You’ve written your book. (Congratulations!)
You’ve self-published your book (or worked with a hybrid publisher).
And it’s possibly cost you a fair bit of money.
So your book promotion budget might be non-existent.
But your book’s not selling … What can you do now? … Save up? Give up?
No, no no…
If you want to start selling your book, the first (free) thing you should do is set up an author profile on social media (if you haven’t already).
Even if you don’t particularly like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram or any other social media platform, you should seriously consider using them.
After all, they only need a time investment and a little bit of know-how.
Book marketing doesn’t have to be about creating flaky Facebook ads which fill you with regret when the bill plops into your inbox. Nor does promotion have to involve peacocking, hustling or cheesy sales tactics. Nope.
Choose one or two platforms where your readers hang out (instead of skittering between five or six of them and not really making an impact) and focus on building relationships rather than going for the hard sell approach. Once you build up trust with your followers, charm them with your word-weaving, and make them laugh, they’ll connect with you, follow you, buy your next book (and the one after that) and your ready-made audience will continue to grow.
By the way, if you’re still in the process of writing your book, take a look at these social media content ideas for launching your book from Social Media Examiner – there’s some great advice here.
Here are 25 social media content ideas to help promote your book and build your reputation as an author worth following.
Play around with them, turn them on their heads, look at them from different perspectives, and most of all watch the reactions you get. Once you know the kind of posts or content your followers or fans engage with the most, do more of that! Simple!
So, here goes…
Write about your book from a holistic perspective, ie:
- What inspired you to write your book?
- How long have you been a writer?
- Why did you choose this genre?
- Do you write as a full-time job or fit it in around employment?
Talk about the book-writing process:
- Did it take you long to write your book?
- How long?
- How did you find the time to write?
- Do you plan your book first or just sit down and start typing?
Write about your self-publishing journey:
- Why did you choose to self-publish?
- What were your biggest challenges with self-publishing?
- Did you outsource any of the self-publishing tasks?
- Would you recommend self-publishing to other writers?
Write about your biggest fears when you…
- wrote your book.
- pressed the ‘publish’ button.
- launched your book.
- received your first review.
Write about how you overcame your fears and obstacles, such as:
- time pressures.
- self-doubt.
- motivation levels.
Share videos of you reading extracts from your book
- Written a novel? Share the best cliffhanger in the book or introduce the protagonist.
- A memoir? share something your readers don’t know about you.
- A business book? Give an overview of the contents page and the kind of results readers can expect to achieve when they’ve finished reading.
Then consider some of these social media content ideas to promote your book…
- Create imagery/memes using some of your favourite quotes from your book.
- Share reader reviews.
- Organise a competition and give away free copies of your book.
- Arrange a Q+A session where writers can ask you anything about the writing/self-publishing process.
- Arrange a virtual book launch and share it live on your social media platforms.
- Ask for feedback on potential book covers.
- Ask your readers who their favourite character is ~ assuming you’ve written fiction.
- Alternatively, ask your readers what they thought was the best takeaway advice from your book.
- Share some behind-the-scenes snippets such as ‘A day in the life of this author’.
- Talk about the genre of your book, your favourite authors in this genre and drum up some conversations, questions, and of course, some fun, to get conversations flowing.
- Share some pics of your writing space.
- Talk about your favourite or most productive places to write.
- Ask your readers where they read your book ~ ie on holiday (where?) or on the train journey to work or in bed.
- Talk about your love of books (or your book addiction if you’re anything like me) and ask your fans/followers to tell you about their current reads.
- Share relevant articles that will hook your readers’ interest.
- Ask your readers to share pics of your book beside their pets (pet pictures are always forthcoming!).
- Do a live video with someone who helped you with your book – ie your book cover designer, your formatter or proofreader and get them to share some top tips for aspiring authors who are thinking of self-publishing.
- Create a clickable cover for your social media profiles which hyperlinks straight through to your book on Amazon.
- Decide on a hashtag for your book and share it everywhere!
Go try them now and let me know how you get on.
If you have any social media content ideas you’d like to share with us, feel free to pop them in the comments box below.
Good luck with your book promotion!
Michelle
Self-Publishing Services for Fiction Writers
