Why Should Authors Care About Digital Marketing?

One of the biggest challenges for independent authors is getting their book in front of readers. There are millions of books published every year, and unless you’re very famous independently of your book, odds are that you’re nervous about how to get people interested. That’s where digital marketing comes in. You’ve probably heard this term before, especially as you travel down the road of independent publishing. You’re probably asking questions like: What does digital marketing entail? How does it get books in front of readers? And how could it work for me?

Digital marketing is simply getting your book information in front of Internet consumers, typically in the form of online advertising. So why should you develop a digital marketing strategy?

People Are Online

Consumers spend 5 hours per day on mobile devices. That’s right—5 hours. This is the majority of people’s leisure time, so the best place to find that perfect reader is during their daily Facebook scroll or YouTube binge.

No Need for Marketing Studies

In the past, if you were manufacturing lip gloss and wanted to advertise to TV-watchers, you’d have to pay someone to do a market study of various TV shows, figure out which audiences buy a lot of lip gloss, and take out ads based on that information. The Internet has changed that. Now, Facebook will tell you that there are 3.7 million people who love James Patterson and exactly who they are. If you’re a thriller writer, you’ve just found your audience without expensive market studies.

Digital Marketing Is Less Expensive

Most digital advertising on any social media platform can be adapted to all budgets. Remember that TV ad I mentioned earlier? Not only did you have to do a market study to see if it’s worthwhile, you also had to spend thousands of dollars on the slot and production. Very few independent authors have that kind of cash just lying around. Digital advertising doesn’t have these kinds of requirements. You can adapt the advertising to fit your budget, and though you may find more success with more money, you can still get your book in front of more readers with small advertisements than with no advertisements at all.

You Can Boost Book Sales and Your Online Platform Simultaneously

If you decide to market your book on social media platforms, you get the double benefit of driving social media users to buy your book and generating awareness of your social media profiles. Because they are seeing these ads from your author page, readers who buy the book will be more likely to follow your profile and learn about your new projects—which makes your book marketing for the second book faster and cheaper.

You Control the Content

Did you start an ad, only to think of a better idea or notice that no one seems interested? Then change it. Unlike traditional print or TV advertising, you are not stuck with bad ideas or ineffective ads. The ease with which an ad can be updated or adapted is a huge benefit to advertisers of all sorts.

Once the writing is finished, finding ways to get readers interested in your book is your number one task. Learning about tools such as digital marketing will provide insight when you talk to book publicity and book marketing firms about plans for your book and expand the ways you can reach your book’s newest reader.

Source: Ingramspark