Promoting Your Novel Is Way More Important Than You Think!

promoting your novel! Your novel may have everything needed to make it an exciting and immersive read. But without a proper marketing plan, who is going to read and applaud that?
Writing a novel is no easy feat.
It requires a strong imagination, time, and patience. Crafting that perfect story is undoubtedly an achievement.
But words or powerful storytelling are not enough for a novel to sell.
While this may be a bit offensive to writers, it is critical to understand that how a book is promoted and marketed plays a key role in its success.

Why Are Words Not Enough for a Book to Sell?

Did you know that on Amazon alone, almost 7,500 books are published daily? And this is just one of the thousands of online or physical bookstores worldwide.
The world of publishing is competitive.
A novel really needs to have a unique selling point (USP) to survive in the industry.
In this competitive industry, how can a novel sell if readers have access to thousands of books in the same genre, ranking way higher on search engines and book listings?
This is why just words are not enough. You need to have a proper promotional campaign in place to make that happen.

The Elements of Successfully Promoting Your Novel

It takes a lot of strategic planning in book promotion and marketing. Along with this, there is a need for effective communication and convergence of different channels.

Target Audience

One of the authors’ biggest mistakes while promoting their books is not identifying the target audience.
Why waste resources on selling to people who don’t even prefer your product?
You need to understand which audience type would be interested in purchasing your book.
Their reading preferences, likes, dislikes, and pain points will all contribute to shaping your campaign for a limited audience that may actually spend money on your book.

Strong Digital Footprint

We can’t stress enough over establishing a strong digital footprint for authors.

Whether you’re a seasoned novelist or a new author in town, you need to have a powerful online presence.

Considering how the world works in this digital age, not having a digital presence means an object does not exist.

The first step here is an author’s website, serving as a hub of all your work information about you and your old and new works.

For Promoting Your Novel Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can help you rank your website high in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), making you visible in the online market.

The next thing is building your social media presence on top platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or any other based on your novel’s theme.

You can then opt for book trailers, press releases, guest blogs, and whatnot!

There is a whole lot of stuff you can do to boost your online presence.

Influencers

In this day and age, not including influencers in your marketing strategy is a huge blunder.
Consumers today put their trust in brands that are supported or recommended by their favorite influencers.
If you wish to market your book the right way, you need to connect with influencers, in this case, book bloggers or bookstagrammars.
What you can do here is connect with a blogger, send them a free copy, and request an honest review.
You won’t believe what an honest review from a reputable blogger can do for the success of your book.
It helps enhance a book’s credibility while significantly boosting its visibility.

Book Clubs

One of the smartest ways to Promoting Your Novel is to get visible in the avid readers and reviewers community.
For authors, book clubs are the perfect spots to get things rolling.
This allows you to connect with the readers directly through participation in discussions and even holding virtual Q&A sessions.
The key here is to find relevant book clubs to help create a discussion around your book.

Online Stores

There are thousands of online stores that can help authors boost their visibility and sell their books, such as Amazon and Goodreads.
These platforms offer bestseller lists, editors’ recommendations, and several other features that help books become visible.
There are different ways to do that, but the most powerful in terms of organic sales is the optimization of book and author pages.
The book description and author profile are designed for maximum reach by incorporating relevant keywords and search terms.
Then, there are also paid advertisements that you can run. Plus, you can also run discounts and limited-time offers to attract readers.

Book Cover

‘Never judge a book by its cover?’ Really?
If we are being really honest here, readers today choose books on the basis of a book’s aesthetics.
It can trigger a lot of authors, but this is the world we live in today. Everything needs to score high in aesthetics.
This is especially important considering the competitiveness of the industry.
Given how there are hundreds of books with similar storylines, it is crucial that you offer something to potential readers other than an engaging book description.
Don’t underestimate the power of your book cover, as it plays a crucial role in stirring interest among readers.

Targetted Online Advertisements

While organic is the preferred way for authors to generate sales, it is not enough.
You need to consider paid advertisements to make your book visible and increase sales.
Paid ads help you reach a wider audience.
You can go for Google ads, but even social media platforms offer this feature.
You can choose and experiment with a wide array of options, such as carousel ads, video clips, and video reviews.
The key here is to closely monitor the effectiveness of each campaign so that you can scale up your paid advertisements accordingly for maximum results.

The Need? A Multi-faceted Approach

The elements discussed today are just a few of the many that can help do wonders for your novel.
While including everything in a marketing plan might not be feasible, remember that success lies in a multi-faceted approach.
You need to consider the best options for promoting your novel, but going with just a single element will not provide you with the desired results.
There is no harm in opting for professional assistance by partnering with a company such as Web Vortex that helps authors publish and market their books to audiences

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

⦁ Is online presence important for authors today?

Whether you’re a seasoned novelist or a new author in town, you need to have a powerful online presence. Considering how the world works in this digital age, not having a digital presence means an object does not exist.

⦁ What are the elements of an online presence?

Author’s website, social media presence, paid advertisement, and author page optimization on publishing platforms.

⦁ How to work with influencers? What to offer them?

The best approach is to send them a free copy and request an honest review. Their personalized recommendations will really help boost your books’ visibility.

⦁ What is the role of book clubs in promoting my novel?

Online as well as offline book clubs are great places to start discussions around your novel. This allows you to connect with the readers directly through participation in discussions and even holding virtual Q&A sessions.