We’re all spending more time at home and getting out less, whether because our favorite stores are closed, or we simply are trying to flatten curves and reduce risk. All this extra time can be put to good use – if you have ever dreamed of writing an ebook, now is a great time to do so. To help you, we’ll be spending the next few weeks sharing our ultimate indie author resource guide, starting where every good indie author should start – with marketing.
Indie authors often do more than just write the book – they design their cover, choose and hire independent editors, source beta readers, and market the book on their own. While we recommend finding a great indie publisher to work with who can help you with the parts of the process that can help you sell more ebooks, having access to great resources to make the process easier can help. This indie author resource guide has links to great resources – free and paid – that can help you make a better ebook and sell more of them.
Market First, Then Write
Marketing should be a precursor to, overlap with, and continue after the publication of your ebook. Lack of marketing is often the singular failure of indie ebook writers – the one thing that keeps them from becoming successful. That’s why we start with it.
Most likely, you’re already writing or have an idea in mind for your ebook. But the point is, marketing should begin very early in the writing process. Part of your early marketing effort should include establishing an author website and social media platforms, developing a newsletter, and identifying marketing resources and platforms that will help you get the word out. As you begin writing and building your following, you can continue to market your ebook while it is a work in progress (WIP).
Twitter is an especially good platform for this, as indie authors are, on the whole, highly supportive of each other. Using the hashtags #WIP and #amwriting, you can share snippets of your ebook as you write. Twitter is a good source for finding beta readers and early reviewers as well.
Blogging can help you build an audience and generate interest in the book. What should you blog about? It depends on what kind of author you are. If you’re a business leader writing an industry deep-dive, you might want to blog about insights you’ve gained in your industry over the years. The key is to build your credibility. If you’re a romance author, you might write about everything from relationship advice to insights into writing romance novels. The key is to reveal your personality. You can promote your ebook with a call to action at the end of your blogs. If it’s not out yet, you can have people sign up to be notified when it becomes available for pre-sale. Once it’s available, you can transform your call to action into a sales link.
When you have your cover design and your ebook is ready for preorders, you can list it in these places (some paid, some free).
The more time you have to market your ebook and gather a following, the more successful your launch will be. Next we’ll talk about the best resources and guidance for writing ebooks.
This is part one of a 4-part series.
Part One - Marketing Your eBook
