On Writing : Book Marketing That Worked for You by Leonardo Ramirez

Great topic, Leonardo Ramirez! I haven't done book marketing, but one effective strategy I've seen is covering the book cover of an upcoming book with something like a blank picture, then each day removing a piece of the picture until the whole book cover is revealed. That strategy keeps people coming back to see what the cover looks like.

Interesting, Maurice Vaughan - I've not seen that strategy. I like that!

I do too, Leonardo Ramirez. Filmmakers could do the same thing with posters. I've also seen authors post designs of their characters on social media to get people interested in their books. I would do that if I wrote a book. And put really short bios of the characters in the posts. It doesn't cost a lot for some character designs.

That's one thing I did do with books Maurice Vaughan is have characters from the books posted. And it worked very well!

That's great, Leonardo Ramirez. Which characters did you get designed? Just the main cast?

Just about all of them Maurice Vaughan. Here's one of them.

That's incredible, Leonardo Ramirez! I like the design, especially the cloak!

Trailers -- much like movie trailers. They are easy to do and you can make them look great.

Hey Leonardo Ramirez. I never market a book, but I market my podcast. First I created the podcast cover, after I did a 30m live direct on Instagram talking about the mission and goals for the podcast. The day before the launch, I shared in my social media the cover and a reminder for the launch date. Results: I measure through the number of visualizations and on the first day achieved the 34 position in all Apple Podcasts in Portugal. That was a win for me! One day will be ‘Soul Mated’ book :))

Maurice Vaughan That was done by a local animation company that I've had a relationship with for over a decade. Mike Halsey is a great guy and a good friend. Super supportive. He did this one and all the other characters in the series.

Sandra Correia I think marketing a podcast is honestly better than marketing a book alone. With that you have a built-in audience. I did appear on other people's podcasts but there's nothing like having your own.

Totally agree Karen Kay Oliver - I have a couple on YouTube that worked well.

I can’t compare Leonardo Ramirez because I never market a book, but a podcast it’s easy! Why you don’t create your own? Do you do self-publishing to your books?

I’m not against it Sandra Correia. But with a full time job and the writing and voice acting I feel like I have a full plate. Once I’m writing full time, I’ll reconsider.

Likewise :)) Many people make self publishing, but I prefer to be published:)) You have many things in hands like me Leonardo Ramirez :))

We may need to hire a staff Sandra Correia LOL

Ah ah ah ah Leonardo Ramirez I believe we need it! LOL

Leonardo Ramirez, I haven’t had the opportunity to market my own book YET, but I’ve come across some really helpful tips that I’ve saved for when the time comes. Some of the most effective strategies I’ve seen include:

- Building an email list early by engaging with potential readers before launch through newsletters and exclusive content.

- Leveraging social media authentically, sharing behind-the-scenes insights, character deep dives, and interactive Q&As rather than just promotional posts.

- Connecting with book bloggers and influencers, getting early reviews and features on bookstagram, booktok, and YouTube.

- Running targeted Amazon or Facebook ads. A lot of indie authors have success with this, but it seems to require some trial and error to get it right.

These are all really good and you're right Ashley Renée Smith. The last one is the one that most authors have used that works well. It's by far the most effective!

Through a publishing house and an editor. It's the easiest way possible, so to speak.

Even trad publishers expect authors do do their own marketing, Marcel Jr. I had to learn that the hard way.

Leonardo Ramirez Ain't that the truth. Publishing houses can only do so much.

You’re absolutely right Marcel Jr. Good to hear from you man!

Hi Leonardo Ramirez , for me, it's been my regular newsletter that goes out to my email list. I've been using the StoryOrigin app to build and maintain my list and campaigns. Recently have taken some time off as I'm busy with a film project, but I usually will see a sale after my newsletter goes out.

That's awesome William Joseph Hill - I've not heard of StoryOrigin. I'll have to check it out! Thanks!

Hi!

My debut novel, Warren's Finest, which is now off the market, sold 5,000 copies in its first year.

That was not random. I have a business degree, and I knew how to sell it the right way--crazy as possible with explosive back stories to get people's attention.

However, in my estimation, 450 copies came from friends/family/associates whereas the rest was PAID ADVERTISING! Big letters so you remember those two words, and how it's a lot deeper that just paying somebody to sell the book for you.

