You’ve worked hard on your book, and now you’re ready to share it with the world. You want people to discover your masterpiece and be deeply moved by it. But how do you get them to notice it among millions of other books?
Book marketing can seem like an overwhelming endeavor, but there are a few simple steps that you can take to make sure readers are aware of your book and intrigued enough to check it out. Bringing readers into your book marketing efforts is a great way to increase engagement. Readers are a huge part of any author’s success, and it’s important that you let them know how much you value their contribution. In this blog, we’ll explain what authors can do to engage with their readers and make them a part of your book marketing campaign.
Engage with Your Readers on Social Media
This may seem like a fairly simple idea but social media is a great way to connect with readers. You can ask them questions and get feedback, talk about your books, and interact with your fans and followers. Social media is also a great place to conduct interesting discussions with the community of people who read your genre. Always make sure that you respond to their comments and tweets; it lets them know that you care about what they have to say!
You can also try posting about topics related to your book and engaging with your readers in healthy discussions. This will make them feel like they know you and that they’re getting to know more about what’s going on in the world of your book.
Ask Them About the Type of Books They Expect from You
Instead of speculating about their choices, you can simply ask them what type of books they want to read. You can also ask them about their favorite books from your past works to create something new on the same lines.
Asking readers what kind of content they would like to see from an author can help narrow down exactly what kinds of things should be included in future books. It also helps you better understand your readers’ needs so you can write more effectively.
Ask for Feedback
Asking your readers to provide you with their feedback is something that will help you understand what they want from you. This can be done through surveys and interviews. These will be useful in helping you meet your readers’ needs, which is one of the most important aspects of book marketing.
You can ask them to review the book, or you can ask them to give you suggestions about what they would like to see in future books from you. This will help you know what kind of books your readers like and also help you gain more insights into their preferences. The more information you have about them, the better it will be for marketing purposes.
You don’t have to stop yourself from asking for feedback on your book. You can even go a step ahead and ask for their feedback on your book cover, marketing and any other intricate detail.
Leverage Readers’ Testimonials for Book Promotions
Testimonials are an excellent way to build trust in your brand and product. They can be used in book promotions, social media posts, and even book trailers.
Here’s how you can use testimonials effectively:
- Include them at the start of your book description so that potential readers have a chance to see them before they make their decision.
- Use them as part of your author bio on social media accounts and websites where you promote your books. This will help build credibility with followers who may not know much about you yet but want to learn why people love reading from you.
- Ask past clients or fans if they would be willing to share their experience with other readers through a short video testimonial.
- You can also use your best reviews in the form of GIFs through AllAuthor’s Review GIF Maker tool and share them on social media.
Offer Incentives and Discounts for the Loyal Readers
Once you have your readers engaged and invested in the book, it’s time to bring them into the marketing process. This is a great way to connect with them, show that you care about their interests, and make them feel like part of something special.
It’s important that you offer incentives and discounts for loyal readers who have already purchased or downloaded your book. You want to reward those people who took a chance on you from the beginning by offering them something they can’t get anywhere else — a free ebook, a sample chapter of your new book, etc. Or maybe it’s about offering something personal — like a signed copy or a handwritten note from the author.
Readers Are a Huge Part of Any Author’s Success
Readers are a huge part of any author’s success. Why?
Well, because readers are the reason authors write! Without them, there would be no books to sell and no career for us to have.
And yet…many authors don’t take advantage of this fact when it comes time to promote their books.
If you’re a self-published author, you know how hard it can be to find ways to get your work seen by new readers. But with these simple tips to stay connected with your readers, you can slowly and surely build your reader base.
Whether you ask for feedback or send them free copies of your books, there are plenty of ways to engage with your readers. You can try out some of these and let us know in the comments how it goes!
