Word of mouth is the fourth installment in the series on book promotion. So far, the series includes Getting noticed, Getting book reviews, and Book trailers.
If you are like most indie authors, you are probably using social media, book reviews, and book trailers to get your book noticed. Yet, with all your efforts, there does not seem to be a lot of buzz about the book and you wonder how to get people to talk about it. How do you get people to promote your book via word of mouth?
“In a lot ways, the greatest marketing tool we have in publishing — and probably will never change — is word of mouth,” ~ Heather Fain, marketing director for the publisher Little, Brown and Co.
This might be so for a well-established author, but for a newbie, word of mouth results from using all the tools in the author’s platform. It takes energy, time, and effort to develop your author’s reputation, credibility, and following. Don’t look at word of mouth as the primary way to promote your book, especially a first book. Look at it as a gauge for determining when you can turn your attention from marketing to other aspects of your writing career.
To get people talking about your book, you first need to write a good book. A dull, poorly written book will not create a word-of-mouth stir; to do that you need to write a book that is a fun read, exciting, compelling, comical, motivational, or inspirational—a real page-turner. You have to give the reader a reason to talk about the book.
Once you have written the book, you need to promote it. You have to get the readers’ attention before they can spread the word. Use every tool in your author’s platform to make people aware of the book. Contact sites that promote books directly to readers, librarians, and book clubs for free. See Free Sites to Promote Your eBook.
You might consider purchasing advertising on sites such as Shelf-Awareness.com, DearReader.com, BookMovement.com, PublishersMarketplace.com, and KindleNationDaily.com. Or, you might hire a marketing company such as Author Buzz to contact these promoters for you. Whether you contact the agencies directly or hire a firm to do so, you will be spending money—without assurances of increased word of mouth. Look at these sites; KindleNationDaily.com, for example, has 375 pages of book listings and ads. Ask yourself how a reader will find your ad on a site that is so saturated.
“Ads don’t really sell books. When you see the billboards for Dan Brown, they are just announcing to his existing fans that the book is out; they don’t aim to convert new readers.” ~ David Gaughran. There has to be a better way to get word of mouth.
Instead of spending money on an ad, you might spend the money on traveling to a conference to speak on a topic relevant to your book (and subsequently sell books). At the conference, you will have direct contact with your readers and an opportunity to ask them personally to tell their friends if they like the book. Most people will be glad to do so.
Network with other authors. Ask them to help promote your work, perhaps by exchanging guest post or honestly reviewing your book. Your guest post is an opportunity to attract and convert new readers who can then spread the word.
Continue to interact with your readers. Send thank you notes and respond to emails. Do book signings. Make yourself available via Skype or teleconferencing to book clubs and discussion groups. The more people you come into contact with, the more chances you have to increase your word of mouth. Consider offering a promotion to seed the market and get people talking about the book.
Once word of mouth becomes evident and the book starts to sell itself with little effort on your part, reduce the time you spend on promoting it. Don’t ignore your following, just shift your efforts elsewhere, perhaps to increasing your following or to writing your next book. Readers who have read and enjoyed your first book will most like purchase a second one from you. And the cycle begins anew, but with more leverage.
Word-of-mouth strategies
- Write a good book that is well-formatted and edited.
- Ask your readers to tell their friends about the book.
- Consider offering a promotion
- Ask writer friends to help you spread the word.
- Promote the book upon release, then only occasionally, once word of mouth is working its magic.
Resources
- How Word-of-Mouth Marketing Produces Greatest Results in Book Sales
- Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking
The best way to convert new readers is through word of mouth. People trust personal recommendations, especially if they share tastes. As more people read your book, the word of mouth should create a buzz that should grow exponentially. Do you have a tactic for increasing word of mouth that I did not mention? Please comment.
