Early Book Marketing

Even before you finish your book, you need to do early book marketing. The marketing of your book is as important as the quality of writing that you do. You can write the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, all of your work is for naught.

Starting your book marketing early is extremely important for a number of reasons. Since a great deal of your marketing will be done online, you need to allow time to build a website, gather subscribers, create newsletters, and so on. Anyone who writes online knows that takes a good bit of time and effort.

I recommend to all of my writers that they start their book marketing at least six months prior to publication. A half year seems like a lot of time, but you have a great many things to do very early in the process.

A To-Do List for Early Book Marketing

1. Website: Build or have someone else build a website, either for you as author or for your new book. Once built, just don’t park that website on the internet. Write about your book, yourself, your interests, and so on. Keep it vibrant and alive.

2. Email list: How are you going to tell your readers that your new book will be published in the fall? (And you are taking pre-pub orders for it!) Build an email list through your website as well as through your social media outlets.

3. Social Media: Get active in at least one social media platform. Each one is a little different, so look for the one that fits you and your goals the best and get active on it. This could be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or a myriad of other sites.

4. Newsletter: Once you get your email list up and running, publish a newsletter for your followers. It could be quarterly, or if you are really ambitious and have a lot to say, try for a monthly newsletter. There are a number of companies which have the format down and a slick way to email, so price them before you attempt to do all of this yourself.

5. Become an expert: write guest posts, create a google profile, do some radio and TV interviews, and even try some speaking engagements. Remember to concentrate on your topic and not your new book. Do a mention of your new book at the end. You want people to think of you as the “go-to” person, not as a person selling a book.

I guess I am just trying to nudge you along in the marketing world. Most of us find book marketing the hardest part of the industry, but it can also be the most rewarding. Early book marketing is critical to the success of your book. If you want to sell books, you have to market—both your book and yourself.