Over and over we hear from our authors how the trickiest part of the self-publishing process is figuring out how to begin marketing—how to identify and reach the specific audience of readers you had in mind while writing your novel. Marketing is critical and complicated, but at Outskirts Press we are working tirelessly to provide cutting-edge post-publication support, products and services to self-publishing authors like you, who are just as tirelessly on the hunt for the perfect book marketing tactic to sell successfully.
What comes next? How do choose the right marketing approach from among the many options available?
Our list of Top 10 Book Marketing Options is one great way to find your feet. Think of this list as a marketing “greatest hits” to help you prioritize your book marketing efforts according to the most highly rated and prized marketing strategies as evaluated by your peers. These options, ranked in order of sales for the month of December 2017, are listed below along with a summary of each to make it easy for you to see which option(s) might serve you best.
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1. Amazon Kindle Submission Service: Make your book available on Amazon’s Kindle e-book reading device. More formats on Amazon means more exposure on Amazon, and the Kindle is heavily promoted by Amazon. |
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2. Book Awards Submission: Enjoy maximum convenience by allowing us to submit your book to 6 recognized, vetted, and legitimate book award contests, some of which offer major cash and prizes (Writer’s Digest and Foreword) and all of which offer the chance for extra exposure, recognition, and the chance to claim “award-winning” during your marketing efforts. |
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3. Personal Marketing Assistant (5 hours): Do you need help developing a book marketing plan? Arranging book signings? Establishing/developing your author platform? Hire your own Personal Marketing Assistant today! |
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4. Elite E-Book Package: This e-book publishing package includes formatting and distribution of an Amazon Kindle E-book Edition with distribution on Amazon, an Apple iPad/iPhone E-book Edition with distribution through iTunes and the iBooks bookstore, and a Barnes & Noble NOOK E-book Edition with distribution through the NOOK bookstore on Barnes & Noble’s website. |
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5. Amazon Search Inside the Book: Books with this feature include a “Look Inside” icon over their Amazon cover image, which invites potential customers to electronically “flip” through a small section of the book. This increases the level of confidence a customer has in your book — improving the odds of a higher volume of book sales. According to Amazon, books participating in this program enjoy significant sales improvement, on average, over books that do not. |
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6. 2018 Author Marketing Calendar: A compilation of the most up-to-date, effective and actionable tactics available to help you market your book. It contains hundreds of promotional tips, advertising opportunities, important deadlines, social media recommendations, and information about marketing options and services available through Outskirts Press. |
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7. Amazon Launch Bundle: This bundle includes the most effective marketing services focused on Amazon: Amazon Search Inside the Book, Amazon Listing Optimization and Amazon Author Profile. |
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8. Espresso Book Distribution: One of Time Magazine’s “Invention of the Year,” this service allows a high-quality, black/white paperback book to be printed and sold in about 8 seconds. Consider it a “book vending machine.” This option makes your book available via this exciting new sales channel. |
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9. Book Launch Bundle: Save time and money with this popular marketing bundle, which includes a custom press release, the public relations publicist campaign, author platform set-up through social media, a 60-90 second book video trailer with social network distribution, and five hours with a Personal Marketing Assistant. |
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10. Amazon Listing Optimization: Our professional copywriters spend a lot of time around books, and they know what makes readers buy and what search engines respond to. By combining these skills with the Amazon Listing Optimization option, your search engine optimized and sales content means more people can potentially find your book with less effort on your part. |
Outskirts Press Published authors who are interested in any of these (or many of our other available services) can find further details and ordering information from the Marketing Options page of your Author Center. If you have questions or want to learn more about our marketing services, visit us online at www.OutskirtsPress.com.