As another year comes to a close, we’re excited to continue an annual tradition: rounding up the most popular articles from the BookBub Partners Blog! This year has been full of fresh book marketing ideas and tips from authors across the publishing spectrum. Whether you’re looking to grow your author platform, fine-tune your advertising campaigns, try new marketing strategies, or make the most of BookBub’s tools, these top posts are packed with insights to help you achieve your goals. Let’s take a look back at the advice that resonated most with our readers in 2024.
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1. 25 Podcasts for Authors on Writing, Publishing, and Book Marketing
Podcasts are excellent sources of inspiration and community for authors — all made accessible for free by a diverse array of experts! With so many podcasts on writing, publishing, and book marketing to choose from, we compiled a list of some of the first options you should check out. These podcasts are all well-reviewed, consistently produced, and run by recognized pros in indie and traditional publishing. Happy listening!
2. 6 Types of Submission Comments BookBub Editors Love to See
If you’ve submitted a book for a BookBub Featured Deal, you’ll know that the submission form includes a field for your comments. This field is optional, but our editors gladly welcome any additional information to help them make the best decisions about your submission. But many authors wonder what to write — and whether it will help or harm their chances of getting selected. If that’s you, check out these six ways to use the comments field to your advantage.
3. 36 Authors Using Pinterest for Book Marketing & Inspiration
Pinterest offers a unique opportunity for authors to connect with readers and sell more books. Do you think Pinterest could work for you, but you’re wondering how other authors have found success with it? Check out these great examples of authors who’ve been able to build an audience on Pinterest, use it to inspire their writing and creativity, and drive organic traffic to their websites and book pages.
4. Pros & Cons of Book Giveaways: 27 Authors Weigh In
Book giveaways have long been a staple of many authors’ strategies for boosting exposure, engaging their fans, and growing an audience. To understand how authors run (or why they don’t run) giveaway promotions in their marketing today, we asked our partners to share their experiences and the lessons they’ve learned. We hope their advice helps you assess how giveaways could fit into your marketing strategy!
5. 50 Stellar Examples of Author Facebook Cover Photo Designs
An author’s online platform should look polished and professional everywhere readers can find them — including on Facebook! Your cover photo is public and appears in various places on the site, and on fans’ Feeds whenever you update it, so it’s a good idea to make the most of this prime real estate to promote your books and solidify your brand. Here are some ideas for what to include in your cover photo and examples of great author pages to inspire you.
6. 25 Stunning Design Examples to Inspire Your Book Advertising
Looking for inspiration for your next book advertising campaign? In our latest roundup of favorite ad designs, we gathered 25 examples to demonstrate our best design tips. These ads feature a variety of design elements and creative ways to showcase different types of books and promotions, so we hope you’ll find plenty of ideas for how to advertise your own book!
7. How to Know When a Book Cover Is Killing Your Sales
Poor cover design is one of the most common reasons for low book sales. According to a recent survey, 57% of Americans buy books (and 80% avoid books) solely based on their covers. So if your book isn’t selling as well as you hoped, is your book cover to blame? In this post, you’ll learn the signs it might be. Moreover, you’ll learn how to get your book cover right the first time so it can work as an effective marketing tool and boost your sales.
8. BookBub vs. Amazon vs. Facebook Ads: Authors Weigh In
While there’s no single promotional tool that is universally effective for books, one strategy that many authors rely on is display advertising. There are multiple advertising platforms authors can use that are infinitely customizable to each advertiser’s unique business, books, and goals. We surveyed our partners to learn how authors are using this type of online advertising and how they think about the differences and strengths of each platform.
9. A Guide to Getting More Book Reviews from Readers
Did you know that 36% of BookBub members say book reviews from other readers can convince them whether or not to buy a book? We’ve also found that including high review counts in our Featured Deals blurbs can increase clicks by an average of 14%. If you don’t know how to get book reviews or simply need more, here are strategies to try, plus practices to avoid so retailer sites don’t remove them.
10. 11 Marketing Ideas to Start Before Finishing Your First Book
Writing a book is an incredible achievement, and your main focus right now might just be getting it over the finish line. But if you want to sell a lot of copies or build a business, don’t wait until you have a finished product! Cultivating an audience for your book takes time, so you should start planting the seeds and reaching readers before your book is even published. Here are 11 ideas for marketing your book before you’ve written “the end.”
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Click to tweet: 2024 was a big year for book marketing! 📚 Authors, don’t miss these gems from the @BookBubPartners blog — plenty of actionable tips and inspiration here to help grow your audience and boost book sales. https://bit.ly/3Dg2835 #bookmarketing
Click to tweet: Whether you’re looking to grow your author platform, fine-tune your advertising campaigns, or make the most of BookBub’s tools, this list of @BookBubPartners’ top posts of 2024 is a must-bookmark resource for authors! https://bit.ly/3Dg2835 #authorlife
