7 Things to do before you advertise your novel

 

By Keri Kruspe
Author of Otherworldly Romantic Adventures

Now that 2021 is halfway done, I find my sales are experiencing a bumpy ride. As I’ve outlined in previous articles, my overall plan is to leave my secular job and live off my writing career.

So, to that end, I started thinking, how do I know if I’ve made myself ready to advertise? What are the challenges I could be facing? After a little research, here are some ideas I’ve come across so I can audit myself to make sure I’m ready.

Of course, if you have any suggestion that should be added to this list, don’t be afraid to leave a comment!

Before I get into the “nitty-gritty”, the number one advice given was to make sure my “Brand” was obvious for all to see.

 

Your Brand–It’s Strengths and Weaknesses

In marketing terms, what is an author brand? Is it something that we need or can we skip that and continue with our career?

In May 2019, Beth Barany wrote an article on the Writer’s Fun Zone describing “author brand.” “… your author brand is the promise of an experience the reader will get every time they read one of your books, encounter your marketing material, like your website, your social media, your visual material (digital and physical), and any other aspect of your professional author self.”

To use myself as an example, I am first and foremost a romance writer. While that might differentiate me from other author tropes (i.e. mystery, science fiction, horror, etc), in the genre of romance it leaves me wide open.

Just on the surface, there are some subgenres within romance—

• Contemporary
• Historical
• Romantic Suspense
• Erotic
• Religious/Spiritual
• Paranormal
• Young Adult

And guess what? The type of romance I write isn’t listed there. It’s under “Paranormal”, but I have to drill down further. I actually write with the moniker of “Science Fiction Romance”.

While a reader may consider themselves a romance aficionado, someone who appreciates the religious/spiritual genre will not necessarily want to read an erotic novel.

In order to separate myself from the thousands of romance writers, I’ve “branded” myself with the claim: “Author of Otherworldly Romantic Adventures”. Here I’m hoping to attract romance readers who like a little extra something in their stories. I feel the word “otherworldly” can be either scifi or paranormal, while adding the word “adventure” gives it a little extra “umph” because my heroes and heroines go on a roller-coaster ride as they fall in love.

Once you have your brand in order, what do you do with it? Why, everything, of course! It should flow with your website, your author pages (i.e. Amazon Author Central, Bookbub, Goodreads, etc). And don’t forget to make it your signature on your email.

There are other “signals” that a reader might find if they researched you. Does everything you have out there paint a favorable light for your brand? Are you convinced you’re maximizing your potential and reaching those readers who are interested in what you have to offer before you begin to advertise?

And now... time for a quick audit

We all have precious seconds to capture someone’s imagination. Readers won’t go very far before they decide to buy or not. They don’t have time examine every element of your retail page (like on Amazon, Bookbub, B&N, etc). Especially new authors. It won’t matter if you run the best ad in the universe if what you point folks to is all over the place. To that end, you’d want to make sure you have as much in sync between retailers and the personal brand you’ve created.

In order to see if you’re ready to advertise, let’s take a look at seven aspects of what you have to offer before your try to get folks to “click” and purchase your book:

Book Cover

• Where does the reader's attention go first? Does it scream your genre from a quick glance? Is it eye catching and professional?

Price and Format

• These are the two elements every retailer shows prominently. How does your book compare to others in your genre? Too high? Too low? Look at the top ten wherever you sell your book. 

Reviews

• The review stars are right there next to the cover and title of the book. Be assured, if you have any “bad” reviews, they have to scroll down a bit to read it.
  
  
  

Title and Subtitles

• In my genre of SciFi Romance, the subtitle is one of the most important aspects of the retail page displaying my books (see below):

Blurbs

•          By the time a reader decides to read the blurb, you’re halfway there. Just be aware that a lot of folks won’t read the whole thing. Some will skip and go to the next tidbit. Make sure those first words count!

Editorial Reviews  

• Like all of us, we want a sure thing. And what better way to get that from an unknown author/book than to check out the reviews. The best kind of review is from a known endorsement under the editorial section. 

      Detailed Review Content 

•      Lastly, there are individual reviews down the page. Most readers take the average of them at face value and don’t scrutinize the comments.  

Final Thoughts  

If you’re happy with your audit and you feel you’re ready to plunge into the ad biz (like Amazon, Bookbub, or Facebook ads…), here are some parting thoughts to tighten things up for you:  

• Try to have 25 reviews (50 is recommended. Something I’m still working on).
• Reviews to have at least 4 stars
• Strive to get some Editorial Reviews from tough author friends (those familiar with your genre)
• If nothing else, ignore everything but keep an eye on your profit. 
• Are you making more than you’re spending? If you sell on Amazon, their reports aren’t always up to date. A good way to check your daily sales/KDP reads on Amazon is an app called BookReport. It will sync with Amazon and give you an up-to-date analysis of what you sold or is read through Unlimited that day or within a timeframe you set. 

I’d love for you to share what you think about starting or continuing your ad campaigns. I know I still have a lot of work to do!