Marketing.
We all need it, and many of us loathe it. Yet we all need to know how to be successful getting the word out about our books. The big question, the major elephant in the room is… HOW? As a hybrid author, I’ve had to try and figure the puzzle out. Like dieting, there are plenty of approaches out there–some may even work. Thankfully, there are good tidbits to be had in almost all of them. And plenty of people making lots of money off those of us who’d like to know them. So let’s help each other out. Here’s what I’ve found in my journey. First and foremost, a book really is judged by its cover. Don’t fool yourself and say it isn’t true. Spend the time and money needed if you’re an indie author, and let the pros give you guidance if traditional. This doesn’t mean you have to go broke. I’ve seen some really well done premade covers, and they can sell for as little as $35-75. I’ve also seen them go for as much as several hundred. Here’s what I think the keys to a great cover really are:
Best example I can use is my own book. Child of Prophecy, Book One of my YA/Fantasy series was the first book I published, and I did a lot of things wrong. I pushed for cover images that didn’t scream YA/Fantasy. My publisher was kind enough to let me have a say, but I focused on an image that spoke to me rather than finding one that would speak to readers. Title thankfully, I did okay with. Child of Prophecy does imply a young person, and does have a fantasy keyword in it. Subtitle I didn’t even think about. When I finally gave in and paid a marketing team to review my book, they suggest this subtitle: An Uplifting Young Adult Fantasy. Straightforward, and to the point. Because my book is family-friendly (no cursing, no graphic violence, no graphic sexual content) and is allegorical in nature, this phrase was the best choice to convey to readers all of that information in a relatable way. Series Title I also didn’t think much about. I called it the Divide Series, only because I had my characters crossing a divide between worlds in all the books in my series. But does this convey YA/Fantasy? Marketing team suggests: Bridging the Divide. This conveys a more spiritual, fantastical theme. And it’s still pretty close to what I had before. Listen, I know it can be hard to let go of a cover or title you love. Our stories are our creations, after all. But we have to allow some things to be changed if those changes mean more readers, more books sold, and ultimately a better writing career. Here’s the cold, hard, truth. If your genre isn’t familiar to readers, readers will move on. If your cover doesn’t match your genre, readers will move on. If your blurb doesn’t match your genre, readers will move on. If your categories and keywords don’t match your genre, readers will never even find you to begin with. Uh-oh! What’s this now? Yep. The old categories and keywords. The riddle of Amazon algorithms, searches, clicks and sales. How do categories and keywords work? Example Time! Admittedly, I’m still learning all of this, too. So I’ll (again) use my own book as an example. So first, you need to either be able to do some of this homework yourself, or hire a group like I did to do it for you. Amazon has different keywords for both EBooks and Paperbacks (and for hardcover, audio, etc.). The same things you use to search for books to read are what you’ll need to know for your own categories. You can do a google search if you need help figuring out how to find / look up Amazon categories. Here are some of the ones that were suggested for my book by my marketing team: EBOOK
ON TO THE KEYWORDS! You may have no idea what keywords are. Or you might be familiar with the term from the work or research on your website, because search engines use keywords to find results for people who put searches into those search windows in browsers. And think about what you use. Do you search by word, or by phrase? Probably by phrase! So as you head into entering Amazon keywords, use this same logic. Also, use phrases to include multiple genre buzzwords, tropes, etc. into a single keyword line. Example Time!!! Here are a couple of the keywords my marketing team recommended for me:
Once you start to get the idea of using all of these things together, writing your Amazon description and back-cover blurb should start to make more sense. Weaving those keywords, catch-phrases, tropes, etc. will start to feel more natural and make more sense. And stay tuned! Because I’ll be dropping this information to my own publisher so we can update my book, and we’ll see how it helps! The next marketing push, blog tour, sale or giveaway I do should work better than my previous attempts. Ad campaigns should be more successful and give better ROI (return on investment). If nothing else, I’ll be setting myself up much better for when my next book launches, as readers start to find me and my work. So let’s learn together, and share the wealth! –T.E. Bradford Feel free to leave your own tips, thoughts and experiences in the comments for others to learn from.
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Today is the day! Heart of the Ajs is now for sale on Amazon and everywhere books are sold. I'm so excited to share this story with you! Set on a desert planet, this story is a blend of fantasy and sci-fi with middle eastern spice. If you enjoy strong characters, challenging situations and spiritual warfare, you will definitely like this story. Pick up your copy today! And don't forget to leave a review - this is how authors gain status and exposure, so each opinion matters! For those of you without Facebook access, comment below to be entered in our Prize Giveaway later tonight.
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