As a self-published author, marketing your book can be a challenge, mainly because you would be doing the work on your own instead of relying on a publishing house which would ideally have all the resources and an already established audience.
Let’s start from the beginning and dissect (in layman’s terms) what marketing actually is and its purpose in relation to your book.
What is marketing?
When it comes to marketing your book, what we simply mean is that you’re:
- making it known that your book actually exists; and
- letting your audience know there is a need/want your book will satisfy
What does marketing entail?
Before marketing your book, there are a few things you need to be sure of, which you need to keep in mind for whatever strategy you will implement:
What need/want are you satisfying with your book?
No one is going to buy your book unless they know it’s a solution to a problem they have, or will satisfy a want. That’s how it is for every product that exists: people buy it because they need or want it – it’s a solution to a problem, it’s an answer to a question, it’s a satisfaction to a desire.
Who is your target audience?
It’s important for you to know this for 2 reasons:
- to know where you can find your target audience (which social media platforms, which events)
- to know what approach, what communication style to use to connect to them
Once you’ve concluded on the above, there are platforms you can use to market your book, some of which will need resources and skills (you may have them or may need to outsource marketing), while others simply need your presence and patience.
Social media
This platform is probably the most convenient and affordable to use for marketing your book. Depending on which social media platform it is (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Tiktok – bearing in mind that you use the platform where you know your target audience is), you need content, which entails:
- A picture and / or video
- A caption
The above do require skills, applications and/ or software. The skills can be practised, or you can outsource the service to expert freelancers or service providers. Mpilo Publishing does provide this service.
Another segment of social media is knowing how to use hashtags and boost your posts to reach a wider and specific audience. Again, you can practise this yourself or outsource the entire section of social media for the marketing of your book.
Book launch
Book launches are the most common and are inevitable for newly published books. When it comes to book launches, the 2 main things you need to be sure of are:
- A venue (whether it will cost you or not, how many people it can accommodate, and how convenient it would be for your target audience to get to it, including parking for those who may be coming with their cars)
- The programme
There are authors who launch their books in well-known book stores, such as Exclusive Books. However, it is usually books that have been traditionally published through a publishing house that already has an established relationship with the bookshop. To be considered by any well-known bookshop, you will have to be well-known yourself or at least prove that there is an audience and interested buyers.
Book talks (local book festivals, book events)
What’s convenient about book events and book talks is that you may not need to organise anything but instead be given a platform / opportunity to promote yourself and your book. There are always book events, like the annual Franschhoek Literary Festival in Franschhoek, the Open Book Festival in Cape Town, or the Durban Book Fair in Durban. It’s never a waste to approach the organisers of platforms where the majority of book lovers always are. You can also approach organisations for talks based on your book that you believe will be of benefit to its members. There are also radio stations, television programmes and podcasts you can approach whose vision may be aligned with your book, and whose audience may be your target audience.
The key thing with marketing your book is getting yourself and your book out there. It’s the only way anyone will know about your book, it’s the only way they’ll know there is a solution for their needs or wants and ultimately buy your book.
Should you require a thorough research and guidance for marketing your book, would like to find out more or make use of our marketing services, email us on admin@mpilopublishing.co.za and we will be in touch.
Blogger:
Simthandile Mhlambiso – Founder and Managing Director of Mpilo Publishing (Pty) Ltd; Member of Professional Editors ‘ Guild (PEG), Branch Secretary of PEG Committee – Western Cape.
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