12 Book Marketing Tips from 12 Industry Experts

Bridging a story between the creator and the reader is as spry as writing and publishing. Marketers find ways for readers to reach new means for wisdom, spur, and escape through virtually bound stories. Although major publications do that for you, there are less-observed gems in the outskirts of the internet heeding to be published. This is where indie marketing comes in.

Amidst all the know-hows you may find, we’ve hand-picked exceptional ones that make instant impact. Here are 12 clever tips from some of the finest names in the book marketing arena. Pens ready?

1. Get Hooked with Reader Magnets – Nick Stephenson

 By coming up with Reader Magnets, Nick Stephenson bred a platform of 15,000 loyal readers and earned over $10k a month. His style is a no BS punch that’ll keep you hyped when reading his suspense thriller novels. But what keeps his fans committed is a strategy called Reader Magnets – “the promise of getting great value content and building a valuable connection.”

Stephenson revealed 2 surefire steps to make this happen:

1) Funnel book – Make one of your books permanently free or write something new and set it to $0.00.

2) Magnet book – Put a big fat advertisement in the front and back offering another book for free in return for a reader’s email address.

Read the full article by Noorosha here or download the complete guide below:

PDF Version: http://noorosha.com/rm-download
Kindle Version: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PCKIJ4C/

 2. Brand Your Name – Joanna Penn

One ingredient that paved the way for Joanna Penn’s success is changing her pen name to J.F. Penn for thrillers and other genres ruled by men. Using a man’s name for stirring books swept away misgivings she received as a woman sketching brutally depicted plots because initials are unbiased.

Since men tend to get better reviews, more lady authors are changing their pen names to get the same view. One famed example is James Chartrand of Copyblogger and Men With Pens, who recently came out as a woman and revealed how writing as a man reshaped her business. In Joanna’s article about name branding, she explained, “I don’t want any consideration of my gender to come up when someone reads my books. I want them to have a great fun read and escape the world for a time.”

3. Go for Cheap Pricing – David Gaughran

David Gaughran highlights the perks of launching books at a low price. He showcased how cheap pricing has a purchase whim to readers because they primitively adore inexpensive books, just like they are ecstatic over cheap paperback classics. Despite the contrary sentiments of how it destroys literature and dents the prestige of publishing, a well-molded cut-rate can vastly amplify an author’s sales and fan base, thus keeping the industry at its feet for the long haul.

“Cheap books don’t devalue literature. What devalues literature is letting it wither on the vine. Old classics wouldn’t be as widely read if you could only get them for $7.99. Cheap (and free) pricing keeps their work alive. High prices do the opposite and letting great backlist books flounder is tragic.  …Hooray for cheap books!” –

Read on here: https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/whos-afraid-of-very-cheap-books/

4. Leave Your Cover Design to Pros – Derek Murphy

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” doesn’t really mesh with self-publishing. We judge in a glance. So having a powerful book cover design uplifts the effect of the whole novel. That said, most authors tend to mirror their vision in the design, but doing so doesn’t always hit what’s eye-catching to the readers, so Derek Murphy suggests leaving it to the pros.

You might ask, why? He asks back, “Do you want a book that looks just like you imagined? Or do you want people to actually buy and read the damn thing?” “The cover isn’t a place to be creative. The cover is packaging. It’s an online advertisement. “

Derek Murphy has helped a number of authors reach the best-selling list by designing covers that vivify the uniqueness of their books, while hooking the interest of new readers.

Know of his design secrets here:

http://www.creativindiecovers.com/bestselling-book-cover-design-secrets/

5. Become a Keyword Natural – Joel Friedlander

Keywords are your actual keys to tap into the crisscross information within the World Wide Web. And with a seemly keyword, you are brought to your destination in a single click – this also relates to books. But according to Joel Friedlander, before being a keyword natural, you must first sport a good web presence, which includes an active blog, a Twitter profile, Facebook marketing via fan pages, and other sites suitable for your subject area like Linkedin.

This is where you can spot your desired audience and realize what they want. Having a vested web image and a hub for those roused by your book, you may then explore keywords starting with Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

But the key to all keys is to look deep down the list for niche marketers’ precise formula. When you find “Additional Keywords to Consider”, phrases get longer as you go down, but each dive triggers what your target market is looking for, thus you hit the bull’s-eye.

Find out more here: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/03/how-nonfiction-self-publishers-can-become-keyword-naturals/

6. Publish Now, Market Later – Tom Corson Knowles

Writing, publishing and marketing makeup the trifecta of a booming author. The three main elements must be on the up-and-up to create feats of publishing glory. Having a well-written novel that is poorly published and is not marketed blocks your chances of being a best-selling author.

Tom Corson Knowles’ favorite strategy is publishing as soon as your book is ready. Pre-marketing or no marketing at all doesn’t do any good to an empty shelf, so he suggests to publish now, then start marketing.

