How to use content marketing to promote your book
The good news is your head and your book contain a wonderful treasure trove of information that you can use to promote your publication. Here are some tips.
Guest articles
Write articles. Every field has websites, ezines, newsletters, journals and magazines that cover your book topic. Do some research and then check their readership demographics fit your audience. Contact the editors and send some sample articles and point out how they will be of interest to their readership. Offer to write a custom piece on a topic of their choosing.
Your blog
Schedule articles on your blog to appear around the time your book will appear in bookstores and on Amazon. For example, if your book is going to appear in mid-May, schedule your series of articles to appear in June, July and August. Also, schedule some forward look articles to tie in with events like national days and big conferences.
Early in the process of researching and thinking about your book, start a blog. Share snippets. Share the writing process. Document the journey.
You could create a controversial series of blog posts to polarise opinion. That creates lively discussing and helps alienate the people you don’t want reading your book and attracts the ones you do.
Another option is to feature beta readers who have applied your advice and share the results or simply interview them to get their take on the subject.
Commenting online
Comment on influencer blogs and lengthy social media posts. Before starting this strategy, ensure your commenting profile links back to your author platform, so people can find out more about you. This is a great way to raise your profile. Read the article and choose a particular point to comment on to prove you have taken the time to read it and add a relevant comment which adds an extra element to the discussion. Don’t just add “great post” and add an unrelated idea. It looks like peacocking – commenting for the sake of being seen. It’s a great way to build relationships with influencers too, which helps your influencer marketing campaigns too.
Amazon search inside
Make the most of the Amazon “Look Inside” feature. As you write your book, ensure your book’s front matter and introduction are packed with high-value information and your back story. This should explain why you wrote the book – why do you truly care about people getting the result they want. Include tools and resources in the back matter to show that you can help them get the result in a practical way. These resources should be available for download after signing up to your email list. If you forgot to do this, don’t worry, simply create a new edition of your book and add it in.
Summary
That’s the last of my posts on book promotion. Let me know how you’re getting on with your book promotion.
By now you can see there are lots of ways to get the recognition you deserve as a published author.
Start by work on defining where your target audience hang out and refining your message to make it clear and compelling. Learn it off by heart so you can seize opportunities as they present themselves.
To recap, here are the strategies you can use:
- book publicity campaigns
- using an author platform
- face-to-face book promotion
- networking
- book tours
- third party sites and tools
- advertising incentives and placement
- content marketing
Good luck with your book promotion. Let me know how you get on!
See ya.
