Seven Strategies to Market your Book the "Celebrity" Way

Seven Strategies to Market your Book the "Celebrity" Way
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Do you want your books to earn? Do you secretly wish to build not just one but multiple passive income streams through your books? Do you want to be a better endorser of your books?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then I invite you to read the rest of this piece; otherwise, you can carry on with whatever task you're on right now because I do not want to waste your time.
 
When an author becomes a bestseller, he or she becomes an instant celebrity. But one does not need to become a bestseller before they start to enjoy the rewards of being a celebrated author. With the right strategies, you can cross the realm of being invisible to becoming visible to people. When you are "seen," you increase the likelihood of being famous; and the more you are famous, the more people will buy your books.  
 
While money is a renewable resource, time is not. As authors, time and timing are crucial components to everything we do for ourselves as authors and the books we write. 
 
I met a lot of newbie and old-time authors who find marketing a heavy burden to carry. They feel awkward to talk about their books for fear of being branded as cheap salesmen when they do it. 
 
When you beg people to buy your books, that's unethical marketing. When you spam people's inboxes, that's illegal marketing. When you bribe people to buy your books, that's desperate marketing.
 
Certainly, I do not recommend that you resort to these kinds of low marketing strategies. You simply cannot drop your book's link to other people's social media accounts and pretend it's acceptable behavior. This manner is off-putting and damaging to your reputation. 
 
However, doing nothing at all to market your books is counterproductive. Even if you sign with traditional publishers, you cannot hope to promote you far and wide, especially if you are just starting in this industry. The crux of this work lies on you. Let that sink in now.
 
Imagine all the efforts, time and money you put into creating your books only to be disheartened that there are not too many interested people to buy them. 
 
This should NOT be your story. If your books are currently collecting cobwebs in the vast shelves of Amazon and other outlets, now is the time to revamp things! 
 
What's more? You can actually enjoy the entire process of marketing and launch each of your books the celebrity way! 

Here are my top seven strategies for marketing my book the "celebrity" way. 
 
Work with celebrities, endorsers, and micro influencers.
 
This advice might seem too obvious, but this is exactly what I have been doing in the last three years since I started self-publishing my books. I have successfully collaborated with artists, politicians, literary greats, Pablo Neruda Centennial awardees, YouTube sensations, Instagram influencers, TV personalities, and many more who endorse my books for free. If you are the introvert type, I expect that you will readily turn down this advice. However, regardless of your personality, you can still offer a win-win situation where people can see the value of what you have to offer. 
 
The first rule is to build the relationship first before you ASK. Collaboration is both a skill and an art. Learn the ropes of human interaction and be genuine. At the heart and core of successful collaboration is mutual respect. Never pester people with your tall order of demands without anything valuable to offer.
 
I have a book entitled Collab is Fab, which is available to all my course students. In this book, I have shared principles and proven strategies to winning people to work with you and for you without hurting your pocket. 
 
Create a Beautiful Trailer
 
Many people prefer short videos over lengthy blogs. A well-planned trailer can create curiosity and ignite interest among your potential readers. iMovie app allows you to use pre-made trailers and replace the script, audio and images in the templates. My simple rule in the creation process is to be original. Look for the best trailers out there and do something different. For example, instead of using stock photos and videos, why not use your very own assets? There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the length of the trailer. You can keep it to two to three minutes only. Or fifteen seconds. So long as you can achieve the desired buzz and mystery around your books, feel free to explore.
 
This recent book trailer I made for my upcoming poetry book, Chiaroscuro, has been viewed over a thousand times in just the first hour since it was released. You may view it through this link: https://www.inkyourlegacy.com/
 
Harness the Power of the Social Media
 
Do not rely on one single source of media to funnel people to your website. Now is the time to create your Author and Business accounts on social media. I highly recommend opening an account with Goodreads, Bookbub and Amazon Author Central. However, do not be ubiquitous or you will drown in the ceaseless cycle of having to engage with the wrong audiences. Choose only two or three social media to launch your direct response marketing and consequently drive traffic to your website. 
 
These are some of the simple and clever way to use social media to promote your books:

1. Tweet about it.
2. Ask your readers to send in images of them with your book and then pin them on Pinterest. 
3. Comment on threads in Facebook groups or other people's threads to build your reputation as an expert.
4. Contribute advice and ideas in your LinkedIn groups
5. Create a tutorial/ how-to-do series of videos on YouTube
6. Create a post about your book on your Facebook business page. Pin it to the top.
7. Post some free content or excerpts from your book on https://scribd.com. That's great for exposure and you can also sell your book here if you're looking for additional retail outlets.

 
Write a Compelling Press Release
If you are a newbie author, there is a slim chance to get noticed by giant TV networks or posh magazines. Right? Wrong! I used to think that way, but I discovered ways to champion people from the media to promote me because of my ambition to succeed. 
 
What is my secret? I write compelling press releases.    
Each time I release a book, I contact various media outlets. Why? Because the media will give you the mileage that you cannot achieve doing things just by yourself.
During the launch of my debut poetry book Bards from the Far East in 2018, three TV stations, two radio announcers, and a couple of vloggers covered the event. A week after, I was offered to host a paid hosting gig on a local television show. Since then, I found myself guesting in local and international podcasts and interviews. My book was also featured last November on CNN News Philippines and Rico Hizon guested me on The Final Word show. Rico Hizon is the first Filipino to enter BBC and CNBC as a news anchor. He is now one of my co-authors, Chooseday for Entrepreneurs. 

Watch the full interview here 
 
Hold a Grand Virtual Book Launch
I love the many things we can do because of our technology. Today you no longer must spend so much to launch a book, and your reach is global. So, why will you limit your exposure when you can be seen elsewhere? Go LIVE on Facebook or YouTube and you will be delighted at the tremendous results as far as engagement goes. My FB Page called GMGA Publishing now has over 1,000 followers since I created it during the second half of 2020. 
I am growing all my social media channels organically, thanks to my live interviews.  
 
Translate your Books
Get your book translated into one of the widely spoken languages like Spanish, Italian, French, or German to increase your sales reach. One of my book clients is a consistent Amazon bestseller whose poetry books clinch the Hot New Releases each time she publishes. What is her secret? She makes her book available in different languages. 
 
My new poetry book is translated into Italian, French, and Spanish. The writer of my book's Foreword is an award-winning writer from Romania. Also, the writer of my book's Preface is a Nobel Prize nominee from Pakistan. I have invited ten authors of different nationalities to write pre-reviews. Isn't it exciting to see your writings translated into other languages? Try it and attract more readers. It works!
 
Above all…
 
Build your Brand
Marketing does not happen on the day you launch your book. The best time to start marketing was yesterday, and the second-best time is today. As authors, we write books as solutions to our reader's problems. 
We need to develop that skill to enter the ongoing conversation taking place in our readers' minds and position ourselves as the experts who can provide the right solutions to their problems. 
 
The painful truth is that nobody cares about you or your book; they only care about what you and your book can do for them. Therefore, your book should answer the question that people are already asking, and your Author brand should show the reader why you're the right person to trust for the answer. Your expertise is the heart of your Author brand. 
 
Whether you like it or not, your likeability as a person plays a critical component to your success as an author. In today's trifecta, people will root for the authors they like more than the authors who do not appeal to them, even if they are the best writers on the planet. 
 
It takes effort. It takes skill. It takes personality. But everything can be learned and deliberately practiced.
 
Be a celebrity author. Look the part. Act the part. And build an empire. 
 
For more of this, email [email protected]