How to Market a Novel: A Complete Guide for 2023

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 G S MeredithBlogging, Book Marketing, Marketing, Website Content

If you’re an indie author with dreams of selling lots of books, we’ve put together a simple guide on how to market a novel. It includes how to set up a website and create content that reaches your target audience as well as how to choose the right social media platforms to build a following.

It seems that everyone nowadays wants to be a writer. One of the things that indie and self-published authors often have trouble with is selling their books.

Unfortunately, while writing your ‘bestselling novel’ takes a lot of work, it’s nothing compared to the amount of effort you need to put into selling once it’s finally published.

Our top tip for marketing a novel: You must be focused; you have to be committed and put in the work and you need to keep going.

Common Mistakes Writers in Make in Marketing

Poor Quality Book: One of the biggest mistakes is publishing a book that is not ready to go to print in the first place. Unresolved errors include poor editing, bad formatting, or an unprofessional cover design. This will certainly lead to negative reviews and poor sales over time.
Lack of Marketing Plan: Many self-published authors assume that simply publishing their books on Amazon or other platforms will be enough to attract readers. However, without a solid marketing plan, it can be difficult to get your book noticed in a crowded market. There are thought to be more than 1.42 million self-published books on Amazon alone – that’s a lot of competition.
Inadequate Online Platform: Authors need a website, social media accounts, and perhaps even email lists to effectively promote their book and engage with potential readers. In short, if no one gets to hear about your book, you’re not going to sell anything.
Overpricing: Self-published authors often overprice their books, thinking that they need to make more money per sale. However, this can backfire as readers are more likely to buy books that are priced competitively. Like Goldilocks, there’s a sweet spot and you need to find it (we’ll come to reasons why you should not give away your book for FREE a little later).
Lack of Reviews: Reviews play a critical role in boosting book sales, but many self-published authors don’t have any at all. This can be because they don’t know how to get them or they don’t have a marketing plan in place to encourage readers to leave reviews.
No Target Audience: You may not have a clear idea of your target audience, making it difficult to market your book effectively. Identifying and understanding the people you’re trying to sell to is crucial for building a marketing strategy that resonates with potential readers.
Impatience: Self-published authors often expect to see immediate sales and success. Building an audience and generating sales takes time and effort. Impatience can lead to giving up too soon or making rash decisions that may harm long-term success.

One of the biggest mistakes that self-published authors make is focusing too much on themselves rather than the genre in which they are trying to sell their book. While it’s important to build a personal brand and connect with readers on a personal level, the primary focus should be on the genre and audience for your book.

For example, if an author has written a romance novel, they could focus on the themes of love, relationships, and overcoming obstacles rather than their personal story. By emphasizing the universal themes of the genre, they are more likely to attract potential readers who are interested in those themes.

Another common mistake that indie authors make is marketing only to other indie authors rather than to fans of the genre they’re writing in. While networking with other authors can be helpful, it’s important to remember that they are not, and should not be your primary audience.

Ultimately, the key to successful marketing as an indie author is to understand your target audience and build a strategy that resonates with them and which works for you.

Writing a Marketing Plan for Your Work

One of the problems we often see with indie authors is that they have an ad hoc approach to marketing their great new novel. They’ll throw up a few social media posts, maybe create a personal author website and add a few blog posts. But nothing is consistent and their efforts often fall away. To be successful you need to have that focused and almost analytical approach to your marketing.

A marketing plan is a document that outlines the strategies and tactics you will use to promote your book and increase its sales. It’s like a roadmap that guides you through the process of reaching out to potential readers and making them interested in your book.

A typical marketing plan includes information about your target audience, the key messages you want to convey, and the marketing channels you will use to reach your audience (such as social media, email, or advertising). It should also set clear goals and metrics to measure your success, such as the number of copies sold or the engagement on your social media posts.

When creating your marketing plan, it’s important to consider your budget and resources, as well as the timeline for your book launch. You may also want to research your competition and analyze what has worked for other authors in your genre.

Check out: Tips for Creating an Effective Book Marketing Plan.

Understanding Your Target Audience: Writer’s Marketing 101

The key to putting together a good marketing plan that works is understanding who your target audience is. It’s not just about their age and gender but what sort of things they are interested in.

Someone who loves to read horror, for example, might also be interested in sci-fi, films, and music, they may be more likely to get dressed up for Halloween, might have more progressive liberal views and see themselves as activists.

The more you can drill down into the persona of your typical reader the better you can start to come up with content that is going to reach them and which will help give your new book visibility.

Check out this guide from Marketing Evolution.

