Publishing, Marketing, & Writing TipsHow to Market a Self-Published Book the Easy Way: Nailing the 3 Phases of a Book Launch
Do you know the three phases of a book launch?
There are three steps to launching your book: Pre-Launch, Launch, and Post-Launch. In this blog article, we'll walk you through each piece with the exact formula that's collectively generated millions of dollars in royalties for our AIA students all over the world. By the end of it, you'll know exactly how to market self-published books like a pro, even if you've never done it before.
Looking for a self-publishing mini masterclass that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Our webinar is completely free and introduces you to REAL nonfiction authors and publishers who learned how to turn the KDP online platform into a royalty-generating machine.
Ultimately, we've found the best strategies for marketing a self-published book to be the ones that generate more positive book reviews, which can then go on to essentially sell your books for you.
We teach all our students a combination of marketing and promotion tactics that mix "The Facebook Review Method" with Amazon ads. Selling books through Amazon's KDP automatically unlocks tons of marketing tools inside the KDP dashboard. We'll walk through some of these later on.
Of course, you can also look into different social media channels, editorial reviews, book giveaways, and connecting with book bloggers, but if you're looking to get the most bang for your buck and make the most out of your time, the latter won't necessarily be your best bet.
If you're new to the publishing process and industry, you might not be working with the biggest budget upfront. We get it! The Mikkelsen Twins were delivering Chinese food and barely getting by before they ever published their first book online.
Our Facebook Review Method is completely free, making it the perfect low-cost advertising method for indie authors and publishers. It works by joining your book community and meeting your ideal audience where they're at. You can find hundreds or even thousands of Facebook groups for your book's genre. Many of these groups will allow you to share either your book trailer, author website, or free copies of your book in exchange for honest reviews.
A word of advice: Although many groups will let you post the things mentioned above, we always caution our students to read the group's rules before engaging. We also encourage students to give more than they take in any group they join.
Promoting a self-published book on Amazon requires creating a compelling book description, optimizing your Amazon keywords and categories, using Amazon's advertising tools, and strategically planning the launch date of your book to maximize visibility.
Read about the best time to publish in each niche here.
This might not be a popular opinion within the book community, but these are the book promotion strategies we've found that aren't always as cost-effective as others. We're not saying any of these strategies are BAD, we're just saying we wouldn't prioritize these for making your first eBook sales and print sales as a newbie based on our experience working with thousands of first-time publishers.
Each of these strategies can bring in book reviews and sales, but they also require more of your time and energy that could be put elsewhere. Things like blog writing and social media also require different skills like copywriting, which just isn't necessary to start marketing your book in other ways.https://www.publishing.com/blog/how-to-get-book-reviews-on-amazon
Here are some more ideas for marketing and promoting that might actually be worth your time:
These are going to be the foundational skills that carry your book sales and attract more readers. The bonus is that they'll also help you establish your author brand organically. The reason we keep bringing up getting book reviews on Amazon is that the algorithm rewards books with happy readers. These reviewers are essentially your cheerleaders who let other potential readers know that your book is worth the time/money out of the hundreds or thousands of competitors on the market.
Besides finalizing your book, the only thing you need to think about prior to launching your book is building your list of reviewers (ideally, you'd find 200+ knowing that not everyone you contact will actually review your book). We recommend starting this about 3 weeks before the actual launch date of the book.
This is the stage where your book goes live with the world. Hopefully, you've already built up some momentum from the pre-launch, but now we've got to keep that momentum pushing you forward.
Here's a sneak peek inside our "Launch" module inside the AIA course dashboard:
You can take your foot off the pedal once you hit 100 reviews on your book. At this stage, your book should be gaining new organic reviews on its own every week.
The only work you need to do now going forward is...
This is where all the work you put in turns into virtually passive income. As long as you have the reviews established and your ads are performing well, taking a week or even a month off from your business to connect with family or backpack through Europe shouldn't be an issue. That's true freedom.
