Ben Wolf over at BookBub explains the "selling" and "connecting" duality of in-person events

 

I was impressed by this breakdown in How I Sell More Books at Live Events about how Ben approaches the author-potential customer interaction at live events:

What’s the best way for authors to maximize sales without coming across as a jerk?

When you’re selling books, you have to simultaneously hold two principles in your head:

1. I’m here to sell books.

2. I’m here to connect with readers.

They may seem contradictory at first, but if you do them both correctly, they harmonize nicely with each other.

My approach is a straightforward, repeatable process that I endeavor to control from the beginning to the end. When I see someone has taken notice of my books or my display, I greet them and ask, “What kind of books do you like to read?” This question serves as an invitation to 1. connect with me and 2. take a closer look at the books I’m selling.

Once they reply, I hand them a book (connecting) that is closest to their stated interests or genre preferences, and I begin to tell them (selling) about the books.

Ben goes into more detail in the article over at BookBub Partners -- it's well-worth reading.

Illustrate, Translate, Write, Connect and Sell on!
Lee

Why Do Authors Use Social Media? Results from a survey of 850+ authors

 

The results from this BookBub survey of authors had some interesting points, covering platforms, categories and genres, and much more. And while it wasn't a survey of just kidlit authors, it's worth checking out.

The standout point for me was the “why” authors do social media - “to reach new readers” was the top reason at 79%, but next was “to build relationships with my biggest fans” at 64%. That’s really intriguing…

Personally, I have thought of social media more as a way to reach new readers rather than thinking of it as a way to build relationships with my biggest fans, but maybe that's something I should re-examine. After all, most of the people who engage with my posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky aren't "new" to me being an author. Maybe they haven't read the latest book, but they know I'm an author...

I'll certainly give this some thought. I hope you'll find this survey's results helpful, too.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

BookBub Shares Ideas On How To Get More Book Reviews From Readers

Having more consumer reviews for your book helps you sell more of that book.

This is true on the surface, but also in ways that can be surprising: I recently learned that if you don't have at least 20 consumer reviews of your book on Amazon, you won't be considered for a BookBub deal. (Even though BookBub is not owned by Amazon.) Suffice to say, the social vetting of consumer book reviews is really important.

So how do you get more book reviews from readers who liked your book in the first place?

A Guide To Getting More Book Reviews From Readers by AJ Yee presents seven tactical approaches, with examples:

1) Ask your mailing list to review books they’ve read
2) Ask readers for a review in a book’s back matter
3) Ask your fans on social media
4) Run a free deal or make a first-in-series book permafree (the idea is that more readers will lead to more reviews)
5) Thank your fans for reviews (love the example of featuring a different 5-star review and thanking that reviewer every newsletter!)
6) Post a call for reviews from your street team
7) Find new readers and pro reviewers through a paid review service
Bonus) Keep up-to-date with retailer sites’ rules for reviews

How many of these are you doing? Any them spark ideas for new ways to encourage reviews for your book(s)?

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Your Author, Illustrator, and/or Translator Newsletter

So while there's a lot of wisdom from the yoga saying "eyes on your own mat," much of that is about not comparing your journey to others', as it's really not helpful. 

Having said that, knowing how other creatives are navigating their newsletters can inform and inspire what we do with our own. As a reminder, having a big following on the social media platforms is no guarantee you'll be able to reach that following, as you don't own those connections--the platform does. And platforms can change their algorithm at any time, and then ask you to pay to reach the people who already said they're interested in keeping up with what you do. 

Building your own newsletter email list is GOLD, because they are connections that you control, that you own in the reciprocal relationship where you're going to share things that hopefully your audience is interested in, meaning they'll stay with you for the next time you'll reach out.

There's so much to consider, particularly the balance of how much you give compared to how much you ask!

BookBub's AJ Yee reported on a 2023 survey of over 500 authors about their newsletters. The data in The State of Author Newsletters is really interesting, including:

How often folks email their lists (winner: 41% email once a month), 

The top 14 things folks include in their newsletters -- top three are updates about new books (92%), cover reveals (70%), and recommendations of other authors' books (65%)

Infographic from the BookBub data, "What Kind of Content Do You Typically Include"

And the top 9 ways folks gain new subscribers -- top three are links in the back of their books (75%), links on social media (65%), and giveaways of free books (56%)

The State of Author Newsletters is fascinating, and hopefully will inspire you with your newsletter!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Prize Ideas - 24 Book Promotion Prizes to Inspire You and Build Interest in Your Book(s), Compiled by Leila Hirschfeld at BookBub

 

Whether you run a contest on a bookish platform or on social media or to your email list or in some other way, here's an article rounding up "24 Great Prize Ideas for Book Promotion Contests and Giveaways" that goes beyond just giving away a copy of your book.

Standout creative ideas included:

• an ebook reader preloaded with your book

• signed copies of books from multiple authors all aimed at the same readership that includes a signed copy of your book

• book-related accessories (like bookends that thematically go with your book) along with your book

What ideas will the two dozen approaches spark for you? Read Leila Hirschfeld's full article here.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Looking to Figure Out Your Approach to TikTok? BookBub Curated a list of 21 Authors On TikTok To Check Out

Shailee Shah starts out the article, 21 Authors on TikTok to Follow for Book Promo Ideas (&LOLs), with noting that 

“The BookTok hashtag currently stands at 12.2 billion views, with videos featuring books old and new.”

Music and text, vlog style, stitching reactions to other TikToks... there's lots to explore! And with the exception of the one movie star example, these strategies are all pretty much accessible to all of us creating content for tweens and teens.

