Social media platforms are increasingly important for any author launching a novel into the world. Not only are they free (music to a writer’s ears), but they offer a way to connect with potential readers across the globe, people you would never be able to reach via bookstore appearances or local one-on-one selling. By leveraging the power of the internet to reach across socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural divides, you can reach those who otherwise would have no way to hear about your book, much less purchase it. But writers often are at a loss as to where to start—what content to post, how often to engage, what will interest their audience and what will turn them off. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Pre-publication:
While each of the three platforms I recommend (Facebook [both individual feed and groups], Instagram and TikTok) have their own unique characteristics, one thing they have in common is the importance of starting early. Your goal should be to build awareness of you as an author first and then move to generating buzz around your particular book. In most cases, you want to start your efforts a good 6-9 months ahead of your pub date, giving you time to establish yourself on the platform, build followers, and become part of the community you’re targeting.
- Clarify your audience — you’ll want to cultivate two separate groups: readers and writers. The latter will be helpful to you when it comes to support, encouragement, and collaboration like follow trains and list swaps, but primarily you’re looking for readers of the genre you write. For example, I write domestic suspense so I might search for posts using the hashtag #suspense or #mystery, as well as looking at folks who belong to or follow well-known writers in that space.
- Start with posts about you — begin by introducing yourself, including some biographical details, but with an emphasis on your writing. You may enjoy baking bread or riding horses, but if someone looks at your feed, two out of every three posts should be about books, writing, your journey as an author, not your hobbies or other interests. Be authentic, including sharing your dreams, your challenges, your self-doubt, anything about your writing journey that reflects your humanity and your humility. Readers enjoy books written by people they like and admire; that’s why personal appearances sell so many books. Let your potential readers get to know you.
- Post at least every other day — you have a limited time before release. Rotate the types of posts but try to schedule some type of post 3-4 times a week, if not daily.
- Share the story behind the story — why did you decide to write this particular novel? Was it based on something you experienced, family history, a news article you read, an event that changed you in some way? Share anecdotes that relate to your narrative. Share writers whose work you emulated in some way or ones who taught you an important skill you then used in your own work.
- Tease them in a good way — this can be snippets of content that you share, glimpses into your significant characters (how they look, what their goals are, how they mess up their lives), a series of posts that hint at secrets in the novel. It can be a week-long cover reveal, or who you’d cast in the movie. Anything to get your potential readers intrigued by your book enough to want to read it. Your goal before publication is to build buzz.
- Offer social proof — here’s where your fellow writers come in. They can give you blurbs or early reviews that praise your story, your characters, your style. People want to be reassured that a writer they don’t know has written a book worth reading. Having other writers recommend your novel will go a long way toward getting your potential audience interested in dipping into it.
Post-Publication
Too many writers stop promoting after their book has been released. They forget that there are still thousands of readers out there who, despite your best efforts before publication, have never heard of your book. Now instead of teasing them and building buzz, your job is to make them aware of your novel and interested enough to buy it. Again, social media is a cost-effective way to do this in conjunction with other promotional activities like book fairs, Facebook or Amazon ads, newsletter mailings, and book club appearances. As for frequency, you can cut back posting to 2-3 times a week and make only one in three posts about your particular book. Increase the posts about book-related events, including recommending other’s books.
- Post about various formats — if you’ve released your book on audio, post specifically about that. Increasingly, readers are turning to audio as their preferred medium, and not every book is available in this format. Likewise, if your book is available on Kindle Unlimited, or carried on Libby or Libro through libraries, let potential readers know about this through social media posts or reels.
- Continue to post reviews — now that your book is out in the world, you’ll get reviews from readers. Post these using first names on your social media feeds. They are often more effective than big-name authors as they again provide social proof but this time, from people you don’t know who often write very heartfelt and down-to-earth feedback that will ring true to other potential fans.
- Cross Promotion Time — work your writer contacts after your book is out by collaborating on newsletter swaps, joint giveaways, cross posting, live joint events on the platform, reviewing books which are “in conversation” with yours, pairing your books with ones by more famous authors who write in similar genres.
- Price Promotions — Run short-term giveaways or deal where you drop the price or offer freebies along with the book and post about these on social media channels. Emphasize the deadlines with countdowns and the savings with colorful graphics.
While some authors eschew social media, most realize it’s an essential and useful tool for reaching potential readers and one that can be fun if approached with the right mindset. Think of it as a communication device, a way to expose your writing to an audience outside your local sphere who love to read the type of book you wrote. Be the matchmaker – your readers will thank you.
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