10 Ways to Promote Your Nonfiction Book and Get Sales
Writing a nonfiction book is a very involved process.
But, the hardest part of the journey is promoting your book so that you can get sales.
I’ve been there, done that. It wasn’t until I wrote my fourth self-published book that I started to experience some measure of success both with promotion and sales.
In fact, I sold more than 150 copies of the book at the peak of my book promotion efforts.
I also have a client who created his own book promotion strategy that led to him selling over 100 books within three weeks.
So, trust me when I say that these 10 book promotion strategies can help you get sales!
My best advice is that you should use a combination of these strategies. A combined strategy will help you reach a wider audience and capture your target reader’s attention.
You can watch a summary of this article on my YouTube channel by clicking here.
Host a Book Launch
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
A book launch was a pivotal aspect of my client’s book promotion strategy. He shared some tips for hosting a successful book launch in an interview I had with him recently. Here’s a sneak peek.
Do it virtually. It’s much easier.
Choose the right virtual platform(s). He used EventBrite to schedule the event and Zoom to host the session.
Invite all your contacts. My client sent a broadcast message to over 100 of his contacts. Some of them even invited people in their networks.
Have entertainment.
Read excerpts from the book. My client allowed the audience to choose the chapter they wanted him to read. He then read the chapter and was so filled with emotions that it was difficult not to feel connected to him.
Invite people who know you to share relevant experiences they’ve had with you. This helps build credibility.
Share Snippets on Social Media
Photo by Plann from Pexels
Book teasers are a great way to build interest. You could video yourself reading an excerpt from the book or you could create an attractive post with a quote from the book.
My client shared snippets of both the writing process and engaging sections of the book. This helped him increase interest prior to publication.
Here’s the thing though. A strategy is important if you want to get the best results from these social media posts. Think carefully about:
Excerpts from your book that would resonate with your target reader. You should use snippets that make people stop and say one word- wow!
“Wow! That’s interesting!”
“Wow! I never thought about that!”
“Wow! That inspired me.”
The social media platforms your target audience frequently uses.
The best medium for presenting these snippets. Should you use a video, picture with text, or something else?
People within your network you can tag in the post so that it gets greater reach.
Host Live Social Media Events
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
Book promotion has a lot to do with being both engaging and entertaining. People also love getting value for free. Live social media events bring all these features under one umbrella.
The trick is choosing a theme for your live social media event that people want to learn more about. It will be a theme related to what you’ve written in your nonfiction book. But, you want a theme that you know will readily grab your target reader’s interest. So, you have to do some research.
You could post a poll on your social media platforms asking your followers to choose from a list of topics/themes. The topic with the most votes would be your focus for this live social media event.
It helps to note who voted for the most popular topic. These are the people you should directly message to invite them to your live social media event. They already indicated an interest so they’re most likely to attend.
Of course, you’ll also post about the event on your social media page. Some people may not even see your poll so a series of interesting posts related to the event will increase the chances of a wider audience on event day. But, directly messaging people who’ve already indicated interest helps tremendously.
Here’s how a social media live event can increase book sales. Offer a special one-time offer to people who attend the event. This doesn’t necessarily mean offering a discount on your book. A good example is offering a free 30-minute consultation to anyone who attended the event and purchases a copy of the book.
Also, remember to use the live event as an opportunity to engage with your audience. That’s what I love about these live social media events. You can read people’s comments in real-time and have conversations with them as though they were directly in front of you.
So, to recap:
Do research to identify topics/themes that would interest your target reader.
Post about the event on social media but also directly invite people who have indicated interest.
Engage with your audience throughout the live event.
Have a special book-related offer exclusively for people who attend the event.
Use Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising really helped me get more sales for my most recent book. My ads focused on reviews from readers who had already purchased the book. Here’s an example.
I used Canva to create this Instagram post and I promoted it for three days. These ads were also hyper-targeted so that I could reach my target reader. The demographics I focused on were:
Location: Jamaica
Gender: Female (Jamaican females are more likely to read.)
Age: 25 to 40 years (This age range represents people who are most likely ready to start a business and need help.)
Interests: Small business, business, work from home, entrepreneurship
Being very specific with the demographics helped me reach the people most likely to purchase the book. The investment paid off since about 20% of my sales came from these ads.
Here are my social media advertising suggestions for you:
Use reviews from readers. These reviews build credibility.
Be very specific about who you’re trying to reach. If your audience is too broad, chances are you’ll be wasting money on your ads.
Create a Book Trailer
A book trailer is a short video that explains what your nonfiction book is about and why people should read it. The video usually lasts for 30 to 60 seconds but it can be longer. I recently interviewed bestselling author, Dr. Sidjae Price, who has a beautiful book trailer for her new book, Chasing Rainbows.
