketing consultant and I still low-key hate book marketing sometimes.
“Leave me alone and let me write my books!” might be your attitude. But if you actually want people to read those books, you’ll have to help to publicise them.
This isn’t the article where I’m going to instruct you on 20 labour-intensive marketing techniques. (That’s a different article: 20 Examples of Content Marketing That Authors Should Try)
This is the article where I tell you the bare minimum that you need to do.
I’ve ranked these must-do things from easy to hard, so feel free to let your eyes glaze over the further you scroll. But, really, pay attention to the first few, at least.
1. Get a professional author photo
It might make you uncomfortable, but being a published author means your photo is now Out There. It’ll be on the inside jacket of your book and/or on the Amazon listing. It’ll be sent out to the media. If you do an event, there’ll be a photo of you in the programme and on the website.
Even if you’re an up-and-coming writer, the time will come when you’ll be asked for a photo of yourself. It might accompany an announcement like “hey, you got shortlisted in a short story competition”.
I do not ordinarily recommend authors spend money on expensive things. The exception is professional photography.
There’s a certain mystique around being an author – that we waft around, thinking terribly hard and having flashes of inspiration. Of course this isn’t true, but it’s your job to uphold the fantasy.
What will immediately destroy the fantasy? A bad author photo.
For more about how you can go about getting a good author photo, check out: How to get a stunning author photo (and why you need one)
2. Have a presence on social media (even if you don’t use it all the time)
I don’t recommend authors spend a ton of time on social media. Why?
– It’s a timesuck and your time is better spent on writing
– It can lead to negatively comparing yourself to other people
– Unless you’re a professional social media manager, it’s hard to use it as a tool to sell books
However, that doesn’t mean you get to rewind to 1999 and pretend social media doesn’t exist (sorry). It’s good practice to at least have an account on the major social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, etc.), plus a Goodreads author account.
You don’t have to post all the time, but keep those social media accounts up to date with any big news. (For example: your latest book releases, 99p ebook deals, award wins, etc.) Plus, make sure your photo and bio are up to date.
This means that readers can follow you on the platform of their choice. Even if your posts only pop up every 6 months, a follower will see your latest book. And hopefully they’ll buy it!
3. Join Facebook author groups
I often recommend Facebook groups to people and get the reaction “Facebook?!?” I know, I know, no one uses Facebook anymore – apart from the literal millions of people who use Facebook every day.
There remains a surprisingly active community within Facebook’s groups (which function a bit like message boards of yore). Whatever you’re interested in, there’ll be a Facebook group for it.
This includes writing. Connecting with other authors can be a genuine boon. You’ll get unvarnished advice, tips on things like (*gestures*) marketing. There’ll be people on hand to give your social media posts a few likes. It can also be a way to get “in” with the right people so you get on the panel at an event or get featured on a podcast.
If you ever wondered where the secret cabal of authors is located… it’s in Facebook author groups.
Fair warning, Facebook groups can sometimes get gossipy and mean, so limit the time you’re spending in these groups. See above, re: social media timesuck.
4. Take your book for a walk
Every time you post about your book on social media, you should accompany the post with a photo, in order to grab people’s attention.
The problem is: book covers alone make for horrible social media content. They’re too tall and skinny, so they always end up cropped weird.
For this reason, every author needs an arsenal of gorgeous, social-friendly pictures featuring their book.
So take your book for a walk and snap some pics. Better yet, enlist a friend who likes photography to help you.
Here are some examples of photos a friend took of my novels:
5. Have a website
“But if I’m on social media, why do I need a website?”
Luckily, I now have a case study that illustrates why. Two words: Elon Musk. When ol’ Musky took over Twitter, it went sailing through the air and landed in the toilet.
Any social media platform can go down the crapper at any moment. Doesn’t matter how many followers you have if suddenly the only people who use it are Nazis and porn bots.
Therefore, you need a platform that you own and control. Drumroll, please. Your own author website!
It doesn’t have to be huge, complex or full of bells and whistles. It just needs to be your own corner of the internet where you let people know that you have a new book out.
If you’re looking for a beautiful, cost-effective website from an author who understands marketing, check out my services.
6. Have a newsletter (with a reader magnet)
One of the biggest reasons to have a website is that it allows you to have an newsletter sign-up mechanism.
“E-newsletters?!?” You might be screwing up your face like I just mentioned Facebook. Yes, e-newsletters.
Social media platforms come and go, but people will always have email. That means being able to email a bunch of people and say “hey, I have a new book out” is one of the most useful marketing moves you can make.
To maximise your newsletter sign-ups, you should have a “reader magnet”. This is a free piece of content that people get when they sign-up.
A reader magnet could be “bonus chapters” from your books, or a stand-alone novella/short story. Anything, really, that has intrinsic value.
If you’re looking to set up an author newsletter or create your own reader magnet, I can help you with that.
7. Practice pithy answers to questions you know you’ll be asked
Whether it’s at a glittering literary event, in a radio interview, or just at your mate’s barbecue, you can guarantee someone will ask you a question about your book.
Think hard enough and you already know the questions you’ll be asked. (“Where do you get your ideas from?” “How did you get started as a writer?” “Why did you pick [genre] to write?”)
Now you need to know the answers. Not just any answer, but a considered, interesting answer, ideally incorporating an anecdote.
Therefore, it’s worth spending a couple of hours brainstorming answers to common questions.
Obviously, don’t memorise your answers so that you sound like a robot. But having a rough outline of what you want to say will make it easier to sound intelligent when you’re put on the spot.
8. Improve your public speaking
You know that glittering literary event I mentioned? Yeah, ideally, it won’t be the first time you’ve spoken in public. Or even the tenth time.
It’s a weird contradiction that, in order to write a book, you must spend hundreds of hours alone in a room, tapping away at a computer. But then you get published and suddenly you’re expected to stumble out on stage and speak to a crowd of people.
For this reason, most authors are – sorry, I’ll whisper it, I don’t mean to be cruel –terrible public speakers.
Therefore if you, dear author, make even the smallest effort to improve your public speaking abilities, you’ll make a better-than-average impression at events or in interviews. As a result, audience members will remember you (and hopefully buy your books), and event organisers will ask you back next year.
Best of all, you’ll go away feeling proud of your performance, rather than wanting to stick your head in a bucket.
Me? I used to be a terrible public speaker. But I committed to getting better, and I did this by joining a Toastmasters public speaking club (there are clubs in every major city). Now I have a sideline as a professional public speaker, getting paid for it and everything. I know, right? Personal growth. What a concept.
9. Try out one or two types of content marketing
I’ve put together a whole list of 20 types of content-based marketing you could be doing, from guesting on podcasts to sharing recipes.
I’m not expecting a marketing-phobic author to do all of them, or even some of them. But, for a gold star, you should pick one or two from that list and give them a go.
The key question you should ask yourself is: “will I have fun doing this, even if it doesn’t help sell my books?”
If you love making videos, dive into TikTok. If you love messing around with Canva, make some graphics. If you love pontificating (I do!), write a blog post.
There’s no wrong way to do content marketing, which means you should opt for something you genuinely enjoy. Do not throw yourself into something you hate, no matter how much you feel like you “should” be on BookTok or YouTube.
OK, dear author, have you retreated even further to the back of the room? Are you hiding behind the curtain in horror? Hopefully not.