Here are sites Tom recommends for your book promotion:

http://www.tckpublishing.com/top-kindle-book-promotion-sites-for-paid-kindle-books-0-99-and-up/

http://www.tckpublishing.com/list-of-sites-to-promote-your-free-amazon-kindle-books/

See more at: http://www.thedailyinterview.com/tom-corson-knowles/#sthash.jjMzSRkm.dpuf

7. Get Creative in Social Media Posts – Shelley Hitz

Instead of blasting point-blank sales pitches, Shelley Hitz encourages you to explore the avenues of the social media marketing game and get creative with your posts.  Watch out for the ones that draw the most likes and comments. If you’ll look closely, such posts garner attention through depth of engagement.

So how can you get creative with your posts? Here’s what Shelley Hitz did:

1. Ask an engaging questions. You could share a little about your upcoming book and ask their opinion.
2. You could also ask for feedback on book covers.
3. Post about a sale, a giveaway or an informative blog post you have written.
4. Share a snippet from one of your reviews instead of tooting your own horn.
5. Share a snippet or the first chapter of your book.
6. Share about a significant milestone in your career as an author.

Read the rest of the article in The Future of Ink: http://thefutureofink.com/marketing-your-book/

8. Use Your Website for Hard Selling – Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman shed light on the upper hand of website hard selling in her article 4 Ways to immediately improve your Book Marketing Efforts. By gently scheming your website into a winning space, you establish an online brand that extends to your career’s success. Leaning on social media alone for promotion tends to wear off possible followers, so her tip is to use your website for hard selling reaching out through your own voice, then using social media for awareness efforts, relationship building, and creative networking.

Your website should include knick-knacks about your book together with an on point sales pitch. With this kind of ad hub designed to drive readers to buy your book, you invite the right crowd and make your campaign a success.

9. Revive a Stale Book – Penny Sansevieri

Wipe the dust away from your published book and revive it for fresh readers that grow hungry everyday. In her article about reviving a stale book, Penny Sansevieri describes different ways to re-release your book and attract new enthusiasts.

Here’s how:

1. Release it as an ebook.
2. Chop up the book into a series to create a bundle book and fill a virtual shelf. That way, new readers have something to look forward to.
3. Include an excerpt of the next book in each book as a sneak peak for the readers to freshen up you publication date and open new doors for promotion.
4. Awaken its visual appeal by changing up the cover.
5. Release a packaged version of blog content, white papers, or cut out pieces of your book in Amazon.
6. Make the most out of this fresh comeback.

Read on at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/reviving-a-stale-book_b_6420250.html

10. Make Real Friends – John Kremer

Creating genuine relationships is John Kremer’s secret spice in marketing. By sculpting real connections with bloggers, editors, websites, and social media, his books not just sell like hotcakes but he also gains lasting friendships. “Suddenly there is no foreignness, no fear, no feelings of inadequacy.”

How did he do it?

1. Create your Kremer 100 list. Focus on 100 key media and marketing contacts.
2. Find out what their addresses, phone numbers, and URLs are.
3. Get to know them and be in touch with them at least once a month. Tell them something new with each contact.

So by crafting a solid group of real friends who will ignite a train of good reviews through word-of-mouth, the need to market becomes a constant flow of good connections.

Learn more here: Relationships Matter Marketing Program – http://bookmarketingbestsellers.com/relationships-matter-marketing-…

11. Be Updated On Fresh Takes – David Vandagriff

He is widely known as Passive Guy or ‘PG’ as the curator of a celebrated blog called the Passive Voice, which is a podium for writers, authors, and publishers to voice out their takes on what’s in-the-now within the industry. Armed with his legal and business expertise, he pins down the latest comment-worthy issues from his wide range of sources. His posts are well-curated and sometimes accessorized with a sharp remark that fuels intense debates between authors and industry professionals. Passive Voice is an offbeat pivot of news and tips in the book marketing field.

Get to know PG a.k.a David Vandagriff as Joel Friedlander interviews him about the Passive Voice at: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/08/david-vandagriff/

12. Use Your Book to Get You Where You Want to Go – Michael Drew

Michael Drew, famously dubbed as the world’s most successful book promoter enlightens us to see a whole new spectrum and treat our book as a life tool. Whether we view it as a money-making drive, a bridge to fame, or a medium to make an impact, picturing a best-selling book gives as a taste of fulfillment – of reaching our goals. The thing is, book sales aren’t enough to make this happen because according to Michael Drew, “Margins are too thin. Shelf lives are too short. Transformations are too slow.”

For these reasons, he proposes a better strategy:

“…view a book not as something to sell, but as a tool to use to get you where you want to go. Instead of trying to generate short-term profits from a single bestseller, use your book to develop your entire business or career. Instead of counting on a bestseller to make you a star, use it to build your reputation and expand your name recognition. And instead of relying on a bestseller to make a difference only for itself, use it to extend the message about all the other positive work you’re doing.

Turning the book you’re working on into a bestseller could be the single most important business decision you ever make—if you treat it as the promotional tool it has the potential to be to enhance your career or your company.”

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