10+ Book Marketing Plan Templates – PDF
From the best adaptation of our favorite books on the big screen and on television during the past two decades, to the most talked-about plots in book club forums, to this year’s postponement of awarding the Nobel Prize for literature and a Polish right-wing critic and activist winning the 2018 Man Booker Prize, bookworms all over the world still have so much to look forward to, as long as the author’s ink still flows, as long there are stories waiting to be told and retold. You may also see sample book marketing plan templates.
But what does it take to have the Hogwarts, Middle Earths and Narnias of this world loved by millions the world over, long after they have been published and enjoyed being on probably every bestseller’s list there is? You may also see sales and marketing plans.
Marketing Guide for Authors
Book Marketing Plan Template
Sample Book Marketing Plan Template
There’s More to Success than Just Publishing a Book
How would you know your book is going to make it to the bookshelves of enough readers to validate yourself becoming a full-pledged writer? You may also see book marketing plan templates.
You don’t. You don’t need validation either, because even Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women which remains to be one of the best-loved children’s books of all time, was told to “Stick to your teaching. You can’t write.” In between rejections from publishers and your fear of not being good enough for any reader, the author faces yet another challenging phase beyond just his writing: To get his books sold. You may also see plan templates.
You’re writing because you want somebody to read what you wrote. You have something to tell people and it’s not enough to just get your book published. They have to be read and that’s only going to be possible if people buy them. You may not want to be the next bestselling author, earning dollars in millions for years to come, but you sure want to also profit from your work. You may also see real estate marketing plans.
And it’s hard enough to get people to buy your book, let alone earn a place in this month’s New York Times’ bestseller’s list, or the next or the next month after that or even years later, but the responsibility of a book being successful still rests heavily upon the author, especially if he believes his book is more than good enough for his intended readers. You may also see printable marketing plan outlines.
There’s More to Marketing Your Book than Your Traditional Campaigns
Although campaigns using traditional media still play a big part in marketing strategies and plans for books, especially by indie or self-published authors, these techniques are not enough anymore. To enjoy the full capacity to which your book can be seen and discovered, you may have to maximize or even trump your traditional publicity campaign for something more direct and involved, such as using the most effective marketing tool you have today, which is the worldwide web.
Believe it or not, it’s no longer enough for you to have a book review, meet with groups interested in your book’s topic or even have a press release. Authors, just like anyone selling their craft, need to build a strong online presence because that’s obviously where people are. You may also see simple marketing plan templates.
There has never been a better time to be an author. But there has never been so much challenge and demand for something new either. Even publishers are experiencing their own crisis with some of them turning down so many appealing pitches from one author after another simply because they no longer have the resources to cover for marketing and everything else a book needs to make it to the bookstores and on readers’ shelves, no matter how interesting they are. You may also see create a marketing plan.
Market Your Book
Nothing builds your brand more or attracts clients like having your own book. Then again, whether you are traditionally published or a self-published author, your book will not gain success without proper marketing to your prospect readers. Traditional publishers would most likely take a chance with an author who already has his own following, as he is seen to be more marketable. You may also see marketing plans.
If you’re new to the marketing that comes with having your own book published, and if you want to start by being self-published first, a strong online platform is even more imperative since you would be on your own for the most part, when it comes to having your work seen and bought. This means you’re going to be largely dependent on your own ability to market yourself and your work. You may also see strategic marketing plans.
Self-published or not, here are some tips for marketing your first book:
1. Start early
It’s never too early to start letting people know about your book and about yourself as a writer or author. If you’re totally starting from scratch with almost no online presence to depend on, ow is the time to build your platform even when you haven’t finished that book yet. Remember that it takes time to gain and build a following, so by sharing updates about what you’re working on and asking for inputs or feedback about the hints and ideas you gave regarding your book, you’re already encouraging a good sense of personal investment in your audience by making them aware and by interacting with them. You may also see sample social media marketing plans.
2. Know your audience
Identifying a target audience for present and future works are something many authors fail to include in their marketing planning process. Authors usually make the mistake of assuming everyone is his or her potential reader when in truth, some people may prefer his book than the others. Authors have a specific following, no matter how popular they eventually become.
For example, some of those who love the poetry of Spanish writers may not necessarily hate Federico Garcia Lorca, but they may choose Pablo Neruda’s works over his, every time. Which type of readers do you think your book would appeal to? Is there an age range which represents them? Where would they likely be and what are the things they love or feel strongly about? What kind of lives do they live? You may also see event marketing plans.
The more narrow your focus becomes, the easier it will be to identify and know who your book would sell to, the greater your chances are at promoting your work successfully since you’d know where to find them. Actually, you would probably know who your audience is while you’re still writing, and if you do, then you’re lucky. You may also see non-profit marketing plans.
3. Cover Design is a Marketing Must
Books do get judged and remembered by their covers. Some of the most iconic books became iconic with their covers. More than 70 years after The Little Prince was published, the art style of its cover remains famous around the world and the design remained pretty much the same in all of its different editions so while the content of your book definitely matters, just like any product, it has to be aesthetically enticing at first glance to increase sales and click-through rates. You may also see retail marketing plans.
Don’t forget that a product’s appearance would always affect a consumer’s buying decision. It should also, therefore, imply superior quality on top of aesthetics. Publishers have packaged services which would include the cover design and the amount you pay would, of course, depend on the material you decide to use, the design and the number of colors. If you’re not doing this through the publisher, make sure you get a designer who understands the concept of your book and has enough experience designing covers for the type of book you wrote.
4. Use social media strategically
Quality in social media is much better and much more useful for an author than quantity. You really don’t have to be creating social media profiles and pressuring yourself to post like the millennials and Gen-Z social media rock stars when you’re just starting out. It is so much better to go low-key first and learn how to master a few things to it than to do everything else all at once with no focus and no objectives in mind. Check the network where your target readership mostly is because that’s a good place to start building and developing your social media presence rather than being everywhere all at once.
Book Marketing Plan Example
Book Marketing Plan Outline
Online Book Marketing Plan
Printable Book Marketing Plan
Book Marketing Battle Plan
Strategic Book Marketing Plan
Author’s Marketing Plan Sample
Author’s Book Marketing Guide
Rejections and More Rejections
Rejection comes in various forms, and there’s really no getting used to it. For authors and writers, it comes in rejection slips and letters from publishers telling them they’re not good enough, and the words are often not minced but straight up harsh. But it doesn’t end there either. Because the worst kind of rejection would probably be in knowing that nobody wants to buy or read your work after it has been published. You may also see sample marketing plan templates.
Trying to sell your book in a competitive market is harder and exhausting sometimes, than having your manuscript finalized that it becomes inevitable for you to question your ability, but having a focused plan on marketing your book may just pave the way to a great life of writing and being an author.