From My Guest, Marketing Guru Katie Sadler…
Madison and I worked together toward the end of 2022 and early 2023, and it was an absolute joy to work with such a professional romance author on getting her books into more readers’ hands.
(I swear I didn’t make her say that). MM
She asked me if I would write a short blog post about author marketing, so I thought I’d share the 3 things I think romance authors can do to improve (or get started with!) their marketing.
3 Ways to Improve Your Romance Book Marketing
1/ Figure out who your reader is and build a dialogue with them
One of the most important things you can do as an author is to understand your target audience. This means not only knowing who they are demographically (age, gender, etc.), but also what they’re looking for in a book. What are their interests, values, and goals? What kind of romantic stories do they like and why? What do they want to feel when they read a romance novel?
You can figure this out by asking them through a survey or in conversations in your DMs, if you have an existing audience. You can also look at comparison authors and seeing what people are saying about them in the comments on their social media accounts or in the Amazon book reviews.
Next, start building a relationship with them. This can take many forms, such as engaging with them on social media, responding to emails or reviews, or even hosting events like book signings or virtual Q&A sessions. The key is to create a dialogue where your readers feel heard and appreciated, and where you can learn from their feedback and insights.
2/ Experiment with different tactics
Marketing can be a tricky thing, and what works for one author may not work for another. That’s why it’s important to experiment with different tactics to see what resonates with your audience for your book. This could include things like running ads on social media or Amazon, offering discounts or freebies, partnering with other authors or bloggers, or even trying more unconventional approaches like podcast interviews or book trailers.
It’s important to approach these experiments with an open mind and a willingness to learn. Not every tactic will be a success, but even the ones that don’t work out can provide valuable insights into what your audience does (or doesn’t) respond to.
Try and pick at least one tactic each month to experiment with, and really do some research into how best to make that tactic work. There is so much free information out there on marketing blogs, YouTube videos, and even quick tips on Instagram or TikTok.
If you find something that works, keep going with it, but see if there are elements you can add or change to make that tactic work even harder.
3/ Focus on your long-term author career
It can be tempting to focus solely on immediate sales or book launches, but it’s important to remember that your author career is a long-term game. This means thinking about things like building a sustainable income stream, growing your fanbase over time, and developing your craft as a writer.
Social media is a wonderful way to connect with readers, but the algorithms can be flighty, and I would always recommend having other ways to develop that relationship and tell them about your books.
Some things you might consider when thinking about your long-term career include building a newsletter or email list, continually improving your Amazon metadata, creating a website or blog to showcase your work and connect with readers, building connections with other authors in your genre, and planning out your publishing schedule for the next few years so that you can think ahead with your marketing.
I’ve put this point as number 3, but in many ways, this is the foundation of your author career. It isn’t as immediately satisfying to work on these areas of your marketing, but don’t ignore them because you get more immediate sales (or dopamine hit!) elsewhere. By investing in your career in a strategic way, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in the long run.
Meet Katie, Marketing Guru Extraordinaire
Katie Sadler has worked in book marketing since 2007, and gained experience at Penguin Random House, HarperCollins and Hachette before going freelance in 2019 to spend more time with her kids. She now works with a mix of traditional publishers and independent authors to help them create effective marketing campaigns. She is also one half of The Empowered Author, an author support group she runs with former colleague, Sam Missingham. If you are looking for a supportive space to connect with other authors around your marketing challenges, you can join their free Facebook group – just search for The Empowered Author. You can also find out more about Katie at https://katiemorwenna.co.uk
I would like to add my sincere thanks to Katie for all her help on the launch of my novel, Crazy to Wed. She gave me great advice and support every step of the way, advice I will apply to all my marketing going forward.