Optimising Your Listings on Self-Publishing Platforms

So, let’s get started on how to market a novel. Your book is written, and you’re ready to publish and offer it to your audience. The first thing you need to do is optimise your listings on self-publishing platforms like Amazon KDP and Smashwords.

Most of these platforms use customer searches to find products. So on Amazon, you will write a search like ‘latest horror books’ to find new novels or you’ll put in a particular author’s name or subgenre like ‘vampires’ or ‘werewolves’. Optimising your listing means making it as likely as possible that your book will show up in those listings, hopefully somewhere near the top.

To do this, you need to check out the relevant keywords for the category that your book is in. You also need to write a compelling description of your book, you as the author and why someone should read it. It’s normal nowadays to offer a few of the sample pages so that someone can get a taster and decide whether they want to buy or not (that’s also why it’s critical to make your book opening compelling).

Pricing: A Quick Guide for Authors

This is a little bit of a bugbear, and it really does drive us crazy here at the Drunken Copywriter. Giving your book away for free in the hope that your fame will spread is rank stupidity. Not least because it sends the message to your audience that this is not worth them spending any money.

Check out the price for books in your genre and match them. If you’ve spent countless hours writing your novel, put a price on it. A fair price.

Creating a Website

One of the key ways to promote your book and attract potential buyers is to create an engaging website. While an author site is important, it’s not always the best way to attract attention from a wider audience.

What Can Authors Learn from Affiliate Marketing?

Choosing the right approach is critical if you want to sell your book. One that is often overlooked is affiliate marketing. This is where someone creates a site that is specifically designed to sell a particular product. For example, you may partner with an affiliate that sells high-quality mattresses. You create a site that is focused on the science of getting a good night’s sleep and you add affiliate links and when someone clicks and buys on that link you earn a commission.

What we’re suggesting here is that, rather than act for a third party, you act for yourself as an affiliate marketer. That means creating a website (not an author’s website) that aligns closely with the book that you are trying to sell. It’s aimed at attracting people who are not only interested in your website content but may also want to go on and buy your book.

It’s not a direct sell but you have links to your book or books in the content and the side panels. The benefit here is that you are attracting the right audience, not just other self-published authors but a much broader spectrum who tick the right boxes.

You can create one or more sites that have this focus and together they should build a marketing platform that is effective and easy to maintain.

Creating an Affiliate Website That Matches Your Book

If you’re novel is about vampires, you could for example create a focused website that is all about vampire movies and books or folklore and history. If you’re a romance novelist, you may create a site reviewing romantic products such as candles or jewellery or even a guide to dating for certain age groups.

The key here is to check how many potential customers you are likely to get coming to your site and that involves doing keyword searches and seeing how popular they are.

Building Content for Your Site

It’s critical to build up your website content and post regularly. You will need to find a range of different approaches and the key is going to be the quality of what you write and its relevance. Ideally, your focus should not just be on coming top in the rankings for particular online searches but on providing value as well.

Check out our guide: What Does it Take to Become a Professional Blogger?

Using AI to Market a Novel: Is it Sacrilege?

Sadly for writers, AI is here to stay and while it won’t be the next Stephen King or Ann Rice, it is going to have a profound impact. Having said that, software like ChatGPT can be useful if you need to build content quickly or are looking for ideas for your site. Used well it can be a great time-saving tool.

Check out our recent take on using ChatGPT for marketing here.

Organic SEO and Your Promotional Website

The key to any successful website is good SEO. This stands for search engine optimisation and what it entails is finding ways to get your pages to the top of the rankings so that they end up on page one of the results. To do this you need a combination of keyword selection, technical SEO and inbound links.

Keyword searches include all the most popular terms that people are inputting into search engines to find information.
Technical SEO includes more basic features such as how quickly your site downloads and is designed for ease of use.
Google loves inbound links as it shows how popular your site is and how it is respected. The more you can encourage from other sites, the better.

Check out our beginner’s guide to SEO here.

A Guide to Leveraging Social Media for Authors

Social media is important for self-published writers for several reasons:

Social media platforms provide self-published writers with an opportunity to connect with potential readers and build a following. By sharing updates about their writing process, promotions, and upcoming releases, writers can engage with readers and create a strong community around their work.
Social media helps self-published writers increase their visibility and reach a larger audience. By using hashtags, engaging with other writers and readers, and sharing valuable content, you should hope to attract new followers and increase your reach.
Social media is a powerful tool for marketing and promoting self-published books. You can use social media to share book trailers, reviews, and other promotional materials, as well as to run targeted ads and promotions.
Social media lets you build relationships with readers, reviewers, and other writers and that can provide valuable insights and feedback on their work.

