5 Amazing Tips on Author Promotion and Marketing
These tips should help you promote your novel successfully and gain new readers…
Okay, to start off your book’s marketing campaign, I would browse Fiverr and use a few of the $5 promos offered on book promotion there. A lot of Indies like Bknights on Fiverr who promotes on Facebook to hundreds of followers. I would also start contacting book bloggers who read your genre.
I have used book blog tours in the past, but to me personally, 20 stops is not enough to generate much buzz about your current release. I would aim for at least 50 to 100. I know it sounds like a lot, but once you get your “book review request letter” polished and have a list of bloggers to contact, it will go quickly and smoothly.
I'm sure you've already realized by now that there is a ton of different ways to build a readership, obtain honest book reviews, and promote your novels. If you want to achieve success, one important factor is getting books reviews. For online retailers like Amazon, getting reviews is crucial to getting your novel recognized by the website's recommendation algorithm. The best way to start is to contact book review bloggers and send them a request to read and review your novel.
Let's start with the basics, requesting someone to read and review your novel. There is a "right" way and a "wrong" way to approach book bloggers and reviewers about reading your work. And I would write up at least five guest posts on subjects related to your book to also offer bloggers.
Knowing the genre and sub-genres of your novel is an important part of the first step and it will save you a lot of time. Do you write cozy mysteries? Dark and spooky horror? Light and fluffy contemporary romance?
If you're not sure what your genre or sub-genres are just go online to places like Goodreads, Shelfari, Library Thing, Gnooks, or WhichBook and search for other authors whose writing style is close to your own. Visit the books page and read some of the reviews. (I don't recommend contacting readers or book reviewers through these sites and soliciting your novel or series. It is unprofessional and impolite. These are considered social forums to discuss literature. Instead, join some of the groups and discussions and if you make some new friends, then casually tell them about your novel.)
Here is a few links to bloggers who might be interested in reviewing or hosting a guest post on these sites:
I strongly recommend that you read each blogger's review policy carefully. When requesting a review or promo, ALWAYS use the reviewers first name. (They can be touchy about this.) Put "Book Review Request" in every subject line. In your email request, include the following info that I pasted below.
This first example is from my own personal email letter for one of the books the Charmed Chronicles that you can use as a template.
I suggest that you create your own “review request” template and save it on your computer.
Book Promo Request email letter example:
Dear (add blogger OR reviewer name here),
I see that you reviewed the book [Book Name Here] before. I have written a similar book and I thought you might enjoy reading and reviewing mine too.
Would you be willing to let me provide you with a copy of the novel in hopes that you would consider reviewing my book as well?
My name is [Your Name] and the novel is titled [Your Book Title]. You can find a link to it here. [Give link to your book here].
I can provide it to you as an eBook, or if you wish I can even send you a printed copy.
I understand that you are under no obligation to leave an honest review my book. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Some reviewers request that you attach the book cover, but in my experience, most email attachments will end up in the reviewer’s Junk Mail / Spam folder, but I do suggest that you provide a link to one. Other reviewers expect you to personalize the email request in some way, which you can, but I personally don’t.
I think of the request like a “business” transaction and I prefer to remain more professional. There have been occasions where I have mentioned something I read on their site if it pertained to something in my novel, but most times I never even hear back from those bloggers.
And I don’t put hyperlinks into my email because some email programs or smartphones will disable them. I prefer to include the entire URL separately, so they can copy and paste it or click on the link.
I suggest that you create your own “review request” template and save it on your computer.
I think of the request like a “business” transaction and I prefer to remain more professional. There have been occasions where I have mentioned something I read on their site if it pertained to something in my novel, but most times I never even hear back from those bloggers.
And I don’t put hyperlinks into my email because some email programs or smartphones will disable them. I prefer to include the entire URL separately, so they can copy and paste it or click on the link.
I suggest that you create your own “review request” template and save it on your computer.
One thing that might help narrow down your search for possible book bloggers is to look for book reviews of novels in your genre or other authors whose work is similar to yours. And search with keywords for book reviewers.
For instance, when I was seeking reviews for my paranormal romance novel, IMMORTAL ECLIPSE, I Googled "paranormal romance novel reviews." I also searched with keywords like "Gothic," "urban fantasy," and "dark romance." Be creative and use your keywords wisely. Then from that search, I contacted book reviewers who read and enjoyed the PNR (paranormal romance) genre.
It took me about a year and countless hours to create my database of about 2,000 book bloggers that I can contact whenever I release a new book. I suggest that you do the same, so that you have a resource of reviewers to contact.
There is no point in wasting your time or the reviewers by requesting a review from a blog that doesn't even read your genre. Most book bloggers clearly state on the "review policy" page of their site what type of genres they review and don't. Just move on.
If you need help drafting a "book review request" letter, or you just want someone to double-check it before you start emailing reviewers, please feel free to send me an email. I'd be happy to take a look and offer any feedback if needed.
And lastly, I wanted to share this great article on book marketing. I recommend taking a few minutes to read this insightful blog post, "Why Your Cover & Blurb Suck" by Rebekah Haskell
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