How to Sell More Books in Less Time Using the Four Pillars of Book Marketing Strategies

After months or even years of blood, sweat, and tears, your manuscript is complete. 

You hold the physical copy in your hands, running your fingers over the cover, smelling the freshly printed pages. A wave of accomplishment and excitement washes over you. 

Now what? How do you get this labor of love into the hands of readers? How do you spread the word and build an audience for your book? 

The truth is, writing the book was the easy part. Now, the real work begins.

Book Marketing Strategies| The Real Game Changer

Marketing and selling your book is challenging, but the good news is there’s a blueprint for success. We call it our four pillars of success that have been proven to skyrocket book sales when implemented effectively. 

No more guessing, hoping, or leaving sales to chance. You’re now equipped with a plan to get your book into the hands of thousands of readers hungry for the knowledge and stories contained within its pages.

Pillar #1: Optimize Your Book for Maximum Visibility

When we first published our book, we were so excited to finally get it into readers’ hands. But soon, the reality sank in that just publishing a book doesn’t mean people will buy it or even know it exists. We need a rock-solid book marketing Strategies.

After months of trial and error, we developed our four pillars of book marketing success. The first pillar is optimizing your book for maximum visibility. This means making sure your book can be found everywhere readers buy books. 

• Upload your book to major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books with the best company that provides book marketing opportunities for authors.
• Double-check that your book information is accurate and enticing, with an eye-catching cover, intriguing book description, and author bio.
• Also, claim your book on Goodreads and update its details there since many readers discover books on that platform. 

Make your book as visible as possible by choosing “expanded distribution” options with retailers, enabling worldwide sales. The more places your book is available and the more discoverable it is, the more potential buyers will find it. 

Give your book the best chance for success by casting the widest net possible. With the proper optimization and distribution, your book can reach readers all over the world and bring in sales, even while you sleep. The other pillars build on this foundation to skyrocket your success even further.

Pillar #2: Build a Marketing Launch Team

To build serious momentum for your book launch, you need a team of advocates to spread the word. As an author, you can’t do it alone. Gathering your “launch team” is pivotal to skyrocketing your sales.

• Recruit people who believe in you and your message. Ask friends, family, colleagues, and your most engaged readers or followers to join your launch team. Explain that you need their help to get the word out about your upcoming book release. Most will be honored if you ask.
• Give your team plenty of advance notice about your launch date and concrete ways they can support you, like:

• Speaking about your book on social media.

• Leaving reviews on major sites like Amazon and Goodreads.

• Sending personal emails about your book to their networks.

• Hosting a book launch party to help build buzz.

The more people talking about your book, the more sales you’ll see. Don’t be afraid to provide templates and suggested posts for your team to make it easy for them to spread the word. A strong, active launch team is a self-propelling marketing machine. 

Their enthusiasm and personal recommendations will spark interest in your book through their social circles and communities in a way that feels authentic and meaningful. With their help, you’ll gain new readers and see your book rise in the rankings. Build your team and hang on tight—your book is about to take flight.

Pillar #3: Harness the Power of social media

In today’s world, social media is key. Over 3 billion people use social networks, so you have a huge potential audience at your fingertips. As an author, you need to establish a social media presence to help boost visibility and drive book sales. 

• Start by creating profiles on major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

• Build your following by posting regularly and engaging with readers and potential readers. 

• Share updates on your writing progress, excerpts from your book, behind-the-scenes photos, and more.

• Once your book is published, announce it on all your social networks. 

• Post the book cover, link to where people can buy it, and share reviews and feedback. 

• Increase engagement on social media by hosting contests and giveaways. Offer prizes such as your book in exchange for shares, likes, and comments. 

Pro-tip: Facebook Groups

Reaching out to your desired audience has been made effortless through the use of Facebook groups. Join relevant groups in your genre or topic and become an active participant. Share information that provides value, answer questions, and build connections. 

Once you’ve established yourself as a helpful member, let the group know about your new book release. Many authors find their biggest fans and best customers come from Facebook groups.

Using social media to spread the word about your book is free and highly effective. Put in the necessary time to build your platforms, make authentic connections with readers, and watch your sales and success skyrocket. 

The power of social media, when properly harnessed, is limitless. What are you waiting for? Start connecting today.

Pillar #4: Develop a Book Marketing Strategies

You’ve worked hard to write your book. Now, it’s time to create a plan to get it into readers’ hands. A book marketing Strategies will serve as your roadmap to success.

As an author, you may feel overwhelmed with all the options for marketing your book. 

Where do you even start? 

Build your author platform

This means building a fan base of readers who are invested in you and your writing.

• Start building your email list.

• Engage on social media.

• Launch a podcast or YouTube channel, and look for ways to establish yourself as an expert in your genre or topic. 

• Write guest posts on other websites.

• Do interviews and look for speaking opportunities. 

