This past year has been a time of seismic shifts in the way we consume content, with many industries experiencing remarkable growth due to the advent of viral content, online shopping, and podcast listening.
While many traditional booksellers have closed their doors due to the pandemic, the rise of online retailers and audio platforms has enabled niche authors to reach more people than ever before.
With traditional retailers moving to digital spaces, it’s an ideal time for non-fiction authors to explore alternate methods of marketing.
In this article, we will discuss six digital marketing tactics that can be used to market your non-fiction book.
1. SEO
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either an author or an agent who’s interested in marketing a book. In either case, you should be aware of SEO, or search engine optimization, which can help your book reach the right audience at the right time.
SEO is all about getting your book in front of the right people when they’re searching for relevant information. It begins with making sure that your website is equipped with all of the necessary components, such as meta descriptions, image alt tags, and keyword-rich page content.
Some SEO advice: If you’ve been doing your book’s social media marketing (which we’ll discuss later in this article), consider switching to SEO-focused content, as social media marketing does not directly contribute to improving your website’s search engine rankings.
Once you’ve established a solid foundation for your website, you can begin to optimize various aspects of the site, from the content on the pages to the URL structure. For instance, you might want to consider using hyphens instead of underscores in your URLs to make them more searchable. Similarly, you can use specific anchor text to link to specific pages on your site.
Optimizing your SEO is a continuous process, meaning that you’ll never reach the “perfect” score. However, reaching “good” levels of SEO can make a substantial difference in terms of how people find your book.
2. Podcast
Podcasts have been around for many years, but only in the last year have they become so popular that anyone could potentially have a podcast. With the rise of online retailers, many podcasts have shifted their focus from entertainment to business, featuring interviews with high profile speakers who can share their expertise with niche audiences.
If you’ve got a successful podcast, consider using it to boost your book’s publicity. There are several benefits to using podcasts for marketing, including the fact that they can be downloaded directly to a smartphone, and listeners can easily relate to the content, as it’s often focused on niche subjects that they’re interested in.
Some great podcaster guests include Guy Kawasaki, a globally recognized consultant and author of The Art of the Start, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Gary Vaynerchuk, the author of the best-selling books, Wine Library and Make It Loud.
Podcasting is different from normal radio broadcasting in that it does not require as much human presence. As a result, it can be done remotely, which means that you don’t necessarily need someone to upload new content to the show regularly.
3. Video
Similar to podcasts, online videos allow for niche topics to be covered by celebrities and other high profile individuals. With viral content dominating many social platforms, video is one of the most effective ways to attract audiences.
If you’ve never made a video, it can be tricky to know where to begin. There are numerous platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok, that can be used to publish short-form videos, and mastering one of these platforms can help you to easily get up and running with a video channel in no time.
What’s great about videos is that they can be accessed on many different platforms, including mobile phones and tablets, as well as computers and attached TV screens. As a result, videos can be accessed by audiences across the globe, even if they’re published in the far east or in the middle of the desert.
Even if you’re a world-class expert in your field and have had your work featured on television networks around the world, don’t underestimate the power of a killer video to get your book noticed.
4. Influencer Campaign
If you’ve got a social media account with a large audience, consider using it to launch a campaign to promote your book. There are numerous benefits to an influencer campaign, including the fact that famous people often have large followings, which can be effectively targeted with content.
To get started, simply search for your specialty market (i.e. travel, fashion, or food) on social media, and you’ll see a list of influencers who’ve engaged with the subject matter. From there, you can choose an influencer who’s most suitable for your book’s content, and begin to build a plan to engage with them.
Once you’ve started to engage with them on social media, try to match the content you’re producing (e.g. articles, photos, or videos) with what they’re already doing, so that you don’t seem like a total stranger inviting them to join your cause.
You might find that some influencers prefer to work with established authors or brands, while others will happily promote a diverse range of content, especially if it’s of high quality. Once you’ve found the right fit, be sure to follow the tips below to ensure that your campaign is as effective as possible.
5. Newsletter
Even if you’ve got a decent sized social media following, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to successfully use social media to promote your book. In order to get the most out of your social media accounts, you’ll need to use other platforms to reach people who aren’t already following you on social media.
One great way to do this is through a newsletter. Sending out a weekly newsletter can help to build a relationship with your audience, and it allows you to keep people up-to-date on the latest news, exclusive discounts, and upcoming events that you might be able to promote.
What’s great about newsletters is that they can be used for a variety of purposes. If you want to promote your book, you can use a free newsletter tool like Mailchimp to set up a weekly newsletter containing useful information about your book. Or if you’ve got a more specific niche, you could set up a dedicated newsletter for a travel agency, for example, which could include news about the destinations that they specialize in, as well as helpful tips on how to navigate the travel industry.
Having a newsletter is a great way to stay connected with your audience, and it can also be an effective tool to grow your book’s readership. If you don’t want to use Mailchimp to set up your newsletter, you can always use a free tool like Harvest to collect email addresses, or you can pay for a premium service like Aweber to achieve the same goal.
Another option is to use a service like HubSpot to create a landing page where you can introduce people to your book. With HubSpot, you can set up a web form that will collect email addresses, which you can then use to send out a newsletter with an introduction to your book.
6. Google Ads
If you’ve been doing any sort of internet marketing, such as SEO or social media marketing, you’ll know that ads can be an effective way to generate revenue. Many experts predict that in 2022, advertisements will make up 75% of all digital content.
If your goal is to market your book online, you can try a number of internet marketing techniques, including paid advertisements (also known as “sponsored posts”), to help get the word out about your book.
What’s great about ads is that they can be very targeted, leading you to only show ads to people who are most likely to be interested in your book. This can help to ensure that your adverts are actually performing as you intend, which leads to higher ad click-through rates and more effective marketing.
However, because they can be so effective, there are a number of ad-related tips that you should follow:
1. Testing Different Placements
Even if you’ve got a decent sized social media following, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to successfully use social media to promote your book. To get the most out of your social media accounts, you’ll need to use other platforms to reach people who aren’t already following you on social media.