Writing a book is the relatively easy part, marketing not so much. Ask any author and I pretty much think they’d agree. The goal for most authors is to get paid for their work, even in pennies through KU reads or library borrows, so keeping the sales flowing (or trickling) is a necessary part of the writing and publishing business. But how to keep sales going beyond publication month?
I’ve got eleven books in my back catalogue comprised of five novels, three short story collections (all pictured above) and three poetry collections in publication since 2019. While some authors choose to stop promoting their back catalogue, mainly for financial reasons, I actively promote all of my books – at various times, which I’ll outline below, for anyone interested in the strategy (method behind the madness, lol) to my book marketing campaigns. It’s worth the effort, as I make a steady supplementary income from book sales and KU page reads each month.
Sponsored ads
Where do readers shop? Primarily on Amazon. It’s for this reason that I run sponsored ad campaigns to reach new readers, rather than paying for sponsored ads on Facebook, IG, etc where I feel like chances are higher of hemorrhaging money through clicks, versus chances of sales. I get regular sponsored ad sales or KU reads each month to make it worth it.
Having said that, I periodically pause some sponsored ads on some of my books, mainly if I feel I’m getting more clicks than sales for those particular books. My personal cut-off is £5 spent in any given month. If I reach that number and haven’t had KU page reads or book sales, I pause ads for that book for the rest of the month.
Kindle countdown sales
Setting 99p/99c sales brings in new readers and gives a boost to sales rankings of books in my back catalogue. I tend to have the most success with my Belfast Ghosts trilogy with Kindle countdown sales rather than my standalone books; I’m guessing that’s because it’s a series, though I’m not a marketing expert, by any means.
Seasonal/targeted discounts
With my other standalone books, I find that running sales campaigns during events like Black Friday, or for Halloween has worked to keep generating interest in my back catalogue – though bear in mind that I’m a horror author. It might depend on what genre you write to find out which seasonal campaigns might work for certain books. I’m planning to set discounts on my Yuletide ghost book, The Fairy Lights, nearer to Christmas and my paranormal romance collection, Love you to Death, before Valentine’s Day, for example.
Ongoing social media promotion
I use all of my author social media accounts on Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube to promote reels and videos of my books (in addition to supporting other authors by recommending their books too). Getting my book covers in front of the camera is key. Why? Because when I’m scrolling on social media, and I see books by other authors, it helps me to remember their covers and titles. I can then search for the book that has piqued my interest and find out where I can buy a copy. If it works for me as a reader, it hopefully works as a marketing tool for my own books. Please note here that I have no proof of purchase for anyone viewing my videos, as to whether they have clicked across to search for my books on any online retail stores; I can judge only by sales on any given day that I have posted videos. Sometimes I get a sale that isn’t through sponsored ads on days when I post a reel or video, so I can make an educated guess that it’s as a result of my social media promotion.
Goodreads author page and Amazon author central
Like social media, there’s no direct proof that any of my sales come from Goodreads, but having an author page on there as a central point for ratings and reviews provides social proof that readers have engaged with my books. That probably helps with book sales, I would think. The same goes for Amazon author central; whenever I find a book or books I like, I often click on the author’s page to see their other works. If it works for me as a reader, hopefully it works for other readers finding my back catalogue.
Being realistic – the takeaway
Mindset is key to long term book sales. I take the view that any book sales or KU page reads is something to be appreciated, and worth the promotional efforts, rather than taking the view that a handful of sales in any given month is depressing. There are months when I sell a lot of books – mainly on book launch days when I sell dozens, or the run-up to Christmas when my sales peak – otherwise I only ever sell a dozen or so of my back catalogue books each month. I’m not Stephen King, so I have to be realistic and appreciate the audience that I have, rather than the audience I would like to have. This helps my motivation to write more books and to keep promoting my back catalogue. All in a day’s work for an author!
Leilanie Stewart 