The Best Social Media Strategy for Self-Published Authors
With so many options to connect on social media, just how do you know which ways will yield book sales and results?
The question about whether or not an author needs to be constantly creating new content in the form of social media posts, blogs, and bonus materials in order to maximize book sales is one we get asked very frequently.
The truth is, what works for one author doesn't always work for another. It's less about the method and more about the authenticity.
Before committing to marketing on ANY social media platform, you need to first ask yourself these questions:
Would spending a lot of time on this feel exciting for me? Will it bring me joy?
Can I do this for the long haul, or do I think I might lose steam if I need to do this more than a few times?
Are there examples of authors I respect and admire doing this?
Is this something I think my readers will find valuable, helpful, or inspiring?
If you’ve answered “Yes” to these questions in concern to marketing on a specific social media platform, then please read the rest of this post.
However, if your answer was a firm “No” to any of these, and the thought of spending a lot of time on ANY social media platform fills you with dread, then please, feel free to quit reading this post right now.
The honest truth is that you do NOT need to be constantly on social media or creating tons of content to sell books.
Some authors find that they are so successful running targeted ads for their books via Amazon, Facebook, etc., that a social media presence isn’t something they bother with.
Read More: Does Amazon Advertising Work for Books?
If this is you, there’s no need to read any further, either. Keep running those ads and making book sales!
With all that being said, many authors have found success promoting their books using social media and genuinely enjoy connecting with their readers and creating content on these platforms.
If this is something you’re interested in doing as well, then read on because we’re going to break down exactly how to create a winning social media strategy for your book and author brand.
A Smarter Social Media Strategy for Writers
The biggest question we get asked by authors when it comes to social media marketing is how they’ll know what they’re doing will lead to actual book sales.
Honestly, you aren't going to know what is going to work until you try it out for a bit first.
Sometimes authors get really excited about a certain type of social media marketing strategy—but get discouraged when they think no one is reading, responding, or purchasing books as a result of their efforts.
We can't make it so your content guarantees sales (we wish we could!) But we have a few quick tips to help set you up for success:
Use lists. "Top 10" lists and the like are a great way of getting attention. Try to summarize your content into bullet points and numbered lists—like we’re doing right now in this post.
Always use high-quality images with ALL your content. No matter what! Some of our favorite places to get free, high-quality images are Unsplash and Pexels. You can also use our all-time favorite (free) graphic design software, Canva, to make amazing sharable social media images.
Don't equate "likes" on social media with sales or your worth as an author. Social media platforms take time and persistence to build, and if you've chosen that path, be prepared to put in some effort and be patient. And please, don’t compare yourself with other authors who are “superstars” on social media (because most of them have teams of people managing their platforms.)
Ask for feedback. Ask your readers how THEY would like to engage with you, then devise your social media strategy around their feedback.
Pin your content. We love Pinterest as a way to lead people to your content and books. Check out why it’s the #1 platform we recommend for authors in this free workshop.
Content doesn’t always mean social media. It can include social media. But not all content is a social media post. Content can mean blog posts, articles, newsletters, or even connections you make with other authors and businesses.
You do not need to post every day. Not every week. Not even every month. I have seen authors create just three pieces of content for an entire year. This is 100% okay, especially depending on the type of platform you’re using.
Focus on evergreen content. If time is of the essence (and it usually is) focus on creating content that will last a lifetime, not just a moment in time.
Quality over quantity. Always. If you have nothing to say in your monthly newsletter or on Facebook, skip it. If your blog post is rushed and short, find a way to beef it up or put it away for awhile. You never want to post simply because you’re expected to. Only post when you have something to say!
Analyze your analytics. It's easy to look at your mail service and website analytics to see if people are opening your emails and visiting your site. If something is working, do more of that. If something isn't working, stop doing it. (Simple, right?)
However you communicate with your audience, choose one to two platforms—that you genuinely enjoy using yourself—to create content on and connect with readers.
IMPORTANT: This can and should look different for each author.
Commit to posting, blogging, creating, and writing in a way that feels right and sustainable for YOU.
Once your content is created and delivered, be sure to make time to react to comments, answer questions via email, and reach out to other authors on your platforms doing similar work.
The point of all of this is to build your audience organically. Don't overthink it—just CONNECT! You'll be amazed to see where these genuine connections lead.
Now, we can already anticipate what your next question is, because it’s another one we hear all the time from authors:
What content should I post to promote my book?
We’re glad you asked.
In this next section we’ll show you step-by-step how to figure out what to post and when to post it using our #1 social media marketing hack for authors: The Content Calendar.
One Insanely Simple Strategy to Streamline Your Social Media Marketing
A content calendar is simply a way of organizing your marketing and keeping yourself focused, and it can be as simple or complicated as you want.
SPOILER: We always choose the simple way.
In our experience, when authors come to us asking how important it is that they have a content calendar they fall into one of two categories:
Someone told them that all professional authors have a content calendar and they really should get one.
They are overwhelmed by the thought of having to create content for their website or social media platforms and are looking for a way to make it easy.
The good news is that if you relate to either of those situations, you’re exactly where you need to be. We have a way to make this whole content creation thing a breeze!
How to Create a Content Calendar, Step-by-Step
STEP ONE: CHOOSE YOUR CONTENT
Start by thinking about how YOU like to consume content yourself—watching YouTube videos, reading blog posts, scrolling through beautiful photos on Instagram or Pinterest—if this is how you enjoying consuming content, you’re more likely to also enjoy creating it in that way, too.