Which Social Media Channels Are Best for Writers?

The social media channels that work best for indie authors can vary depending on their target audience, genre, and personal preferences. However, here are some popular social media platforms that are commonly used by indie authors:

Facebook is the largest social media platform and can be a great way for indie authors to connect with readers and other writers. Facebook offers several features that can be useful for authors, including groups, pages, and events.
Twitter is a fast-paced platform that can be used to share updates, engage with followers, and participate in conversations. Twitter is particularly popular among writers and book bloggers.
Instagram is a visually-oriented platform that can be used to showcase book covers, share book-related images, and engage with readers. Instagram is particularly popular among younger readers and those interested in visual content.
TikTok is a short-form video platform that can be used to promote books and engage with readers. TikTok is particularly popular among younger readers and those interested in creative and entertaining content.
Goodreads is a social media platform for book lovers and can be a great way for indie authors to connect with readers and promote their work. Goodreads offers several features for authors, including author pages, book giveaways, and reader reviews.
Pinterest is a visual discovery platform that can be used to share book covers, quotes, and other book-related images. Pinterest is particularly popular among women and those interested in DIY and lifestyle content.

Ultimately, the best social media channels will depend on your specific goals and target audience. Indie authors need to experiment with different platforms and find the ones that work best for them.

Tips for Using Social Media

Know your target audience: Before you start using social media as an indie author, it’s important to know who you are trying to reach. Understanding your readers’ interests and preferences will help you create content that resonates with them and engages them.
Create a consistent brand: This needs to happen across all your social media channels as it will help you build a recognizable identity and make it easier for readers to find you. This includes using the same profile picture, bio, and colour scheme across all platforms.
Be authentic: Readers want to connect with real people, not just authors promoting their work. Be authentic and engage with your followers as you would with friends. Share personal stories and updates on your writing process, and respond to comments and messages promptly.
Provide value: Don’t just use social media to promote your work. Provide value to your followers by sharing interesting content related to your genre or writing process, participating in conversations, and offering advice and insights.
Use visuals: Social media is a visually-oriented platform, so use images and graphics to make your posts more engaging. That includes high-quality images of your book cover, sharing quotes or snippets from your novel in a visually-appealing way, and using videos to showcase your writing process or book trailers.
Be consistent: Post regularly and at the same time each day or week, so your followers know when to expect new content from you.

Why Reviews Are Important

Reviews are important for self-published authors because they can significantly impact the success of their book. Here are some reasons why reviews are crucial for self-published authors:

Reviews provide social proof that your book is worth reading. When potential readers see positive reviews from other readers, they are more likely to trust you and make a purchase.
Positive reviews can also improve your book’s visibility on online marketplaces such as Amazon. The algorithms used by these platforms take into account the number and quality of reviews, and books with more positive reviews are more likely to appear higher in search results.
Reviews can provide valuable feedback for self-published authors. Readers share their thoughts on what they liked and didn’t like about your book, which can help you improve your writing and make better decisions about future projects.
Positive reviews can also be used as marketing material. You can include quotes from reviews in your book’s description or use them in advertising or promotional materials.
Reviews can also be personally satisfying for self-published authors. It’s rewarding to see that readers are enjoying and connecting with your work, and positive reviews can be a source of motivation to continue writing.

How to Attract Reviews

Self-published authors can get reviews for their books in several ways. Here are some methods:

One of the easiest ways to get reviews for your book is to ask friends and family members to leave a review. Be sure to remind them to be honest and to disclose their relationship to you.
You could offer advanced copies of your book to readers in exchange for an honest review. You can reach out to book bloggers, bookstagrammers, and other readers who might be interested in your genre and ask if they would be willing to review your book.
Several book review services specialize in reviewing self-published books. Some of these services charge a fee, while others are free. Do your research and choose a reputable company that has a good track record of providing honest and helpful reviews.
You can also participate in review exchanges with other self-published authors. This involves reading and reviewing each other’s books in exchange for a review of your book.
Promote your book on social media and encourage readers to leave reviews. Include a call-to-action in your posts, asking readers to share their thoughts and leave a review if they enjoyed your book.
If you have a blog, podcast, or other platform, use it to promote your book and ask for reviews. You can also reach out to any professional contacts who might be interested in reading and reviewing your book.

Overall, getting reviews for your self-published book takes effort and persistence. Be proactive in reaching out to potential reviewers, and always remember to provide a high-quality reading experience that will encourage readers to leave positive reviews.

