2020 was a challenging year, creating an unprecedented climate in which to publish and promote books. Here on the BookBub Partners Blog, we continued publishing actionable book marketing tips and publishing insights in the hopes that these real-life case studies and ideas would inspire our readers and help them achieve their own promotional goals, even in the midst of such uncertainty.
We published dozens of articles in 2020 on a variety of topics, ranging from BookBub Ads case studies and social media content ideas to reader behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure you don’t miss out on the most valuable content from this year, we’ve compiled a list of our top 10 book marketing articles. We hope this helps as you prepare your book marketing plans for 2021 and beyond.
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1. How to Promote a Book Launch (and How BookBub Can Help!)
In this 25-minute in-depth video, we walked through eight tips for promoting a book launch — from generating early buzz on social media to running ROI-positive promotions with BookBub. The tactics discussed can help ramp up exposure and sales for both self-published and traditionally published books. We also showed how one author hit the USA Today bestseller list during launch week by running a coordinated marketing campaign, using tactics proven to deliver sales and revenue. READ MORE >
2. Writing Your Author Bio? Here Are 20 Great Examples.
Writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a well-crafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. While there is no one-size-fits-all formula, we showcased 20 examples of author bios we love to provide inspiration when crafting your own bio. We also included an Author Biography Checklist (as a PDF download!) with recommendations on what to include and where to keep your author bio up to date online. READ MORE >
3. 13 Tips on Using Instagram as an Indie Author
With a little patience, Instagram can connect authors with lifelong readers. With over 14,000 followers accrued over seven years and 1,300+ posts, independent author Jessica Hawkins has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on using Instagram effectively. In this post, she shared her tips on using Instagram as an indie author — and how to balance building personal connections with readers and growing a business. READ MORE >
4. Marketing a New Book Release: 9 Tips You HAVE to See
Over the past 10 years, bestselling author Erica Ridley has written more than 40 books and learned countless lessons along the way. In this post, she had a wide variety of book marketing advice to offer as an author who is both traditionally and self-published! She shared her top nine promotional tactics that consistently deliver the best results for her when marketing a new book release, from branding to social media to BookBub’s Featured New Releases and more. READ MORE >
5. Author Websites: Are You Missing These 5 Crucial Elements?
A well-optimized author website can help an author brand themselves and sell more books. It also provides readers, publishing professionals, and members of the media vital information. But designing one can be overwhelming — and on top of writing and other marketing activities, remembering to update it regularly can seem like a chore. So in this post, we discussed what an author’s website should include (and keep up to date) at the very least. We scoured dozens of successful authors’ websites to see what elements they include with the most regularity and showcased several examples of each. READ MORE >
6. How Your Book Price Impacts Your Ad Results
The price of a discount has a huge impact on the click and sales rates for Featured Deals — but what about for BookBub Ads campaigns? For this post, we analyzed over 1,000 recent ad campaigns for both ebooks and audiobooks to see how including a price in the ad image affected the ad’s results. As you might expect, ads promoting books at lower prices tended to have higher click-through rates (CTRs), but some of our other findings were more surprising. READ MORE >
7. Reviving Backlist Books You Thought Were Dead
In a business that often relies on timing, algorithms, exposure in a crowded market, and just plain luck, you’re bound to have a book release that doesn’t perform how you expect or want. Authors sometimes try to move on by pushing that low earner aside and concentrating on doing better in the future — but before you write off that “failed” book forever, read this post by bestselling author Laurelin Paige. She revealed how to revitalize backlist books, sharing some of her favorite strategies she’s used to bring her older titles back to life! READ MORE >
8. Virtual Book Launch Events: 8 Ideas from Authors
During the COVID-19 crisis, book launch events moved online, and we got lots of questions from partners about how to connect with readers en masse without these in-person opportunities. So in this post, we shared examples of some authors’ virtual book launch events, highlighting both the tools they’re using and how they’re promoting the events ahead of time, including on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Zoom, and more. We also included links to tutorials for most of these platforms to help you research how to plan your own virtual event. READ MORE >
9. Biggest BookBub Ads Mistakes Authors & Marketers Are Making
Running online advertising campaigns can be challenging. Between finding the right target audience, optimizing your ad designs, and perfecting your budgeting, bidding, and pacing strategies, there are a ton of decisions to make and many different elements to tweak and test. To help you optimize your own ad campaigns, we shared some of the most common mistakes we see on the BookBub Ads platform — and how to fix them. READ MORE >
10. The Ultimate Collection of Audiobook Marketing Examples
The audiobook market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the publishing industry. According to the Audio Publishers Association, it grew an estimated 16% from 2018 to 2019. To capitalize on this opportunity, authors and publishers have been using a wide variety of tactics to promote their audiobooks and reach new listeners. And to provide you with inspiration, we compiled more than 50 real-world examples of authors and publishers marketing their audiobooks in this free flipbook download. READ MORE >
Honorable mention: How Authors Are Approaching Book Promotion During COVID-19
When the COVID-19 crisis first reached the US in March, many authors felt uncomfortable marketing and promoting while people faced job losses and illness, a feeling that persisted even when we got more used to this “new normal.” At the same time, many people at home have sought out books for entertainment and comfort throughout the pandemic, and of course authors and publishers have needed to support themselves and their families during a time of economic uncertainty. So in this post, we shared some examples of how authors continued to promote their books during this unprecedented time. READ MORE >
What topics would you like to see us cover on the BookBub Partners Blog in 2021? Let us know in the comments below!
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