3 author book marketing mistakes that will hold you back

Are you making these three common author book marketing mistakes? It's easier than you might think to turn them around.

Writing, publishing, and marketing a book require lots of time and knowledge.

If you’re like most authors, you felt a great sense of accomplishment when you hit “publish” on Amazon and made that labor of love available for purchase.

The smile that comes with that achievement quickly fades, though, when you discover that nobody is buying your book.

Once you take friends and family out of the mix, you’ve got no movement — no sales.

It’s discouraging. And it’s frustrating.

But it’s also typical, so know that you are not alone.

And know that you can turn that around if you work to avoid these three author book marketing mistakes.

Mistake 1: Asking other authors, “What are you doing to market your book that works?”

Why it’s a mistake: Each book has its own audience.

If you write children’s books, your audience extends beyond the age range you’re writing for to adults who buy books for their children, grandchildren, or friends.

Those aren’t necessarily the same people who read science fiction.

Or memoirs.

Or are concerned about global warming.

Unless you’re asking “What’s working?” to authors who are writing for the audience you’re trying to reach, their answers could be useless. Doing what they’re doing might very well be a waste of your time.

The fix: Be thoughtful and honest about who will love your book. (Pro tip: It’s not everyone.) Those people are your target audience — not mine or anyone else’s.

Then figure out where to reach them online and in the real world.

Yes, this takes effort. But nobody said marketing a book was easy.

Mistake 2: Not tracking your marketing activities and results.

Why it’s a mistake: You won’t know what works and what doesn’t if you aren’t linking tactics to outcomes. Your goal is to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.

If you’re making mistake number one and following the lead of the wrong people, you’ll realize something’s off when you start tracking results. You’ll see that your activities aren’t selling books.

Similarly, you’ll notice when you’re doing something right.

The fix: Try one new marketing tactic at a time, watch your Amazon ranking for changes and your KDP dashboard for sales, and record both the activity and results in an Excel file. Then watch for patterns.

For example, when I changed the keywords for my book’s Amazon listing, I sold more books immediately. I wouldn’t have seen that cause and effect if I wasn’t checking my sales.

Here’s what my tracking file looks like for my e-book, Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book. If you’ve never done this before, it gives you a starting point. Create an approach that works for you, though.

Mistake 3: Refusing to invest in your book’s quality.

Why it’s a mistake: Books sell by word of mouth. If your book isn’t exceptional, readers won’t recommend it.

Most authors need help to go from good to great. If you expect strangers to spend money on your book, you need:

• Excellent content.
• A compelling cover that’s appropriate for the genre.
• A plan for helping readers discover your book.

A professional editor will help most authors improve their manuscript; a professional cover designer will create a cover that appeals to your target audience.

Both come with a traditional publishing contract, but when you self-publish, you have to find and pay for those professionals yourself.

Once you’ve got the best book possible, you need to let the right people know how it will transform their lives.

The fix: Ask successful authors to recommend top-quality cover designers, editors, and proofreaders who have experience with your category or genre.

If you can’t afford to pay appropriately for decent help, you will need to manage your expectations about sales.

Enjoy success by avoiding author book marketing mistakes

Want to sell more books? Do what it takes to become a successful author. That starts with:

• Knowing who will love your book and learning how to reach those people with messages that will motivate them to buy, read, and recommend your book.
• Publishing the absolute best book possible — and accepting the outcome when you can’t do what it takes to meet conventional publishing standards.
• Doing more of what works to market your book and less of what doesn’t.

With some knowledge and effort, you can do it!

Not sure about who will love your book? My training, “Who Will Buy Your Book? How to Figure Out and Find Your Target Audience” shows you how to discover who’s most likely to buy, love, read, and recommend your book. Get the details and start making a difference in sales here.

What’s your biggest book marketing challenge right now? Share it in a comment — maybe we can help. 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in 2018. It is now updated and expanded.)