When should I start marketing my book?

by | Jul 6, 2020 | Market your book

when should I start marketing my book?

Another question that I get asked is: “When should I start marketing my book?”.

The answer to this will depend on how good you are at finishing.

There is nothing more annoying for a reader to pre-order a book, only for the publication date to get put back because the book isn’t finished. And if you do that, Amazon will then look at whether it will allow you to put your book for pre-order again.

So, when should you start marketing your book?

The answer is simple:

  • if you have published your book as an ebook and print book, and then you have the option to make your book available for pre-order. In which case, this is the point that you can start marketing your book. If you have an author profile set up, and readers can follow you, then the minute that you do this, those readers will get an alert from Amazon letting them know your book is available to buy.
  • however, if you don’t have the option to make your book available for pre-ordering, then you should market your book from the moment the first draft is finished. That way, you know your book needs work, and you can have a publishing date in mind, but you can start sharing your book in the form of review copies to get feedback on it. 

So, how should you do it?

  1. Update your website with the book cover on your home page.
  2. Tell your email list.
  3. Share images of your book front cover on social media. Maybe even run a competition offering a signed copy for the winner of the competition. 
  4. Send out a press release. You could also keep an eye out for journorequests on social media on your subject matter.
  5. Contact a book shop to arrange a book launch and or book signing. It maybe a local book stop or one with a major chain. It will depend on the size of your audience.

Hopefully, you now have a better idea on when to start marketing your book, and how to start marketing. Remember, if you want to get onto the bestseller lists, you need a group of people to buy your book on the same day, preferably the day the book is published or soon afterwards.

Note: Having published a few books now, you don’t know exactly when your book will be published. There maybe a delay from Amazon from when you upload it to when your book goes live. There could be any reason for this, but you need to keep communicating with your audience to keep them advised.