When I began writing my first novel, the last thing I was thinking about was the avenue I would take to get it to the readers. Sure, I knew I wanted to be traditionally published—but, I also wanted to write and publish independently. And, like many authors starting out, I didn’t have the first clue on how to mass market my work on my own.
So through trial and error I listened to the writers around me and began to build my brand. My first novel and the two that followed in the series had a common visual theme…roses. There was a story behind the twisted rose vine on the cover of the books and with that in mind, I built upon it.
I created a Facebook page and readers’ group, Goodreads, Twitter, and recently, an Instagram page, building a following of about 6000 readers combined in just under five years. Yet, I felt with all of the changes in the social media landscape, I had to do more. With little money and even less time I was limited. Having to work a full-time job while writing tends to put a limit on you especially, when, as writers, all we want to do is…just write. So, I joined a Romance Writers of America, New Jersey Romance Writers and a few groups on Facebook, specifically geared for authors. I found others in the same situation and even in the same genre and listened as they shared experiences, frustrations, and the methods they used that worked—and that failed.
I learned you must target your audience. You can’t write Dark Romance and market to Sci-Fi fans. The first thing you must know is who your readers are and build upon that, especially when spending money on Facebook and Instagram ads. You can keep the price down when using ads, making it that dollar-a-day or whatever the amount — and have it work for you.
When running a promotion such as a Facebook or Instagram ad, make it count! Put your focus on one book for the ad, have a photograph of the cover, create a teaser and a promotion. The best promotions are for free or 99 cent ebooks. Don’t forget to add the link to your author’s page as well and when doing an ad on Facebook, post your Instagram link in the promo, and visa versa.
or 99 cent ebooks. Don’t forget to add the link to your author’s page as well and when doing an ad on Facebook, post your Instagram link in the promo, and visa versa.
Now you have the social media thing down. You’re doing ads when a new book comes out, or you’re having a promo, but what about reaching people outside of social media? If you’re like me, you’re an introverted extrovert. Yet, readers want know you, know about you and ultimately at some point, meet you. This is where book signings come in.
You may say you’ve never been invited to a signing or that your request to sign wasn’t accepted. Yeah, that’s happened to all of us but keep writing and putting out your novels, and, more importantly, be at the signing without physically being there.
That’s right…be a presence, no matter where in the world you live, signings give authors the opportunity to reach readers they otherwise might not meet. I live in NJ, I can’t possibly be at a signing in California, based on my finances, but I can still be there—in “book spirit.”
One of the simplest ways to do this is to make up bookmarks and postcards. And,again…make the presentation count. Whether you go with a postcard or bookmark, create a back and a front that fully represents your book or even a promo. For example, when I created my new bookmark for my upcoming novel, Within Six Months, I positioned the cover from the book on the front of the bookmark and the blurb on the back but with the postcards, I only repeated the cover on the one side, and on the back I offered the ebook for free, with a link to download it.
I purchased them in bulk from Got Print, and have enough for several signings that are coming up in late summer and early fall. Although I won’t be at these specific signings, I decided to offer my brand in swag for the VIP bags, or I decided to be a sponsor. This way, my writing and my presence will touch many of the readers I was unable to connect with in person.