Effective Book Marketing Step 3: How to Get Noticed in a Noisy World and Convert Readers into Fans
Getting noticed is hard and it gets harder all the time, but if you've already done Steps 1 and 2 (You can read the articles here) of Effective Book Marketing, Step 3 will make sure that eyeballs you get turn into fans.
That's what we're going for here. We don't want a flash-in-the-pan experience for the people who like our work, we want them to keep coming back. We want to build a long-term relationship.
How do we do that?
Well, we began by creating material draws people in (Step 1), and then we encouraged our fans to share (Step 2).
Now we talk about getting noticed or "outreach."
In the article How Partnerships can Explode Your Platform Growth, I talked about the benefits of established influencers which has huge opportunity for expanding your fan base, introducing you to a large group of people at once.
In this article, I want to dive deeper here into ways you can do Author Outreach.
*Keep in mind as you're making connections to influencers that you actually want to make long-lasting, helpful connections. Being relentlessly helpful as Tim Grahl puts it ensures that you're not just in it for you. It signals your commitment to long term relationships that are mutually beneficial.
This is massively important because you don't want to burn bridges, come off as a user, or alienate your peers.
So, let's go over how to reach out in a way that's a win/win for you and for influencers.
Anthologies with other authors
How:
1. Reach out to Authors in your niche and ask them if they'd like to team up on a project or submit short stories/novellas for a joint book that you'd all promote.
2. Reach out to Authors and ask if they'd like to do a giveaway/ad promotion for your books in which you all get featured.
What this does:
1. Gives you an opportunity to reach out to other authors in your field. They may or may not have an audience to promote the books to, but getting to know them helps build a relationship in which you can grow together.
2. Joint promotions with ads and giveaways become much less expensive when you split the charges with others. Instead of you spending $400 on your own promotion, split the promotion and cost with 4 other authors so you each only have to pay $100.
3. And your name gets linked with theirs, especially within your niche so that when a fan learns about your author friend, they're likely to learn about you too.
Why is this helpful for them?
1. It gives them a contact in their niche.
2. It gives them opportunities to grow through you and your list.
3. It gives them cheaper marketing options.
4. Gives them ideas for marketing.
Offer your book to influencers (and sometimes non-influencers) for free
How:
1. Simply send a message and offer your book (as a download through bookfunnel, a pdf, or a physical copy)
What this does:
1. Gives them an opportunity to get to know your writing. And if they like your writing and you, they might become a fan themselves and promote your book to their audience.
2. It's a free gift (Yes, books are considered a gift and a valuable asset).
Why is this helpful for them?
1. Free book!
2. Also, maybe a new favorite author?
Start a conversation with influencers
How:
1. Ask questions. Ask for clarity on something they're an expert in, then take their advice, do it, and report back the results. This signals that you're not a 'tire-kicker' but that you're genuinely interested in their work and willing to go the extra mile.
2. Give advice and offer solutions for problems they have. If they ask for advice or you notice that they have a particular problem that you're an expert in fixing, let them know in a friendly, non-invasive way.
3. Offer congratulations on a recent post that went well. Positive feedback is great for building rapport with someone. Letting them know specifics about what you liked shows them that you're paying attention.
4. Tell them 'Thanks' for helping you in some way such as offering a different spin on a subject that allowed you to get past a mental block.
What this does:
1. Breaks the ice and lets them know about you and your interest in their work.
2. Connects you to an influencer who can answer your questions and give you advice.
Why is this helpful for them?
1. Gives them warm fuzzies when you congratulate or thank them.
2. They get free advice on something they need help with.
3. Gives them the potential to spread influence through you.
Do Interviews or Post Collaborations
How:
1. Reach out to Bloggers, Podcasters, Vloggers, etc and offer to do a guest post, teaching session for their followers, or an interview with them.
What this does:
1. Spreads your influence to their audience and attracts eyeballs.
2. You get to meet someone in your field.
Why is this helpful for them?
1. They might be actively looking for people to interview.
2. Content for them with minimal effort.
We don't want to rely on a 'wait and hope' method. We want to know that what we're doing to market our book is working and is worth the time and effort. It's hard to get noticed. We also want to make connections in the process.
These methods will help you find like-minded people who resonate with your message. Then you can build your platform from which to launch your books and know that your audience is primed to receive them.
