Essential Marketing Skills for Authors

Welcome to the second in our four-part series of essential skills for published novelists!

As a reminder, the overall categories are:

• Essential Writing Skills
• Essential Marketing Skills (today's post!)
• Essential Emotional Skills
• Essential Business Skills

Before I share my thoughts about marketing, another quick reminder: 

Please do not let this list overwhelm you.

There is no hurry to master these skills. You can approach them one at a time, and you don't need to master something before you move on.

You'll try things. See what works. Make adjustments. Try again. Over time, you'll figure out what works best for you and your unique process. 

This also isn't an exhaustive list. 

I intentionally limited myself to the top 3-4 skills per category, and I picked the ones that come up most often in my conversations with authors. There are more skills involved in creating a sustainable, joy-centered career than what I could include here.

If you want tailored support for your author goals, you can click here to learn more about coaching.

Okay, let's dive in!

Loving Your Book

Surprise! The most important factor to good book marketing isn't mastering graphics, posting at a certain time of day, or otherwise figuring out how to game the algorithm. 

The most important thing you can do for marketing is to write a book that you love.

A book that you're proud to put your name on.

A book that matters to you.

Why? Because you're going to be talking about this book a lot, and how you feel about it will bleed into everything you do and say.

This is why I'm consistently remind authors to advocate for the time they really need on deadlines to tell the story the way they want to. (You can actually hear more about my thoughts on deadlines in this podcast episode.) 

This isn't an invitation to go down the rabbit hole of perfectionism, though.

As you grow as an author, you will write better books. Your earlier titles, by default, likely won't be as skillfully written as later ones.

And, sometimes, you will want to write a book on a super tight deadline even if that means certain aspects of the book aren't quite as fleshed out as you'd normally like. 

Even so, it's still your job to fall in love with your books, even as you write "better" ones in the future. The more you let yourself love your work, the easier it will be to talk about it.

And talk about it you will! Because new readers will continue to discover your work for the next 10+ years, and you don't want to yuck their yum, especially when they thing they love is your work.

Pitching Your Book

Despite what the internet might have you believe, mastering short-form video content is not an essential skill for being a successful author.

If you like creating reels, that's great! Go for it!  

But if you're forcing yourself to build a skillset you actually kinda hate... there are better ways to spend your time.

And the most important marketing skill (after actually liking your work) is the ability to confidently pitch your book in a myriad of settings. 

This doesn't have to be complicated. You don't have to have a perfect one-liner.

You just want a simple, compelling way to talk about your book with potential readers: in-person, on your social media posts, when interviewed on a podcast, etc.

Workshopping different ways to explain what your book is about -- and then being able to confidently share that pitch! -- is time better spent than fussing endlessly with a graphic in Canva. 

I recommend having a few different lengths of pitches saved in your notes app (or on a Google Doc) so you can easily paste the pitch into your posts.

Practice saying the pitch out loud, too! A simple pitch, delivered with confidence, can make a lasting impression on readers and inspire them to check out your work.

And as a bonus, the easier your book is to pitch, the easier it will be for readers to rave about the book to their friends, too.
 

 
Static Marketing

First, a definition: static marketing is any type of "set it and forget it" marketing. Something you set up one time and then it continually communicates to your audience for you.

The most common forms of static marketing include your author website, your bio on whatever social media sites you use, and the pinned posts at the top of your Instagram profile.

These places are a prime opportunity to ensure it's easy for new-to-you readers to know who tf you are. 

Don't make it a mystery! 

Set up your static marketing for the people who have no idea who you are.

Make it EASY for them to know that you're an author.

Make it easy for them to figure out what books you've published! 

Don't make people scroll and scroll and scroll to figure out whether you have books out that they can read now! 

Instagram lets you pin three posts to the top of your grid. Please, I'm begging, make one of those a round-up of the books you've released.

Your debut hasn't come out yet? Pin your deal announcement or cover reveal instead. 

I like to think of my Instagram as my digital business card. I want my bio + the first three pinned posts to clearly communicate to anyone who ends up on my profile who I am and what books I have out. 

The harder a potential reader has to dig through your posts to figure out whether you have a book out, the greater the chance they click away instead of getting inspired to read your work. 

Focus on Connection with Readers

This last skill is all about how you approach the task of marketing.

When you sit down to plan out your marketing, what are you thinking about? What kind of sentences are running through your brain? 

If you're like most authors, your brain space sounds a little something like this:

I hate marketing, but I have to do it.

My publisher should do more.

Nothing I do is going to move the needle anyway.

I don't know wtf I'm doing. 

The algorithm hates me.

While those thoughts are totally normal, they also feel like shit.

And when you feel like shit, you're much more likely to procrastinate or avoid marketing completely.

You're also likely to overcomplicate the process, get overwhelmed, and do nothing.

Instead of all of the "have to" and "should" and "this is pointless" thoughts, I invite you to consider reframing the purpose of your marketing efforts to this: making it easier for readers to recognize that your book is something they'll enjoy, and then helping them remember that it exists.

(That's why loving your book, being able to pitch it, and setting up static marketing were my top three choices for essential skills.) 

For any marketing you do beyond that, lean on your strengths and what will be fun for you:

Do video if you love it! 

Share quotes from your book if that's something you enjoy as reader.

Prioritize responding to readers who like your books if that feels good to you.

Write bonus scenes to share with your newsletter if you have the time.

And remember that the very best marketing for your backlist is releasing a new book, so prioritize your writing time as often as you can. 
 

Final Thoughts

Marketing your books doesn't have to consume your entire life. 

It doesn't need to take much time at all.

If you're ready to let go of marketing stress and spend more time focused on writing books you love, now is the perfect time to work with me.

I've opened extra spots on my calendar until March 26th (including some weekend hours!) to talk to you about your career and how coaching can support your goals. Schedule a call with me here.

Happy writing,
Isabel 

PS - I currently have 2 spaces open for new private clients. Click here to learn more and schedule a free consultation. 

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