Book Marketing Expectations

For many authors, marketing a book can feel like an overwhelming task. While writing the book is a significant achievement, getting it into readers’ hands requires an entirely different skill set. This is where professional book marketers come in. They can provide essential guidance, resources, and strategies to help promote your book. However, it’s important to understand what a book marketer can and cannot do, and what role you, as the author, must play in the process.

What Book Marketers Can Do for You

Book marketers serve as guides and strategists, helping authors lay a solid foundation for their promotional efforts. They offer expertise in areas such as:

• Developing a Marketing Plan: A book marketer can create a customized plan tailored to your genre, target audience, and personal goals.
• Branding and Positioning: They help establish your author brand and ensure your book is presented professionally.
• Platform Building: Marketers provide guidance on growing your online presence, including social media, email lists, and author websites.
• Industry, Blogger and Reader Reviews: Reviews are the lifeblood for any author and help to build a foundation of validation for the book. It is critical for authors to get as many reviews before and after the publishing date. There is a strategy involved.
• Advertising Strategies: They can suggest effective ways to use paid ads on platforms like Amazon, Facebook, and BookBub.
• Media Outreach and PR: Marketers may assist in securing interviews along with guest blog and podcast opportunities.
• Book Launch Strategies: They help orchestrate a launch plan to maximize visibility and sales potential.

What a Book Marketer Cannot Do

Despite their valuable assistance, book marketers are not miracle workers. Their role is to equip authors with the tools and knowledge necessary for success, but they cannot:

• Guarantee Bestseller Status: No marketer can promise that a book will become a bestseller or go viral.
• Handle All Marketing for You: While they provide strategy and support, authors must actively participate in their own promotion.
• Create Demand Where None Exists: If a book lacks market appeal or professional-quality production, no amount of marketing can compensate for it.

How Long Will You Be Promoting Your Book?

One of the biggest misconceptions among new authors is that book promotion is a short-term effort. In reality, book marketing is an ongoing process. While the most intense promotional period typically occurs in the months leading up to and following a book’s launch, successful authors understand that marketing continues long after the initial release. Years in fact.

• Short-Term (-3 to 3 Months): This is the pre-launch and launch phase, where marketing efforts are at their peak. Authors should be actively engaging with readers, securing reviews, running promotions, creating content to support the book and message and maximizing visibility.
• Mid-Term (4-12 Months): At this stage, the focus shifts to sustaining momentum. Authors should continue to engage with their audience, seek reviews, experiment with ads, and seek new promotional opportunities. With a track record for sales, keeping the momentum going in key.
• Long-Term (Ongoing): Book promotion never truly stops. Backlist marketing, periodic promotions, and continuous audience-building efforts help keep sales steady and your author brand growing.

The Author’s Role in Their Own Success

Ultimately, while book marketers can provide an excellent foundation and strategic guidance, the responsibility for success lies with the author. This means:

• Staying engaged with your audience through social media, newsletters, and events.
• Continually learning and adapting new marketing techniques.
• Experimenting with different promotional strategies to see what works best.
• Being patient and persistent, understanding that long-term success takes time.

Book marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. With the right mindset, a strong foundation, and consistent effort, authors can maximize their book’s reach and long-term success.

About the Writer

Rick Lite, the visionary founder of Stress Free Book Marketing, is a seasoned sales and marketing professional with over two decades of expertise in the book industry. With a focus on integrity, innovation, and growth, he collaborates closely with authors to craft tailored and robust book marketing strategies. Rick’s relaxed approach offers authors “stress-free” support during their self-publishing and marketing journeys. He readily imparts insider knowledge and tips for successful campaigns, ensuring heightened exposure, awareness, and, most importantly, increased sales. Explore Rick’s triumphs in the book industry at www.StressFreeBookMarketing.com