STEP TWO: CHOOSE TWO THINGS YOU'RE WILLING TO DO
Again, take a look at platforms you already enjoy using for clues as to what two marketing strategies you’d like to do like…
Blogging + LinkedIn
Email Newsletter + Facebook
Instagram + Pinterest
Start with two platforms that you’re willing to invest time and energy in, and focus your efforts there.
You can add more later if you wish, but we’ve found many authors start get overwhelmed being on more than two platforms.
We’ve also found that the quality of author’s content and their ability to connect with their audience suffers when they try to be “everywhere”.
Quality over quantity needs to be your mantra, always!
STEP THREE: CHOOSE A FREQUENCY YOU CAN COMMIT TO
Choose how much you can, realistically, post content on the platforms you’ve chosen. Each platform is different and people consume content differently on each one.
Here are general guidelines for how much to post on each platform to build your presence there:
Post Daily: Twitter, Instagram, TikTok
Post Weekly: Facebook, LinkedIn
Post Monthly: YouTube, Email Newsletter, Blog
Post Seasonally: Pinterest
We have found that most authors aim to create something to engage with their audience about once a month.
If you do much more or much less, don’t sweat it! This is just the average.
The most important thing is to find a posting schedule that works for YOU.
STEP FOUR: BRAINSTORM CONTENT IDEAS THAT BENEFIT YOUR AUDIENCE
Always have your audience at the top of your mind whenever you are creating content.
Before you post anything ask yourself, “Will this help, inspire, entertain, or enrich my audience?” If the answer is yes, then post away!
But, we realize it can be tough to come up with helpful, inspiring, entertaining, and enriching content on the regular—that’s why we we created this done-for-you Content Calendar for Authors with 12 months of “done-for-you” content that you can use to simplify your marketing.
FREE Done-for-You Content Calendar for Authors
P.S. You don’t have to share your email address or opt-in to anything to download this—we truly want you to have this with no strings attached to make your life easier!
Here’s a peek inside the free Essential Content Calendar so you can see how it can help simplify your marketing strategy:
JANUARY
Week 1: Email newsletter with your writing goals for the year + highlighting any books you're publishing this year
Week 2: Twitter or Instagram posts with hashtags #writingchallenge and #amwriting
Week 3: Email two LinkedIn connections for speaking
Week 4: Facebook post: my writing goals (reuse from your email newsletter)
FEBRUARY
Week 1: Attend a writer's conference and follow up with your connections
Week 2: Post pictures of the conference on Facebook and Instagram and use event tag + relevant hashtags
Week 3: Share a Facebook Live about you what you learned from the conference
Week 4: Post on LinkedIn about how you use Scrivener, or any other tools to help plan your writing
MARCH
Week 1: Email newsletter with a roundup of books in your genre that you recommend for your readers
Week 2: Post on social media the images of the books you highlighted in your newsletter and tag the authors
Week 3: Post a picture on LinkedIn from one of your speaking gigs or book-related events
Week 4: Write a Facebook post about your favorite author and tag them
All of these suggestions can be customized around whatever platform you decide to build on.
Also note that many of these ideas are completely OFF social media because again, we want to emphasize that you do not have to rely completely on social media for your marketing if that doesn’t feel right to you.
Always, always, always choose the marketing approach that is authentic and sustainable for YOU, whether that’s online or off, or a combination of both.
More Brilliant Content Calendar Ideas for Authors
CONTENT CALENDAR VARIATION #1: BONUS MATERIALS
Another fantastic idea for a year long content calendar is to post “bonus materials” from your book each month on your author website or social media pages.
BONUS MATERIALS
Bonus chapters or short stories related to your book
Added illustrations like a map of your book’s world
Book club discussion questions
Teaching materials and sample lesson plans
Deep-dives into the historical research that went into writing your book, or of any other related research you think readers will find interesting
Behind the scenes content of your writing process
For fiction this can be character profiles, background and information that isn’t in your books
For non-fiction, think quizzes, short workbooks that focus on a single problem you can help them solve
Rough drafts of your next book-in-progress
Bonus videos where you read small sections of your book
Forewords and endorsements from people in your book’s niche
Merchandise like bookmarks, shirts, mugs, etc.
Live events on social media that let them ask you questions around a specific topic related to your book for 30 minutes
CONTENT CALENDAR VARIATION #2: THEMES
Another way to organize your content calendar is around monthly themes, and post daily, weekly, or monthly around each one.
Here’s a sample of what that would look like:
JANUARY
Theme: Fresh Start
Tips, tricks for the new year
FEBRUARY
Theme: Organization
Tools you use and love
MARCH
Theme: Connections
Highlight connections you've made doing ____
APRIL
Theme: Partnership
Reach out to potential partners
MAY
Theme: Resources
Showcase your favorite resources
JUNE
Theme: Downtime
Ways you decompress and fill your cup
JULY
Theme: Finance
Money saving tips and shortcuts
AUGUST
Theme: Writing
What writing and creating means to you
SEPTEMBER
Theme: Process
What you learned from the publishing process
OCTOBER
Theme: Aspiration
Your vision for your book and author brand
NOVEMBER
Theme: Gratitude
Thankful posts, public thanks
DECEMBER
Theme: Holiday Promotion
Advertise holiday promos you're offering
In closing, remember a content calendar is YOURS.
Use our ideas as a template to get you going, but by all means, make changes or updates based on whatever works for you!