All of this helps you gain visibility and connect with potential readers.

Create A Book Marketing Campaign

Develop a schedule of promotional activities around your book launch and in the following months. 

This may include:

• Blog tours

• Social media campaigns

• Giveaways and contests 

• Paid ads

• Pitching yourself to media outlets for reviews and features. 

Look for ways to boost buzz and drive sales.

Get reviews

Reviews are essential for boosting your credibility and rankings on sites like Amazon. 

Reach out to book review bloggers, podcasters, and journalists in your genre to request reviews. 

Offer free review copies through services like NetGalley and BookSirens. 

Ask happy readers to leave reviews on retail sites and Goodreads. 

Reviews take work to obtain but are worth their weight in gold.

Continue engaging your readers

The key to long-term success is nurturing your relationships with readers. 

Keep producing great content on your website or mailing list. 

Do live Q&As on social media. Attend book fairs and conferences to connect in person. 

Release additional books to keep people engaged. 

Loyal readers will continue buying your books and recommending you to others.

By focusing on these, you’ll have a solid book marketing Strategies in place. Then, get ready to watch your book sales soar. 

But remember, book marketing is an ongoing effort, so keep actively promoting your book even after the initial launch.

The 4 Pillars in Action: A Case Study

You’ve laid the groundwork—built your author platform, written a stellar book, and developed a comprehensive marketing plan based on the four pillars. Now, it is time to implement the plan: 

Journey to Bestsellerdom

After spending over a year writing and editing our first book, we were overwhelmed at the time of publishing it. 

Wondering how anyone would find out about it. 

To tackle this problem, we decided to focus on one pillar at a time.

First, we built an email list by offering a free bonus resource to anyone who signed up. 

This gave us a direct line of communication with readers.

Next, we worked on publicity. 

We pitched ourselves to relevant podcasts, websites, and news outlets. 

To our surprise, many said yes! So, we started building authority and visibility.

For the content pillar, we began posting 2-3 times a week in Facebook groups, on Medium, and on our own blog.  

We shared excerpts, tips, and behind-the-scenes insights into our writing process. 

Engagement and traffic to our site snowballed. 

Finally, we ran a launch campaign with giveaways, bonuses, and a time-limited discount. 

We emailed our list of contacts, posted in the groups, and reached out again to the media contacts we had.

Within three months, our book was hitting the bestseller charts. 

By leveraging the four pillars, we achieved our milestone of sharing our message and building a sustainable business. 

The pillars work, but only if you take action.

Best Books on Marketing Strategy

As an author, finding the best marketing books to help sell your book is key. 

Here are a few of the top recommendations from successful authors:

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

This book examines how ideas spread like epidemics and what factors lead to their “tipping point” of critical mass. As an author, understanding how social epidemics work can help you craft a book launch strategy to achieve maximum exposure. Gladwell’s theories on influencers, stickiness, and context can be applied to book marketing.

Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

Seth Godin, a master of book marketing, lays out his concept of “permission marketing” – building a trusted relationship with readers over time through useful content and interactions. This approach is perfect for authors looking to build their platform and gain readers’ trust before publishing a book. Godin provides actionable insights you can use to gain readers’ permission right away.

Platform by Michael Hyatt

Every author needs a platform to build an audience, and Michael Hyatt, a successful author and speaker, provides a blueprint for crafting your own. He covers how to start a blog, email list, social media profiles, and more to establish yourself as an authority in your niche. With a strong platform in place before your book launch, you’ll have a built-in group of readers ready to buy your book.

All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin

Another seminal work from Seth Godin, this book explains how to tell stories that spread. As an author, your book itself is a story, and you need to craft a compelling narrative for it to achieve success. Godin’s insights on storytelling, positioning, and appealing to people’s inherent beliefs can help you shape your book’s message for maximum resonance with readers. Using stories and narratives is a powerful way to market your book.

 

Following the advice in these top marketing books will put you well on your way to becoming a bestselling author. Study them, apply the concepts to your own book, build your platform, and spread your message. And see your book sales touching the skies.

Conclusion

You now have the blueprint for launching your book with a bang. By focusing your efforts on the four pillars – platform, product, publicity, and promotion – you’ve built a solid foundation for success. 

You connected with your readers, crafted an irresistible book, generated buzz, and spread the word far and wide. 

The initial launch is behind you, but the work continues.  

Keep enhancing your platform, improving your product based on reviews, pursuing new publicity opportunities, and promoting to new potential readers. 

Wait, take a moment and appreciate yourself. See how far you’ve come. 

You did it – you wrote a book and brought it out into the world. 

Your words are now in the hands of readers, making an impact and changing lives. 

You should feel deeply proud of this accomplishment. Though the road ahead remains long, you’ve proven you have what it takes to make your mark as an author. The possibilities for your book are endless.

Now it’s your time to go out and create the magic. This is only the beginning of an extraordinary experience