Do you struggle with the same book marketing challenges as other authors in your field?
I released a book marketing challenges survey earlier in the year and received responses from 93 authors. Some authors were just starting out self-publishing their books, others have published traditionally for years and years. Despite the wide range of experiences, there were a few themes that kept coming up.
Here are the most-reported book marketing complaints:
- Difficulty getting attention or being discovered in a crowded market.
- Ineffective marketing tactics - lack of results for efforts.
- Struggles with social media.
- Time management issues and information overwhelm.
- Discomfort with (and outright loathing of) self-promotion.
- Not enough money or resources.
Scroll down to read actual quotes pulled from the survey. But first, here are the numbers:
Primary income sources: 93 authors completed the survey. 10 of these authors make most of their income from book sales. The other 83 authors have another source of income.
Publishing cost: While many authors spent none of their own money publishing their books, others spent over $20,000.
Marketing budget: While most authors spent less than $500 marketing their books, many more invested thousands of dollars into their book marketing efforts.
Stage of career: Authors that answered the book marketing survey were in all kinds of stages of their writing career. Some were very well established, others were just starting out.
And now, in your own words...
Issue: Getting Attention in a Crowded Market
“My main problem is getting interest in my books.”
“I feel like I'm not reaching the folks who would buy my books if they knew about them.”
“I don’t know how to stand out in all the noise.”
“I thought i had a decent fan base but with a new book out this doesn't seem to be reflected in sales or reviews. There's so much online noise out there, how does one stand out? How do I make the most user of my time?”
“I don’t know which market or platform is the best for my books.”
“I don’t get noticed among the hundred and thousands of other releases. My blog is... a waste of time. No one visits except writer friends and colleagues.”
Issue: Ineffective Marketing
“I don't want or need marketing tips that are fast and easy. What I want is marketing that is EFFECTIVE.
“Despite having consistent and topical blog posts, I also rarely saw a return on the effort, and I'm burned out!”
“Instead of wasting my time say buying useless adspace or sending free copies of my book to a website with only 3 visitors, I want to know where I should focus my energies to find people who want to read my books.”
“I have worked hard cold-calling book bloggers for reviews, sending personalized review requests, and soliciting free newsletters to promote price-reduction sales, and looking for guests posts for an author who neither will promote nor spend any money to promote. I have failed in both reviews and sales garnered.”
“I will probably do a guerilla marketing campaign, dropping cards and stuff. But I don’t know if that will help at all. I feel like such a noob.”
“I can promote until I'm blue in the face, but the only thing that seems to get results is giving away my books, something I am loathe to do on anything other than a one-time, limited basis.”
Issue: Social Media Struggles
“Posts that I make are not always seen. I don't know how many times to make a post or know when to make to reach my audience.”
“I deactivated my Facebook account a few years back primarily for lack of understanding. Although I have a Twitter account I have not taken the time to make it truly viable as a tool.”
“Social media seems like one massive endless swap and shop; people do stop to browse yet after piles of junk mail and slightly damaged articles offered as a real deal, they peruse seemingly legitimate offers warily.”
“I have trouble getting people to click through to blog posts and engage on topics surrounding the books. People are happy to approach and say that the books sound really interesting, but getting the clicks and better numbers is difficult.”
“I'm clueless when it comes to the internet. I'm sure I'm not using it properly to maximize sales.”
Issue: Time Management and Overwhelm
“With so many other novels flooding the market, it's difficult for me to find the time and motivation to chase marketing avenues. Oh now I have to write a blog, oh now I have to tweet about this, oh now I have to make a Facebook page about that. “
“Marketing is a full time job but so is writing and I simply don't have the time or the energy to do both.”
“I don't have the time or energy to put as much into social media as authentic relationships would demand.”
“Can I do it all alone with no contacts, author involvement or budget?”
“Which social media sites have the potential to help you market and which are a waste of time and effort?”
“I've gone to conferences and read all the information but it's not sinking in.”
“I have great ideas, but no time to implement them.”
Issue: Discomfort with Self-Promotion
“I struggle with being authentic while also promoting my book. I don't want to be one of those authors who is always pushing a link to her book (and there are a lot of them!).”
“I don't know what words to use to attract people without being cliché.”
“I hate being a salesman for myself. It feels awkward.”
“Plus, how do you promote yourself on social media without annoying people? I share when someone else says something positive about my work (through retweets, reposts, etc...) with a 'thank you' included, and I'm fine to share when my work is discounted, but otherwise, I don't know how to promote my work without feeling like I'm being a slimy used car salesman.”
“I don't like talking about my book or, worse, 'selling' people on my book. I just really hate being like ‘Buy my book! Buy my book!’ It is the worst.”
Issue: Lack of Money
“Can I do it all alone with no contacts, author involvement or budget?”
“I don’t have the resources to do anything that will make a big impact.”
“I want to hire a professional to help me, but I don’t know if it will be a good investment or not.”
Do any of these book marketing complaints sound familiar to you? Clearly, you are not alone. Authors work very hard to identify effective ways to promote their books, while salvaging some time to write and work on their craft.
I used the information in this survey to help craft some of the lessons in my upcoming audience building class for authors.
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