Here's another quick AIA screencap that sums up the entire book launch timeline:
Successful book marketing often hinges on creating compelling promotional materials that capture the reader's curiosity and lend credibility to your work. These materials showcase your book and also serve to build your brand as an indie author or publisher. The strategies are by no means required but might help give your book marketing a little push during slow seasons.
Kindle A+ content is bonus material you can add to your book sales page to help potential readers make an informed decision about whether to purchase your book. Here, you can add a detailed author bio as well as images, comparison charts, and other text.
Need a hand? Publishing Services offers A+ Content Creation, book outlines, editing & proofreading, and more!
If there's ever a lull in your sales, your book cover just might be the culprit. If you want to learn how to create and market self-published book covers solo, you can dive into color psychology and competitor research. Otherwise, Fiverr has over 12k search results for "book cover," which you can filter based on customer reviews and experience.
Let your book be the North Star that customers are searching for in a galaxy of other books!
Knowing your target audience inside and out isn't optional, no matter what genre or niche you decide to self-publish in. What are their pain points? What problems do they need help solving? Realistically, how much time and money do they have to devote to fixing this problem? Do they need quick fixes or a detailed long-term plan?
Here are some ideas that might help you get started with your customer research:
Quick Disclaimer: The book market is constantly changing. Do your own research to verify that a concept has the potential for profitability before diving in!
STEM Education
Health and Wellness
Art and Creativity
Career Exploration
Social Skills and Leadership
Technology and Digital Skills
Relationships and Social Life
Parenting and Family Life
Creative Pursuits
Self-Sufficiency and DIY
Financial Management
Personal Development
Home and Lifestyle
Social and Family Connections
Physical and Mental Fitness
Marketing isn't really one of those "set it and forget it" things, but it doesn't have to be a chore, either. Learning from your previous books and crafting a marketing plan based on data can be fun once you master the basics.
Here are some metrics and objectives you might want to track:
Sales and Royalties: The core indicators of your book's financial performance. Track your daily, weekly, and monthly sales to identify trends and adjust your strategies accordingly.
KDP Select Page Reads: For authors enrolled in KDP Select, tracking how many pages of your book are read through Kindle Unlimited (KU) and Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) can provide insight into reader engagement.
Customer Reviews and Ratings: Reviews are a form of social proof that can influence potential readers. A higher number of positive reviews can significantly impact your book's visibility and sales.
Book Ranking: Your book's rank in its categories and on Amazon provides a snapshot of its performance relative to competitors. Higher rankings can increase visibility and lead to more sales.
Conversion Rate: This metric refers to the percentage of people who purchase your book after viewing your book's page. A low conversion rate might indicate issues with your book cover, description, or reviews.
Maintaining momentum is key to long-term profitability once your self-published book hits the market.
Here are some strategies to keep your book sales climbing:
At the end of the day, self-publishing takes grit. If there's just one trait we see in the most successful non-fiction authors out there, that's it.
Life has a funny way of testing everyone with family, friends, and business. Things are going to pop up. Maybe your ghostwriter won't pan out exactly how you thought, or maybe your first five book ideas will be a dud. That doesn't mean it's impossible to reach tens of thousands of readers with your ads six months from now.
You might be telling yourself this can't work because you don't have the degree, you don't have the experience, or you don't have the time. We're saying all those things can stop you if you let them. But what would happen if you got out of your own way instead?
Listen to Carli's story about how she overcame her fear and imposter syndrome here:
Struggle with procrastination? Travis did, too:
Think you're too old? Robyn is proof there's no such thing:
Our Student Success Hub is filled with dozens of stories just like these to show you exactly what's possible.
If you've been feeling called to sell books online, this is your sign. You don't have to figure out the whole process alone. The AIA course breaks down the manuscript process and book promotion strategies into bite-size modules with video walkthroughs that you can watch at your own pace.
Imagine...
Now imagine being stuck exactly where you are ten years from now. If nothing changed, would you be content?
Our beginner-friendly no-cost webinar is waiting to show you just how different your future can be.
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