Bookbub is huge, and I honestly do forget what companies I was using.

However, what led to me finding about 20 of the easiest, cheapest companies to work with was a simple google search. From there, do your own research and see what people say about those companies online. They will tell you if it really works or not. Using 20 would be about $2,000. but if you're serious about being a real writer, prove it by spending money on your own budget.

In short: book marketing isn't real. It's all just real marketing. And real marketing states selling something (anything, even a book) is simple and all the same--Find what people want and most importantly, what they NEED = sell it to them.

I encourage you to own your genre, look into the best sites for selling that genre, and maybe sprinkle some friends and family on social media to get word of mouth going.

Oh, and remember most authors, even those who aren't self published, only end up selling a few hundred copies.

Why?

They don't know how to advertise, and they're scared to be loud.

Be loud, be in people's faces with your project, and just keep going with it.

Good luck!

"Sell me this pen! -Jordan Belfort" look that up and what it means and you will understand how simple marketing really is.

All great stuff Danny Range. If I remember correctly, BookBub takes a bit to build up an audience but once you do, it's pretty powerful. And you're right, some authors are a bit timid to be loud and it's all about marketing in general. I think it's interesting that you took your book off the market. Are you going to bring it back at some point? I'm wondering about that as a marketing tool itself.

Thanks a ton for your awesome feedback!

I might have the website name wrong, really. Bookhub, bookbub there's two. One of them, if you have the money and they accept you, they will literally get you like 20,000 in ebook sales (if you're at $0.99 of course.)

As for my first book lol I actually over-marketed it as a young man. My book was about my history with mental illness and drugs, and, as an insecure young man, I greatly exaggerated my life and experiences. Consider it like the movie 8mile. It's not my life's story, but it was a lot like it. Well, to help with the marketing I just said it was all real lol BIG mistake that I regret. Plus, friends I had that weren't into drugs got accused of it when the book exploded around my hometown, and I lost friends.

I took it down because yes, I will one day re-release Warren's Finest as a documentary film.

This time, it will be unflinchingly real, and won't involve any stories of former friends and me. Just me and my message.

But yeah, man. Take that story and apply it to your knowledge. You can market something and be explosive without lying. People will buy it if it's in their interest regardless.

Good times though lol I was a little local celebrity.

Yeah you're right Danny Range. I was thinking of Bookbub. You can get gobs of followers there, no doubt. So sorry to hear about some of your experiences but I'm glad you're doing well now. You've been helpful and given me an idea about what to do later if/when I decide to take down one of my books and rerelease later. Thanks again.

Danny Range Nailed it on the head. I can't speak to successful marketing of books because even after hiring a publisher (who also struggles) to help with that, sales were low. Except on release day. The best tip I got was to involve people in the process of the title and book cover (characters, like Leonardo mentioned, are a brilliant way.) But it boils down to having a support system that will spread the word. If you don't have one (like me), you have to build one yourself and or use paid advertising. It's great to get reviews ahead of time before launch day (supposedly Amazon will market it for you if you have over 50 reviews, so I've heard). Kirkus Reviews is a reputable source if you have a marketing budget. But at the end of the day it is just marketing, it is no different from everything else. Ashley's list was spot on. For some reason, I can't tag you, Ashley, my browser has been finicky with those.

Well said, Kat Spencer. There’s no doubt that a good support system is paramount.

This is such a great conversation, with a ton of tips! Definitely mentally bookmarking this for later :)

10-30 books category. While you solicit large wholesalers for your book, don't forget about the expos, conventions, fairs held in your area that feature your book's subject matter. There exists every expo imaginable. While getting a booth ($800-$2000) may not provide a reasonable return (that's a lot of $5.99-$19.99 books), you can often forgo the booth and visit the booths that do attend, spur up a reasonable conversation, and pick up their booth card with their email. Follow up later with "I met you at your booth and mentioned my book (current or coming out).... and so on." I've sold 10-30 books in this manner which is better than a day on Amazon. :) You might also convince one or two booths to hip-pocket or quick-cosign your book title at their booth as an added product, if it has an appealing cover or is related to their product or services, while at the same time adding to your growing email list.

I've done that Pidge Jobst and can attest that it does work! Great reminder!