Her book trailer provides a sneak-peek into some of the best practices for creating a captivating book trailer.
Get it done professionally. The selfie-type amateur video won’t work.
Be very clear about who you are, what the book is about, and the value the reader can derive from reading the book.
Your book trailer will form a pivotal part of your book promotion efforts. So, get it done right!
Build a Strong Landing Page
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
A landing page is the wheel that turns your book promotion strategy. It’s the central place on your website where people can really learn more about your book. You should include a link to your book promotion landing page in everything (where possible) you do to promote the book.
A good landing page for a nonfiction book is reader-focused. It:
Clearly explains the reader’s pain-point and how your book solves it
Leads your target reader through a sales funnel
Has a clear call-to-action
Includes reviews and endorsements to add credibility to your work
Features your book trailer.
Here’s a good example of a book promotion landing page.
Use Blog Posts
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Blog posts are a great way to capture your target reader’s attention. Some blog posts, however, may not be heavily SEO focused depending on the nature of your book.
For instance, there’s a client I am working with who wants her book-related blog posts to be written in a stylistic way. The writing style she prefers doesn’t lend itself to good SEO practices.
So, I’ve recommended that she host the blog posts on her website but also promote them using her already established newsletter. That way she reaches people who’re already interested in her and what she has to say.
Your book may be different. The topics discussed throughout the book may lend themselves to long-form blog posts that make room for solid SEO practices.
Regardless, writing blog posts related to your book helps expand your reach. Let me explain. Let’s say you’re writing a book about selling on LinkedIn. The book has these sections:
Your Purpose
Audience Selection
The LinkedIn Algorithm
Posting Strategy
You could create a series of blog posts related to selling on LinkedIn without giving away what’s discussed in the book. One of those blog posts could be a 3,000 word post entitled, “How I Increased Sales by 85% Using LinkedIn”.
The post would dive into your story while providing the reader with actionable tips and including links to your book promotion landing page. People will connect with your story and those who wonder how they can achieve the same results will click the links.
So, you’re adding value without giving away what’s in your book. But, you’re also getting indirect sales.
Go on a Virtual Book Tour
Virtual book tours have been around for years. They’re based on a premise similar to in-person book tours where the author would travel from one location to the next promoting a book.
The difference is that you’re sitting at home jumping from one virtual engagement to the next. A virtual book tour involves being featured on relevant podcasts, YouTube channels, and blogs so that you can get your name out there and reach more people.
You can find these opportunities through a simple Google search. Let’s say you want to find a podcast related to the book example I previously mentioned. You would type “LinkedIn Podcast”. Here’s what pops up.
linkedin podcast search results
There are a lot of options at the top of the search results. There’s also a blog article that highlights the top 10 LinkedIn podcasts.
Repeat the process for blogs and YouTube channels.
Here are some resources that can help you create the right pitches for podcast, YouTube channel, and blog post opportunities.
How to Pitch Yourself as a Podcast Guest - This can also work for YouTube channel interview pitches.
The Blogging Pitch Template that Gets You a “Yes”
Volunteer for Speaking Engagements
Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash
Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash
I was invited to present at a business development session hosted by the Scientific Research Council. The organiser heard about my book and wanted me to teach attendees how to start a business in Jamaica. She also allowed me to sell copies after the event.
That event really helped me get my name out there and get sales! But, it wasn’t a paid gig.
You’ve written this nonfiction book because you have experience and knowledge that you can share. There are people out there who want to hear what you have to say.
But, you’re not an established public figure who can charge thousands of USD for one speaking engagement. You have to start somewhere and volunteering for speaking engagements is your stomping ground.
Create an Online Course
Photo by Lewis Keegan on Unsplash
Photo by Lewis Keegan on Unsplash
A good way to get more sales for your book is to add even more value. Blog posts are one way to achieve this. But, an online course is an even better solution.
You could offer a packaged deal where people who sign up for your online course get a huge discount on your book or vice versa. You could also promote your book as an additional resource.
Julia Barnes is a great online course coach. She can help you create the right course to complement your new book. Visit her website to learn more about what she offers.
Final Words
A lot of work goes into writing a nonfiction book. But, that’s only the beginning of the process. You can’t expect sales to roll in if you just publish your book on Amazon and leave it there. It won’t work!
Your book deserves a strong book promotion strategy. The best strategy uses a combination of the ten techniques mentioned in this article. Find the best mix that works for you and those sales will start coming in.
Need help with your book promotion strategy? Book a 15-minute consultation with me and I’ll help you figure out the strategy that works best for you.
Learn more about writing a nonfiction book by reading this comprehensive guide.