Writing a book is difficult. It takes time, stamina and patience. The last thing an author needs is to make it more difficult for themselves by making mistakes that make their book less likely to sell.
So, let’s look at five of the most common mistakes authors make when trying to market their books and how you can avoid them.
1. Pricing Your Book Wrong
Pricing your book is one of the most important decisions you will make as an author. The price of your book directly impacts the success of your launch because it impacts your ranking in Amazon search results and how many sales you get on day 1.
But pricing is tricky, especially if you’re new to the game and have no idea what other people are charging for their books — not to mention what they’re getting in return. If you price it too high, then no one would buy it from you and if you price it too low, people will think that it doesn’t hold any value for them.
While it’s true that scarcity combined with a bargain sells, pricing it too low can strip your book of all value. A reader might not be too motivated to buy a book that’s too lower than the standard industry rates. So make sure to check the rates of the other books in your genre and price it right.
2. Inadequate Book Description
The first page readers see when they come across an author’s work is the book description. One of the biggest mistakes authors make is not taking the time to write an attention-grabbing synopsis of their story or non-fiction book. A compelling paragraph that hooks in readers right away will stop them from moving on to find another book by a different author.
3. Poor Book Cover Design
The design of your book cover and interior pages can be the difference between selling a few books and selling thousands.
The good news is that great design doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. But the bad news is that a bad design can cost you sales.
The first rule of book design — make sure that the message of your book comes across clearly and cleanly. Your potential reader shouldn’t have to guess what kind of book this is or what it’s about. This isn’t to say that you should shove all the information into a tiny corner of the cover or cram the cover with loads of information.
As an author, we tend to sway more on the side of the words to deliver the message than the cover. But keep in mind that readers tend to gravitate towards a book based on the cover design first.
Less really is more when it comes to creating a great book cover. Focus on your title and subtitle, plus a compelling cover design that portrays exactly what your book is all about.
If you aren’t sure about the quality of your image, get others’ opinions. And if you aren’t sit satisfied, invest in a good designer to help you out.
4. Not Utilizing All Marketing Channels Properly
Many marketing channels are available to authors today, but many authors don’t use these channels effectively. You should understand how each channel works differently and get the most out of each one. If you spend too much time on one channel or misuse it, you’re wasting your time and losing potential sales.
While authors use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce updates on their latest books or engage with fans, they may not give much importance to reader-centric platforms like AllAuthor. You should be using these platforms as a way to market their stories and get people talking about them.
Make sure to utilize such platforms as you’re relying on social media to market your books. You can take advantage of the AllAuthor’s Pro-Membership to create marketing materials, add your ebook deals for additional publicity and feature your book for extra promotions.
Many authors also try to cut corners on marketing, thinking that spending money will make them lose profit in the long run. But without enough marketing and promotion, your book won’t sell well. This might hurt you more than if you had spent some money marketing it.
5. Failing to Give Importance to Pre-Launch Activities
Treating prelaunch activities as “set it and forget it” is a mistake many authors make. Too often, authors jump into marketing after they’ve already published their book, which is too late in the game to see results right away. When they do, they’re limiting their ability to reach their ideal audience.
Marketing your next release well before launch can help build buzz about your book and this will translate into more sales once the story goes live. It’s crucial to have a well-thought-out plan of action before launching your book. This includes setting goals, creating content and building buzz before launch day. Here are a few more things that you can do:
- Create interest in your book by marketing it widely. This can be done by releasing an excerpt of the book or even an author interview to create curiosity among readers.
- You can invite different bloggers and authors to review your book before its launch, you create a sense of expectation in readers’ minds.
- Build up anticipation for your book with a series of blog or social media posts about it.
- Promote yourself as an expert in your field by writing guest posts for related blogs and adding a pre-order link to your new book.
- You can also use this opportunity to gather email addresses from potential readers who want to hear your book news and updates as soon as they become available. This list can then be used to distribute offers and news about your upcoming release.
- You can feature your new book on AllAuthor and coincide it with your release date. We will feature your book at the top of your book genre and on our social media platforms in front of 50k+ followers. This will get you extra eyes on your book and increase its sales.
