5 simple ways to promote a book - Tinder edition
Your book is almost ready to publish? Congratulations! Writing a book is a huge accomplishment. Whether you’re choosing to self-publish or find a publisher, you need to know how to promote a book.
How about we start with some inspiration from Tinder.
Date a book?
No, you don't need to join Tinder to promote your book. But dating site profile tips are an almost perfect fit for book promotion.
Here’s what you can expect:
Swipe Right - How to get their attention
Tell me why - How to keep their attention
Who are you - What to share
Find your match(es) - Who exactly ‘they’ are and where they are
Feedback - Why feedback is important
In Summary
Need some help - Who can help you
1. Swipe Right
Never judge a book by its cover. This phrase has nothing to do with book covers because people absolutely do judge books by their cover. So your book cover needs to look good.
Lust at first sight
Advice for Tinder users is to use more than just selfies on their profile. But you only have one chance to get your book cover right. You could do it yourself and hope for the best, but why take the risk?
A professional book cover designer will know how to showcase your book in the best light and have the creative skill to make sure it grabs the right kind of attention.
Find a book designer whose work you like. Take time to do your research. Search online, look at their portfolio, and get in touch with them to see if you can work together.
Be honest
Have you ever read a fantasy book with a dragon on the front only to find out there was no dragon in the story? Not even as a metaphor? Yeah, avoid doing that.
You may get noticed quicker by your target audience, but if your book cover promises something the book doesn't, the reader will be disappointed. And they will tell their friends.
Your book could take a bashing (in reviews) which may affect the sales of any future books. Worse than that, the trust is gone.
Get opinions
Some book designers will offer to draft several book cover options. The draft you choose becomes your book cover. With Tinder, an algorithm automatically selects the best-performing photo to showcase.
You don't have a book cover algorithm. So what do you do?
Show your designs to librarians and booksellers, professionals who deal with book promotion every day. They will let you know which cover will attract your target audience.
2. Tell me why
After being drawn in by your book cover, the next thing a potential buyer will do is read the blurb. The suggestions for writing a great bio on Tinder are (almost) the same for writing a book blurb;
use short paragraphs
be honest
avoid cliches
check your grammar, spelling, and punctuation
be engaging
include a question as a call to action
Lost for words
It’s not easy to write a book. Now try to write a solid blurb that condenses your book into a few paragraphs and makes the reader want to learn more. You might be too close to the material to do justice to your own book!
So, what do you do?
Ask a professional. A freelance copywriter who reads widely will have direct experience of book blurbs, and it's their job to find words that sell.
3. Who are you?
We’re halfway there.
Your book now has a great cover and a captivating blurb. But what about you?
Well, the reader wants to know more about you too.
On Brand
Don’t worry, you’ve actually been branding yourself for years without noticing it.
For example, you might wear a favourite band t-shirt while writing but change into a different outfit for an author event. Both outfits represent who you are, but you choose to present yourself differently for different situations.
It's the same with building a brand as an author. You’ll want to show who you are and what has led you to write your book.
And one of the first places a potential reader will look to learn more about you is your author bio.
What to write
How to write an author bio is similar to the suggestions for writing a Tinder bio. However, unlike Tinder, the industry standard for an author bio is to write it in the third person.
Your author bio can include;
your connection to your work
other books you’ve written
relevant credentials
relevant awards
a personal note
You should also add your website address and your social media details.
Update your author bios often so you can share information about your latest books or any awards you have won.
It’s also common to have more than one version of your author's bio. For example, an author bio added to your book could be longer than the one you use for online bookseller sites.
4. Find your match(es)
Tinder is a way to connect with people who are the right match for you. Your book needs to find people who are the right match too.
So, who is your audience?
Well, it depends. Is your book fiction or nonfiction? Is your book written for young children, middle grade, teens, young adults or adults? These are only some of the questions you should ask. But once you know your audience, your next step is to find out where they are online.
Where to look
There are many different social media platforms to choose from, so pick one or two to focus your energy on. Each will include social interaction, so be prepared to spend some time online to cultivate your audience.
What next?
Once you have set up your social media, it’s time to promote your brand and make connections.
Follow other authors you admire, find local writers, and join groups that enjoy your genre. Focus on what you are interested in and be genuine in your interactions.
And avoid being known as the 'Hi, buy my book' author.
You are more than your book. Show that you have more to offer your community. You also have more to gain from these social interactions, so let people get to know you. Who knows what friendships are waiting for you.
People might even ask to read your book and write about it.
5. Feedback
Book reviews are like a case study of your book, the opinion of a reader rather than the opinion of the author. Potential readers will often read reviews before deciding to buy your book.
So, how can you get your book reviewed before it’s for sale?
Give it away now
Giving away copies of your book for free may sound counterintuitive. After all, you’re trying to sell your book. People will start to talk about your book before you’ve launched it to the world.
One option is to share an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) with select readers and to ask them for an honest review.
You could also build some excitement for your book by making a competition online, where one of the prizes is the ARC of your book. Promote the giveaway on social media where you have already cultivated an audience.
Influence your audience
You could ask influencers on social media for honest reviews too. Even if they only feature your book in their book haul, that alone will still increase awareness of your book amongst your potential audience.
Whatever you do, choose more than one option because the more good reviews, the more interest there will be in your book.
However, you must make sure that you openly ask for an honest review. Your book is not a bribe for a five-star review.
The reader is more likely to spend more time with your book and consider what they honestly think about it. The result will be a solid review which is more likely to be trusted.
The more, the merrier?
Would you rather have twenty 4-star and 5-star reviews from your target audience or five hundred 1-star to 3-star reviews from everyone else?
Only share your ARC with your target audience, no matter how small. They are more likely to enjoy it and write an honest review.
A lot of low scores will turn potential readers away. Fewer reviews that have a majority high rating will instead increase interest. It will also increase interest from readers outside your target audience when the book comes out.
Follow these five steps and you’re well on your way to promoting your book.
TL;DR - How to promote your book
no selfies to improve the chances of a ‘swipe right’
leave people interested and wanting to know more
be on-brand
find your match
feedback is good
Sure, it means more work. And there are other ways to promote your book too, but your book is worth it.
Mary Wyrd provides virtual assistant and copywriter services to creatives. Yes, that includes authors.
Need help getting eyes on your book?