If you want to create a bestseller, you have to do more than write a good book or a marketable book. You have to promote upon release—and before release.
Of course, blogging a book helps promote while you write. But you must use strategies and tools that garner engagement and shares for your posts and your book.
Today, Nick Rojas (@nickarojas.) offers proven tips on how to use social media to help your book become a bestseller.
There were good old times when it could cost you a fortune to publish and promote a book. Actually, those times were not that old and definitely not that good. But times have changed. Currently, anyone can become a best-selling author as long as a smart strategy of social media promotion is applied.
Make People Talk About Your Book
As a writer, you want more people to read your book and spread the word about it. Of course, it’s best when readers find your book organically, love it, share their review with others, and you do not have to ask them to take any of these actions.
However, while waiting for a miracle to happen, you should become a magician.
Go find opinion makers who might be interested in reading your book, send them a free copy, and request that they write a review. Facebook and Twitter might be the best platforms for this, but any alternative can be just as efficient. Remember that the number of followers your opinion makers have equals the number of people who will find out about your book.
Isn’t that magic?
Go Live to Get Attention
With the new Facebook Live feature or any alternatives, such as TinyChat or LiveStream, you can go live and reach your audience in real time for free.
Statistical data shows that live videos are extremely popular now, especially when it comes to teenagers. Remember that it takes effort to make people watch you, so it is important to keep your streams interesting.
Invite experts, celebrities, or opinion makers and ask them to share their thoughts about your book. Make sure to invite those who are most likely to bring traffic to your online event. Another way to make live streaming rock is to let people ask you questions and give them answers in real time. People love to have a personal touch of something popular.
Insert Social Share Buttons
There are two great things about using social share buttons. First and foremost, they let your readers and fans share information about your book online. The online presence of your work increases, which is great for your promotion campaign.
As for the most efficient social media networks to use, statistics speak louder than words. According to the findings of Web Technology Surveys, Facebook and Twitter appear to be the leaders since 54.4% and 40.0% of users respectively prefer to share what they like via these social networks.
The second useful thing about social sharing is that it serves as a social proof of the quality and popularity of your content. The more people that have already liked or shared your post, the more people are likely to do the same in the future.
Remember to put your social share buttons in the right places. One of the best places is the end of your free chapter. People are more likely to share “I have just finished the first chapter” than “A good new book was released”
Great Promotion Involves Images
There are plenty of ways to use images for promotion. For example, you can create a photo contest on Instagram and ask people to share their pictures of your book with a special hashtag.
It is not a breaking news that modern people love taking pictures and posting them. Turn this trend into your own advantage.
It might surprise you, but image posts tend to get 104% more comments and 53% more likes. Make sure to use only relevant and self-explanatory ones for your book promotion, and the results will outperform your expectations.
Use Social Media Designed for Book Lovers
Imagine you enter a huge room stuffed with bookworms: those crazy people who cannot imagine the world without reading. Doesn’t it look like a dream place for a writer who has just published his book?
Such a place exists, and it is called Goodreads. With its programs designed for authors, you can advertise your book to specific target groups based on their genre or author preferences. Plus, you can lead a discussion group to communicate with your readers.
Today’s marketing is all about posting the right content in the right place. Since you are a writer, the right content should not be a problem. Since we have Goodreads, the right place is already found as well.
With all these in mind, you are ready to make people learn about your book, read it passionately, and love it from the very first page. Your book deserves to be read. Use the power of social media to make it happen.
About the Author
Dividing his time between Los Angeles and Chicago, Nick Rojas channels his experience consulting for startups into insightful solutions for many publications, such as Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, and Yahoo. He waxes poetically on topics such as technology, marketing, and social media. Connect with him on Twitter @nickarojas.
Featured photos courtesy of Shutterstock.com, Pixabay, and 123RF.com.
Nice article. I am working on book.