Check out the full piece at BookBub Partners here.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Leila Hirschfeld over at BookBub rounds up "15 Ways Authors Support Each Other on Social Media"

“Inspired by how authors have stepped up to build community and spotlight their fellow writers work," Leila Hirschfeld put together this BookBub Partners post, 15 Ways Authors Support Each Other on Social Media. It has lots of examples and ideas, including:

#1 Host book clubs featuring other authors’ titles

#7 Signal boost debut authors and encourage others to do the same

and

#10 Run giveaways of fellow authors’ books

How many are you currently doing? See any new ones to add to what you already do to support your fellow kid lit creators?

Read the full piece here.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

BookBub Shares 30 Ways You Can Use Video to Engage With Readers

Certainly inspiration here for all of us writers, translators, and illustrators who create work for children and teens: 30 Ways Authors Use Videos to Engage with Readers

A few highlights:

2. Show a sneak peek of an upcoming release

7. Introduce new characters

9. Create a relevant tutorial

11. Join forces with other authors

Go check out the post by Leila Hirschfeld and see all the other ideas and examples.

Then, think about how you might leverage video to reach and engage with readers!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

BookBub Gathers 20 Great Examples of Author Bios - See If You Can Improve Yours!

Diana Urban shares strong examples of author bios on the BookBub Partners blog in this piece, Writing Your Author Bio? Here Are 20 Great Examples. (Plus a Checklist!)

Review and consider- what makes you unique and credible? Have you made it easy for readers to find you online and in social media? Does it express your personal style? Is there an author mission coming through? Does it match the tone of your work? And with all that, is it concise?

It's well-worth checking out.

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee

26 Authors Share Self-Publishing Wisdom, compiled by BookBub

There's lots of gems in this image-friendly selection of quotes and advice, How to Self-Publish a Book: Tips from Indie Authors, including:

ON SETTING A TARGET AUDIENCE...
"Write the book for one person...Hit a home run with one person and there will be thousands more just like them who will also love your work." —Ernest Dempsey, The Napoleon Affair.

ON PUBLISHING POLISHED WORK
"The absolute best advice I ever received was not to rush to publication, hire top-of-the-line editors, and get more than one proofreader. We have one chance to hook readers, and presentation matters as much as content." —Melissa Foster, This is Love

ON PUBLISHING PRINT EDITIONS
"My tip is to make the editions look like one published by the big five traditional publishers." —Ty Patterson, The Warrior Series

The full post is well-worth reading.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

How to Launch a New Book - a BookBub "Book Promotion 101" Article

Packed with good ideas to add to your plans, check out BookBub's Book Promotion 101: How to Launch a New Book.

Organized into five phases:

Planning, Early Promos, Preorders, Launch Day, and Post-Launch, 

the article aims to "walk you through the stages of a book launch, with examples of how successful authors have promoted theirs."

From learning "how your audience searches for books" to securing "blurbs from comparable authors" to sending a "digital gift pack to readers who preorder" to streaming "a live Q&A on Facebook or YouTube" to signing up "as a HARO source" there's great advice for every step of your book making its way into the world. Some of the many ideas shared may be ones you're already doing, but others may inspire you to try something new!

The full article is well-worth reading.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

"How I Hit a Bestseller List with a Traditionally Published Book" - Christina McDonald Shares Her 7-Step Playbook on the BookBub Blog

How I Hit a Bestseller List with a Traditionally Published Book by Christina McDonald is a guest post over at BookBub.

Fascinating? Yes.

Duplicatable? Well, no one else is Christina with that exact book, "The Night Olivia Fell", but there are lots of strategies and techniques Christina shares that we might consider for our books, including testing ads, stacking promos, and orchestrating everything to hit at the same time.

The bottom line:

“Don’t be deceived: Hitting the USA Today bestseller list isn’t easy. You need your publisher on board if you’re traditionally published, and you have to be willing to give it all you’ve got, including investing a lot of money and time into marketing. I spent over a month preparing for the few days I hoped to increase sales.” — Christina McDonald

The full post is well-worth reading. See what might resonate for you!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

The Ten Top Book Advertising (and Marketing) Tips from RWA's Annual Conference, complied by Diana Urban at BookBub Partners

This highlights article is loaded with ideas, including some excellent step-by-step advice, gleaned from the recent Romance Writers of America annual conference.

There was so much good stuff shared, here's just the first one of ten:

1. Create reader sales funnels

A sales funnel is the journey a reader takes in order to eventually do business with an author or publisher. Dana Kaye, founder of Kaye Publicity, explained how to implement sales funnels to increase book sales. The funnel breaks down into four main stages:

Awareness: the reader first hears your name or book title and starts to become familiar with your work.

Interaction: the reader engages with you through social media, your website, or at an in-person event.

Interest: the reader signs up for your newsletter or downloads a free ebook.

Sale: the reader purchases one or more of your books.

You can drive readers down your sales funnel across various marketing channels. Take email marketing, for example; when someone signs up for your mailing list, you can set up an automated email series driving potential readers who just became aware of you (by finding your website) and interacted with you (by subscribing) to become more interested in a specific title and ultimately land a sale. Dana recommended setting up an email sequence like this:

Welcome email: a brief introduction to you and your work, with a free piece of content.

Backstory email: a deeper dive into your writing and your backstory.

Social proof email: reviews of your book, awards and notoriety, read-alike suggestions.

Tripwire offer: a discounted ebook or other low-cost content (hook readers with this first sale).

Free gift offer: another free piece of content, access to a Facebook group, or other free offer.

You can also apply this sales funnel methodology across other channels, like Facebook ads (to target readers who’ve visited your website) or quizzes (to email content to readers who selected specific quiz or survey responses). 

Click here to read the full piece on the BookBub Partners website.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee