In this blog post, we will be thinking about how to market your self-published nonfiction book. This does differ in some ways to the methods that you might use for a fiction book, so it is worth planning your marketing strategy around this.
We will start by looking at some of the differences between marketing a nonfiction and a fiction book, then move on to look at some of the strategies that you can use in the time before the launch, with another blog post to follow about post-launch methods.
How is Marketing Nonfiction Different?
One of the differences between nonfiction and fiction books is the ways that readers might discover your book. If you have a fiction book, you are a lot more likely to have readers stumbling across your book.
Readers might find a fiction book while browsing genres on online booksellers, which is one of the reasons it is so important to properly tag and categorise your book. It’s not impossible that someone will find a nonfiction book in this way, but it is a lot less likely, as nonfiction readers tend to have a specific book in mind, whereas fiction readers are often browsing to find something new to read.
Price promotions are also more common with fiction books. While one advantage of nonfiction is that you can usually charge more, this does mean that there’s less chance of someone buying it on impulse. Fiction books are more often on offer or even free to attract new readers.
Part of the reason for this price difference is that fiction authors tend to be a lot more prolific. They may have an entire series out in the time of one nonfiction book! This is what makes it affordable for authors to sell their books so cheaply – they have more to sell. In addition, they can also promote a series by offering the first book for free, attracting new readers who will then buy the rest of the series.
Finally, you will need to think about where you are marketing your book. Social media is an excellent place to market a fiction book, and can still be useful for a nonfiction one, but you might also need to consider other options. There may be professional websites or journals where you can advertise, for example.
Core Message
The first step is to develop your book’s core message. You can start to do this by asking yourself a series of questions about the aims of your book and what you want from the publishing process. For example, who is your target audience? Rather than trying to attract a wide audience, it is better to focus your efforts on appealing to a narrow audience. This means that you can play to your book’s strengths and tailor your marketing accordingly.
Once you have identified your audience, ask what problem they need resolving. Do they need help with art techniques, first aid, or perhaps gardening? Identify this and then think about how your book can solve this problem. There will likely already be a multitude of books on this topic, so decide on a niche area to make yours stand out. Sometimes you can do this by narrowing down your audience further, such as by making your book suitable for beginners.
Finally, ask why your audience would see you as a reliable source of information. Ideally, you will be an expert on your topic, which can mean having a qualification in your subject matter or being recognised in your field. Alternatively, if you are publishing a self-help book, it can make more sense to focus on your own experiences, emphasising how you faced and dealt with the issues you are writing about.
Book Description
Now that you have identified the core message of your book and how to appeal to your target audience, it is time to prepare a book description. You might want multiple descriptions, with one to use as a blurb and one to use on selling platforms.
Your book description should build on your core message, but be written in a way that attracts readers, rather than being for your benefit in a plan. Make it clear in your description who your book is aimed at, the type of problem it sets out to resolve and how it will do this.
Build Your Platform
You will also need to start building your author platform. This includes things such as creating a website, increasing your social media following and getting people to read your blog. All of these will generate buzz around your book, ensuring that you get good sales on launch day.
Plan Your Launch
Start planning your launch as soon as possible. If you don’t already have one, now is a great time to get a mailing list so that you can instantly tell everyone on it about your launch. Work out what promotions you could run to get people’s interest – maybe you could have a slight discount for launch day.
Try advertising in professional journals and magazines related to your topic. You will probably have to pay for this, but you might decide it is worth it to reach readers that you know are interested in your subject.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you get your launch started. In my next blog post, we will be looking at how to keep marketing your book after the launch, so come back in two weeks for that!
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