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Becoming a bestselling author isn’t something that happens overnight. If you’ve been following my journey for a while now, then you’d know it took me FIFTEEN books before I became a number one bestselling author. That’s a lot of damn books, okay? Being an author period can be a very time-consuming and challenging process—while even snatching a few pennies too many from your bank account, too. This is especially true if you’re lost about where to begin when it comes to promoting your book.
But guess what? I’m about to share with you the exact steps I took to help my book become #2 on the bestsellers chart and a #1 new release in a new genre on my release day—after not releasing a book in almost an entire year.
It was almost like starting over again. I questioned—how do I break back into this to show my readers I’ve got my ass back in the saddle? I was nervous—but I knew I wanted to do something. I had to if I wanted my book to be noticed. After all, I did put in the work to write it, edit it, get the cover, etc. I wanted it to do well, but even as an author who has been writing and releasing books for some time now, I never want to make the assumption that something is going to be successful, even if I think it should be.
Alright, so now onto the tea for what I did to promote my book.
First things first, I didn’t start my promo for my new read until about ten days or so before it was released. Why? Because our attention spans are literally like only eight seconds long because of all the information we consume throughout the day. I didn’t want my book to be a fleeting thought if I started the promo TOO early.
You may be wondering how I figured out when to start promoting. Well, I picked my release date and worked backwards from there to figure out when I wanted my promo to begin, what I would do and what days I would do it on. (This was mostly for email and social media.)
Website:
· Added paperback to be sold on website store
· Added book details to upcoming releases section with direct purchase link to Amazon e-book
· Snippet (aka original short story) posted on blog
Email Drip Campaign:
February 15: Released the blurred cover image—just letting my readers know that I had a new book dropping soon and be sure to check their inbox because I was going to reveal the cover to them FIRST along with more details.
February 18: Revealed the cover and synopsis to my subscribers—along with details about the book and the link to pre-order.
February 21: Meet the characters graphics with character visuals and an interesting quote from each character. I also shared the exclusive playlist created for this book and invited readers to vibe along with me. Included pre-order link again.
February 22: Full Excerpt and two new character quotes. Included the playlist link again.
February 25 (RELEASE DAY):
AM Send-Cover and Purchase link.
PM Send-Cover and Purchase link.
NOTE: These emails were sent with two separate subject headers sent 12 hours apart.
February 26: Have you read this book? Pulled a quote from one of my reviews. Added the purchase link.
February 27: Thank you: Thanking readers for support of my release—letting them know the great news about the ranking of the book and how grateful I was for their continued support. Also sent purchase link for readers who hadn’t purchased yet.
Social Media:
February 15: FB/IG: Dropped blurred book cover informing people of a new book dropping soon—encouraging them to sign up for my email list to be the first to get exclusive details.
February 18—IG: Graphic on new release coming soon—subscribe for details.
February 18: IG/FB: Revealed cover and synopsis with release date
Facebook reader groups: Promoted my book cover, synopsis and pre-order link in AT LEAST 30+ groups.
February 22: IG/FB: Cover—caption: first book will be dropping—release date—a little backstory about the book.
February 24: IG/FB: Meet the characters and playlist
February 25 IG/FB: (RELEASE DAY): cover-link in bio.
Facebook reader groups: Promoted my book cover, pulled quote from the book, and link in AT LEAST 30+ groups.
February 26: IG/FB: thank you—bestseller ranking screenshot
Facebook reader groups: Promoted my book cover, pulled quote from the book, and link in AT LEAST 30+ groups.
February 27:
Facebook reader groups: Promoted my book cover, pulled quote from the book, and link in AT LEAST 30+ groups.
February 28:
Facebook reader groups: Promoted my book cover, pulled quote from the book, and link in AT LEAST 30+ groups.
Additional Promo:
· Sistah Girls Book Club Email Blast (Books on Books email ran on 2/25)—$30 spend
· Swapped email lists with another author (I promoted her book to my subscribers on her release day and she did the same for me on my release day.)—FREE
· Ran a Facebook ad on the book from 2/18-2/24 (total spend was $10)
Well, there you have it.
I hope this helps generate some ideas or at least gives you a blueprint for what to do when you're ready to release your book to the world.
Happy writing!
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