5 marketing tips for debut authors
Author marketing expert Katie Sadler
Really excited to have another guest post from marketing expert Katie Sadler for you this week!
When they get their first book deal, many authors feel totally overwhelmed by the prospect of marketing their books - so I thought it might be helpful to get Katie’s take on the most important things to do as a debut.
Over to Katie…
Getting a book deal is a huge deal, so first of all, congratulations! There can be a big gap between getting your book deal and getting published, and many authors find this period of time tricky. They want to make sure their book reaches the widest possible readership on publication, but aren't sure what they should do (/what they're allowed to do) before the book has a page on Amazon and some kind of marketing plan from their publisher.
If you're a newly acquired author, these are the 5 things I would recommend to put yourself into the best possible position when it comes to marketing your book.
1/ Start building connections online
Pick one or two social networks to engage with, and then start seeking out interesting people. Who are the authors writing in your area? Who is reviewing books in your genre? What journalists write features about stories like yours? Seek people out that you are interested in, and that you think might be interested in your book further down the road. Follow them on social media, subscribe to their newsletters, share their work, leave comments on their content, interact with other people in their comments section, join relevant Facebook groups and be an active member...
Try to find your community online and again - be an active member of the community. Yes, this is about networking and finding people who might eventually be 'useful' for your book, but it's also about finding people that you connect with, and who will ultimately make the publication journey that much more fun and doable.
2/ Start building connections offline
As well as doing this online, try to do this offline, if you can. Are there local writing groups or networking groups that you could join? Does your local bookshop host events that you could start going along to, and getting to know the staff there? Are there volunteering opportunities at your library? Do you publish into a genre like romance, crime or SFF, which has conferences and festivals? Could you go along to them and join in any aspiring writer workshops they host?
Again, this is about networking and meeting people who might be useful, but writing is generally a solitary affair. Making these connections is also about making yourself feel that you are part of something bigger, and that you aren't doing this all alone.
3/ Set up a basic website
I do think it's important to have a home on the internet where you can share:
- A bit about who you are and how people can connect with you
- A bit about each of your books
- A sign up form for your newsletter
- A blog or news area if you want to blog regularly
This can be all on one page to begin with - it doesn't need to be complicated. Squarespace and Wordpress.org both have gorgeous free templates that you can use to get started. The only thing I would ask is that you do run this on a custom domain which is yourname.com or yournameauthor.com. This looks professional and makes it obvious to the visitor that they are in the right place.
Charlotte has lots of advice on author websites on this blog, and there is a wealth of free information out there about starting a website. It might feel daunting at first, but I absolutely believe you will be able to do it.
4/ Set up a newsletter
Even if your book is not out for 18 months, set up your newsletter now, send newsletters at least once a month, and communicate clearly online every time you send one. Setting this up as soon as possible gives you a few advantages:
- It means you can ask your publisher to add a link to it in the back of your book, and include a paragraph about it in your acknowledgements.
- You can start building your subscriber base now, giving you a good chance to having people on your list when your book is released.
- It gets you in the habit of sending and promoting emails.
- You can take people on the journey to publication with you, and prime them to buy the book when it’s available.
You can get started with your newsletter for free using a tool like Mailerlite, or you can explore a newsletter / blog hybrid like Substack, which has some built in social sharing tools and community features.
5/ Create a clear content plan for your online platforms
If you are going to be sharing on social media and writing regular newsletters and/or blog posts, that might feel like a lot of content you are creating.
To make sure you don't get overwhelmed, and to give yourself the best chance to creating content that connects with an audience that might also like your book, I suggest you do the following:
- Get clear on what kind of content you want to share - this will make it much easier to stay consistent.
- At this point, you won't be sharing explictly about your book, but think about:
- What brings you joy in your everyday life that you could share with others. Hobbies, routines, work practices, interesting articles, podcasts or playlists you listen to on your walks, images or videos from your local walking spot, etc.
- What you and your ideal reader might have in common. If you write a locked room mystery, for example, could you write a weekly post about The Traitors, and share your live reactions on social media? If you write romance, could you talk about ways to romanticise your life? If you write non-fiction, are there particular areas you want to be known for, that you could share educational information around?
- How you can share your writing story. Could you share a post at the end of each writing or editing day to show how you got on? Could you share a weekly update of what you acheived? Could you share your publishing journey and take people behind the scenes?
- Who are the influencers in your area that are slightly ahead of you? Can you work with them in some way that boosts whatever they are doing? Maybe you have a weekly post of things you've seen online recently that you loved, and tag the creators, or you could interview them for your newsletter or on social media.
- Share one thing each week from each of those categories, and you'll be sharing 4 days a week with interesting posts that are relevant to people that might enjoy your book and related to your writing.
- Commit to a schedule you can maintain. Social media algorithms like you to show up often, but there’s no point in saying you’ll share something every day if it ends up with you burning out after 3 weeks. Find a rhythm that works for you and aim to stick to it as best you can.
Bonus tip #6: Have fun with it!
When you focus on building real relationships and sharing content that brings you joy, as well as being useful / interesting / entertaining / relatable to your reader, marketing can really be a lot of fun. If you’re NOT enjoying it, try to identify why, and see if you can figure out ways to make it more rewarding for yourself. Experiment, be playful, and try to enjoy the ride!
Katie Sadler is an author and publishing marketing consultant. If you'd like help with building your marketing plan, or want to work with someone to grow your author platform, you can find out more on her website or drop her an email for more information. You can also sign up to her newsletter for regular marketing tips and behind-the-scenes stories of life as a self-employed single mum.
