One thing that I’ve learned through nearly a decade of working in the book business, is that you can never have too much help to market your work. So I’m going to share with you some of my favorite author tools – and some of these are recently discovered.
Scrivener: I can not rave on enough about this program. I have introduced it to a number of people and they all say the same thing… it makes the planning and writing so easy! If you do not yet have Scrivener, or are curious about it because you have heard about it being one of the very best tools ‘on the planet’ for authors, then check this out. You can also enjoy 30 days (not just consecutive calendar days either) for FREE, then it’s only the cost of coffee and cake with a couple of friends to get it after that. (Use this link to get the free 30 days option… )
And best of all, you can pay just a couple of hundred dollars for one of THE VERY BEST training programs I’ve ever come across to Learn Scrivener Fast. Click here for details.
First: Booklaunch.io is far and away the VERY best landing page platform imaginable for authors. These make launching a new book so easy, and they look great too.
Second: if you are into technology, or not even hugely so but know it’s a necessary way to bring customers to your door, then you have to spend some time on these platforms:
- Amazon – create an Amazon Author page – it’s easy, powerful, and you’ll love what you can do with it to help drive book sales and awareness campaigns.
- Twitter – yes it does work, yes it is worth working hard to get followers, and yes you do need to post regular updates on it. This is not a passive platform, but when you work it well, it starts to really create buzz around your books. My Twitter feed is here for my author page.
- Mobile Apps – I’ve had one of these for my business alter-ego Maria Carlton Marketing Coach for years, and it’s been a great way to ensure I could share information with clients and promote my brand to prospects, but since that was created the technology available to create these apps has become outstanding. I’ve just discovered COMO and within hours have created an app that features my books, my services, and my links to all other platforms I use for marketing.
- Amazon Marketing Services: If you want to really ramp up your Amazon sales and promote free books or special offers, you can’t go past AMS. It’s easier to use than Facebook Marketing options, and dedicated to book sales. It’s still relatively new, so lots of beta testing still going on as they refine and improve, but well worth being an early adopter for this. Here’s the link.
One thing to remember when it comes to marketing tools for authors is that people want to engage with you, and you want to reach out and engage with them. These tools help you do this easily. But you have to work on these constantly – just like that great novel you’re working on marketing is a constant work in progress.
And like my old mate Winston Marsh always says – you have to be a better marketer of what you do than a doer of what you do! When it comes to effectively marketing your books – both non-fiction and fiction – you have to build a following. Branding is critically important and so is having a great marketing strategy that keeps you focused on the best results oriented social media options to suit your product.
