3 Book Marketing Mistakes That’ll Cost You Sales

I want to help you sell more books. Mine didn’t sell for years and the sales are only picking up because of the changes I’m making now (it’s never too late, right?).

I’ve done a ton of research on what went wrong, the changes I need to make, and what I’d do differently if I were starting over. I’m sharing all of this in a series so you avoid my book marketing mistakes. 

 

Book marketing mistake #1: poor SEO

When I published my first book on Amazon (in 2013), I barely scratched the surface of Amazon SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and keyword research.

Like most authors, writing and editing the book took so much time, energy that by the time I finished, I just wanted to hit publish and take a (giant) step away from the whole project. 

Plus, SEO seemed complicated. It is. Particularly if you approach it from the wrong angle.  The SEO rabbit hole goes deep. 

I’ve since realized it’s key to selling on Amazon. It helps you answer the following question (which is probably the most important book-selling question):

How will people find your books? 

SEO is the research and work you do so your readers can search and find your books. Because, in reality, Amazon is a massive search engine. And it’s a search engine primed for buyers, not just lookers. When people want to buy something, they search for it on Amazon. Simple.

So you (we) have to figure out this Amazon SEO stuff whether we like it or not. It’s that important. Also, I’m learning it’s not so bad when you do it in bite-sized chunks. 

Book marketing mistake #2: hiding my books

Say what? Who writes a book and then hides it?

Moi. Me. That’s what I did.

I have a pattern of hiding.

This is an old pattern of behavior related to self-doubt and fear. When you couple that with my disdain for mainstream social media marketing, you’ve got a recipe for poor sales. Kind of embarrassing to admit this as a writer and marketer who helps other people be seen and heard. I can gladly help others step into the spotlight but I (still) cringe when it’s time for me to do so. I’ve gotten better.

So, how did this ‘hiding’ habit play out with my books?

I’d write these books but then not share them….with anyone. Not on social media, not amongst my friends, not with current clients, not within my network, and not with new people I met who may need them. Nowhere. I didn’t tell anybody about my books. 

I also didn’t do anything like Amazon ads.

So where exactly did I expect to get readers from?

I’m not even sure. 

So, to sum it up I did minimal SEO and keyword research and had no plans for marketing. I didn’t tell people about my books. Also, none of my websites received huge traffic. This meant my website generated ZERO sales.

Can you guess the result?

Barely

any

sales.

Kinda obvious, right? Sad thing is, most authors are like this. A fantastic (and somewhat depressing) thread on K-Boards outlines this phenomenon: most books don’t sell a lot.

In fact, most books don’t sell at all. Why is this? I chalk it up to poor marketing. And understandably so because most authors have about as much interest in marketing our books as putting our heads in a pot of boiling water. Still, it’s necessary.

And I’ve learned that if we tackle it in bite-sized chunks, rather than an all-consuming attempt to learn everything and do everything at once, we can make headway and market our books.

Book marketing mistake #3: No email newsletter list

This is another embarrassing one to admit. As a copywriter who has penned hundreds of email newsletters, campaigns, nurture sequences, and launches for clients, somehow I didn’t create a list for my books. None of them. Doh! 

You need a list. Not just an Instagram following or a Facebook tribe, a list. 

A list of people who have signed up to hear from you about your upcoming book (or the topic of the book). Even before the book is finished, you can nurture the list with related topics and create anticipation for the book’s release. Email lists still have higher conversion rates than most social media platforms (meaning people take action from emails more frequently than from social media).

Those were just 3 of my book marketing mistakes. But all is not lost. I’m doubling down now. Maybe it’s too late? Time will tell. Stay tuned as this article is the first in a series where I’ll be sharing what I’m doing to market my books. 

Here’s what this series of blog posts will cover

1. Understanding your readers (what they want, where they are, how they may be searching for what you offer)
2. Getting more book reviews (ethically)
3. Creating/maintaining an author website
4. Understanding Amazon KDP SEO
   • Choosing the right keywords for your book
   • What to research before you write your book (if you’ve already written it, no worries. This is still useful info)
   • Writing the best book description 
   • Choosing the right title and subtitle
   • Using helpful keyword tools
   • Understanding Amazon ads–and whether you should try them

As you see, the series focuses heavily on Amazon KDP because that’s where my books are self-published. But I’ll also feature general book marketing tips.

I’m kicking off the series by sharing a few mistakes I’ve made on this book marketing journey.

We may not make any bestseller lists, but dammit, let’s earn something and get those books moving.

xo