When authors talk about marketing their books, usually what they’re talking about is PR. Getting on the radio, getting on local TV shows, doing readings at libraries and community centers, mailing out postcards and bookmarks.
And these things are great, but they’re not enough.
According to a recent study done by R. R. Bowker, people spend more time online than any other activity. Thirty percent of those they surveyed spent more than 20 hours a week online.
What does that mean for authors? It means they have to get out where the readers are. And readers are on the internet.
We know that the world of print media is collapsing. Newspapers are failing all over the place. Book review sections are shutting down. All the outlets where publishers used to advertise are suffering.
Except online. In fact, 34% of all books purchased in 2008 were bought online.
And, even more crucially, 12% of book consumers became aware of the books they wanted to buy either through an Internet ad or an online book review – as many consumers as became aware of books through word of mouth (which we all know is the most powerful form of marketing there is).
There are so many great sites out there for authors. Goodreads. LibraryThing. Shelfari. FiledbyAuthor. All of which draw hundreds of thousands - and in the case of Goodreads, millions - of users…all of whom are interested in something good to read! There’s Facebook, which has 200 million active users.
Digital marketing means making sure your books are available at all the online bookstores you can find. Not just Amazon, but Barnes & Noble. Or independent bookshops - and you can go to the American Bookseller’s Association to find out how to get your books listed on those websites. It means making sure your books are listed in library catalogs online - by following up with Bowker’s Books-in-Print database and ensuring your listing there.
It’s not enough to trust in your printer or publisher, unfortunately - these companies are overwhelmed and don’t have the resources to promote your title the way you can. But if you can increase your online presence beyond simply throwing up a website with a “buy” button - if you can throw your book in the way of all these readers who are online looking for interesting books - you’re doing a great job.