Do Book Promos Work?

Video promos can be another way to promote your book. You’ll find just as many writers in favour of these as there are against them. What you’ll need to take into account is the cost of creating a video and what likely return on investment you may get. Here are some of the advantages:

Visual impact: Video allows you to showcase your book visually, including the cover, the setting, and any promotional material. This can make a stronger impact on potential readers than simply describing the book in words.
Emotional connection: Video can help you create an emotional connection with potential readers by using music, images, and other sensory elements to evoke emotions and convey the mood and tone of your book.
Shareability: Video is highly shareable, which means that your book promo can be easily shared across social media platforms, reaching a wider audience and potentially going viral.
Personality: Video allows you to showcase your personality and build a personal connection with your audience. By appearing in your promo, you can create a sense of authenticity and trust.
Accessibility: Video can be more accessible for some readers, such as those who prefer audiobooks or have visual impairments. Adding subtitles or captions can also make your promo more accessible for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Check out this quick guide from Book Beaver.

The Power of Influencer Marketing for Writers

Influencer marketing is a strategy that involves partnering with well-known individuals or organizations to promote a product or service. In the case of indie authors, this would involve partnering with influencers who have a significant following in the book industry to promote a novel.

The key to successful influencer marketing is finding the right people who have a genuine interest in your book and are aligned with your target audience. These influencers could be book bloggers, bookstagrammers, booktubers, or even just fans of different genres.

Once you have identified potential influencers, you can reach out to them and offer a partnership. This could involve sending them a copy of your book in exchange for a review, asking them to feature your book on their social media channels, or collaborating on a joint project.

When working with influencers, it’s important to be transparent and authentic. Make sure that any sponsored content is clearly labelled as such, and encourage influencers to share their honest opinions about your book. Remember that the goal of influencer marketing is to build relationships and create buzz around your book, not to necessarily push sales.

Is Paid for Advertising Worth it For Writers?

Paid advertising can be worth it for indie authors if it is done strategically and with a clear understanding of the potential costs and benefits. Here are some things to consider when deciding whether or not to invest in paid advertising:

Targeting: Paid advertising can be highly targeted, which means that you can reach specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. This can be especially useful for indie authors who are trying to reach a specific niche audience.
Budget: Paid advertising can be expensive, and it’s important to have a clear understanding of your budget before you start. You may need to experiment with different ad platforms and targeting options to find what works best for your book and your budget.
Metrics: Paid advertising usually provides detailed metrics on how your ads are performing, including click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on investment. It’s important to track these metrics carefully to ensure that your ads are generating a positive return.
Competition: PPC can be highly competitive, especially in popular genres like romance and mystery. It’s important to have a clear understanding of your competition and to differentiate your book from others in the market.
Quality of book: Ultimately, the success of paid advertising depends on the quality of your book. If your book is well-written and has strong appeal, paid advertising can help you reach a wider audience and generate more sales. However, if your book is poorly written or doesn’t appeal to your target audience, paid advertising is unlikely to be effective.

Marketing for Writers FAQs

Why is marketing important for writers? Marketing is important for writers because it helps them to reach a wider audience and increase book sales.
What are some common marketing mistakes writers make? Common marketing mistakes include not understanding the target audience, focusing too much on oneself, and not having a marketing plan.
How do I create a personal brand as a writer? To create a personal brand, writers should focus on their unique voice and writing style, and use social media and other platforms to promote themselves.
What are some effective ways to promote my book online? Effective ways to promote books online include using social media, email marketing, creating a website, and collaborating with bloggers and other influencers.
Should I use paid advertising to promote my book? Paid advertising can be effective, but it’s important to understand the costs and benefits and to target the right audience.
How do I find and connect with my target audience? Researching the market and understanding reader preferences is key to finding and connecting with your target audience.
What are some ways to engage with readers and build a community? Ways to engage with readers include creating content that resonates with them, offering incentives like giveaways or book clubs, and responding to comments and feedback.
How do I get reviews for my book? Authors can get reviews by reaching out to book bloggers, offering review copies, and encouraging readers to leave reviews on online marketplaces like Amazon.
What is content marketing and how can it benefit writers? Content marketing is creating valuable and relevant content that attracts and engages readers. It can benefit writers by building their platform and attracting a wider audience.
How can I measure the success of my marketing efforts? Measuring the success of marketing efforts can be done by tracking key metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, and book sales.

We hope that this overview of how to market a novel helps. There is plenty of advice out there nowadays and it’s a good idea to explore all that has to offer. If you’ve got a great tip on marketing for writers, put it in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.