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In recent years, self-publishing has really taken off, transforming the publishing landscape in the process. Authors can now publish their books independently through myriad platforms, without needing a publishing house to act as an intermediary. This trend is the result of several factors.
First of all, the advent of these platforms has made the publishing process much simpler and accessible to all, including those without the technical skills or financial resources to pay for printing in advance. It is increasingly difficult for emerging authors to grab the attention of the major publishers, who tend to stick with well-established writers. And finally, self-publishing offers the chance to earn more money than traditional publishing, where royalties rarely exceed 10% of the cover price.
Self-publishing is also part of a wider trend: the rise of social media means that users are now used to creating and distributing self-produced content via the web, and bypassing traditional media. But authors choosing to go down the self-publishing route need to be aware that they are taking on a fairly onerous task, which includes not only writing, editing and producing the layout for the book, but also promoting and selling it.
Although some self-publishing platforms offer additional services, including marketing, it is crucial for writers to understand the best book promotion strategies if they are to intercept their ideal readers and sell plenty of copies.
Each author should draw up a marketing plan based on the type of novel, essay or story they have written, the target audience and the available budget, with the goal of promoting the work and encouraging people to read it. In this article, we will examine the various possible channels you can use, analysing the opportunities and limitations inherent to each one.
Social media
Facebook and Instagram are the two most commonly used social media channels in the publishing sector, but for certain types of book, other social networks like YouTube and TikTok can also be effective.
Instagram is the best platform for building a community of readers who love your work. You’ll need to devise a publishing schedule that includes interesting and beautifully presented posts that do not sound salesy. For example, you could publish key extracts from your book or other elements that pique your followers’ interest, such as explaining the choice of setting or how you developed your characters.
There are two key factors for success through this channel: meticulously planned, engaging content with a focus on storytelling, and frequent posting, with daily stories and at least two posts a week. Of course, if you want to increase the visibility of your profile, you can invest in an advertising campaign or collaborate with influencers in the publishing sector, known as bookstagrammers, who will introduce your book to their followers.
With over 3 billion active users across the world, Facebook is also an excellent channel for promoting books. However, this social network has one major flaw: posts’ organic reach. Very few users get to see a page or profile’s organic content – less than 10%, according to the latest estimates – so to reach more people you will have to invest in paid ads.
Kindle Direct Publishing
If you self-publish an e-book on the Kindle Direct Publishing platform, you can use Amazon’s free KDP Select software to add your book to Kindle Unlimited. There are also two promotional tools to choose from: Kindle Countdown Deals, which applies time-limited discounts to purchases of your book, and Free Book Promotions, which provides the text free of charge for a pre-determined period of time.
You can use the latter to improve your visibility by encouraging your friends and acquaintances to download the e-book for free during the promotional period, and so receive more positive reviews and climb the platform’s rankings. Kindle Direct Publishing also allows you to self-publish both traditional and digital books in over 10 countries and more than 45 languages, so you can reach a global audience and earn royalties of up to 70%.
Reader communities
There are several platforms where bibliophiles hang out, and your writing can attract a substantial audience there if you use them correctly. The best known of these is GoodReads, a community where users can read, comment on and review books, see what their friends are reading and receive custom purchasing tips based on their tastes. The Goodreads Author Program provides a free way for authors to promote their books and interact directly with readers by answering their questions and writing reviews for other books.
The second social network for book lovers is Wattpad; a platform that boasts an incredible 97 million users across the world and a book collection in over 25 different languages. Here you can publish works free of charge and receive comments and votes from readers on each individual chapter. Wattpad also runs annual literary competitions offering cash prizes for the best writers and the opportunity to be chosen by Wattpad WEBTOON Studios to have a film or TV series made based on your work. However, it is worth remembering that 96% of the community is millennials and members of Gen Z, so you’ll need to choose other promotional channels if you’re targeting a different audience.
Brokerage platforms
There are also platforms that distribute digital, audio and paper-based books to both bricks-and-mortar and online libraries all over the world. StreetLib, for example, distributes books within 24-48 hours of them being uploaded to the site, and offers a turnkey service for writers looking to self-publish, from converting the file and creating a PDF for printing through to an automatic billing system.
It is free to register on the platform, but a variable percentage is deducted from your net income. As with traditional publishers, however, authors retain all the rights over their work, and can decide to withdraw it from sale at any moment.
Website
Building a website dedicated to your novel or non-fiction work is an undeniably resource-intensive process, but it can offer many promotional opportunities: from SEO strategies for intercepting users on search engines to creating a blog or sales funnel.
However, making a good-looking and effective website requires time and specialist skills, and if you don’t have the expertise yourself, you will have to pay professionals to support you in putting together the various pages. If you have a small budget or limited time on your hands, we’d therefore recommend using an existing web platform.
Word of mouth
According to recent research by the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) Monitoring Centre, word of mouth remains one of the most effective techniques for promoting and selling your work. When choosing which books to buy, 43% of interviewees prioritised other readers’ opinions over other selection criteria. So gifting a few copies of your novel to friends and relatives who love your genre may help you gain more visibility at a local level.
Live presentations
Live presentations at local bookshops or trade shows are one of the most effective offline tools: although it is certainly not easy for a first-time author to find a space, you could start with small, independent bookshops or local reading groups, and publish the event via your online channels too to increase its traction.
Literary magazines
Literary magazines provide various forms of paid advertising space, including advertorials, interviews and traditional adverts in a range of formats. Here, as with websites, it is worth weighing up the pros and cons of opting for this channel: on the one hand, certain magazines have a very active audience and provide ad space at affordable rates, but on the other hand there is no guarantee people will take the time to read an advert.
In addition, unlike online ads, you cannot measure the number of views (how many people have read the content) and so assess the advert’s effectiveness in spreading the word. Having said that, you can track conversions – the number of people who buy your book after seeing the advert – by providing a customised discount code or a QR code that directs the magazine’s readers towards a specially created landing page.
We’d like to round off our advice on promoting your self-published book with one final recommendation: don’t be in too much of a hurry to sell your work. Before investing in expensive advertising campaigns, take your time to work out exactly where your “ideal reader” is and to pinpoint the (physical and virtual) places they hang out and their book-buying criteria. This will ensure you put together a well-balanced marketing campaign, and avoid wasting resources on ineffective measures.
Interested in self-publishing a book, but not sure where to start? Read our how-to guide.