As a self-published author who writes Christian non-fiction books, I must admit that marketing was not even a blip on my radar when I wrote my first book. Honestly, the biggest issue I faced was getting that book out of my head and onto paper.

Once I finished and submitted my book to the various self-publishing platforms, I thought I was done. I genuinely believed readers would gravitate to my book out of the millions available. Sounds kind of comical now.

I did manage to sell about 200 copies of my book in a few months. Impressive for a new author until you hear the buyers were mainly family and friends who just wanted to support me – which is lovely, but a finite stream of income.

Image created with Book Brush

It was then that I realized how essential book marketing is! Marketing is truly the difference between being found by readers or not. It is that simple.

If my book was ever going to gain real traction, I had to quickly learn about book marketing. It took some trial and error, but I’ve discovered five marketing strategies that consistently produced the best results, and I’m thrilled to share them with you below. But first…

Book Marketing Images

Before I jump into the five marketing strategies, I want to stress the importance of creating and using book marketing images. Did you know that vision trumps all other senses? It does! We are visual beings. It’s wise to have images of your book on hand to use as opportunities arise. You never know when someone will ask you to share an image of your book or when you’ll need to create an ad, post on social media, etc. Book Brush dominates in this area. To this day, I have not found a better tool for creating book marketing images than Book Brush. With Book Brush, you can create:

• Advertising memes for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, BookBub, Pinterest
• Social media banners
• Instant Mockups
• Swag
• Incredible 3D book templates from your 2D covers
• Business and postcards
• And more!

Here is an ad I created using Book Brush to promote my second Christian book. The ad took less than five minutes to make, and looks professionally done.

Image created using Book Brush

Check out this article to learn more: “How to Easily Create Your Own Book Marketing Images.”

Nonfiction Book Marketing Strategies

Okay, let’s jump into those five strategies I mentioned!

Strategy 1: Reach Your Readers

I use a tool called Publisher Rocket to find my readers. I publish a lot through Kindle Direct Publishing, so this tool helps me find the right keywords that Amazon shoppers use to discover books of interest. I use those keywords in my book’s metadata and to create Amazon ads in Book Brush like the one above.

Click on image to enlarge

To learn more about what the tool can do, go to Publisher Rocket.

Strategy 2: Get Reviews

Book reviews can make or break an author. To be able to advertise on some platforms, you need a minimum of 25 reviews. Reviews are also critical to ranking higher on Amazon. You will never make the best-seller categories if you do not get reviews. Getting reviews can be challenging, especially since Amazon has gotten quite strict on which reviews they accept. Amazon will eliminate reviews from family, friends, and even some social media connections without warning.

Logo for Goodreads

A great place to get honest reviews is by joining groups on platforms such as Goodreads.

Since I write Christian non-fiction books, I joined a group on Goodreads called Christian Book Reviews. The group allows members to ask people if they would be willing to read a book and then provide an honest review. There are tons of groups on Goodreads, so I recommend checking out the site and exploring the community groups until you find one you like.

Strategy 3: Collaborate with Other Authors

I use a tool called Book Funnel to join other authors on both sales and newsletter promotions. I love collaborating with other authors to help promote each other’s books. It’s a win-win situation! Below is an example of what a promotion would look like using Book Funnel. The promotion example was for inspiring self-help books and focused on increasing our newsletter sign-ups. We gave a free e-book to those readers who signed up for our newsletters.

Book Funnel example

Collaborating is a great way to gain exposure, especially if you are a new author. If you prefer not to give your book away for free, you can choose a sales promotion that directs readers to purchase your book on various sites.

Book Funnel has a lot to offer. I highly recommend you check them out.

Strategy 4: Use Social Media

Given the fast-paced world we live in today, if you want to reach the masses, you have to go to where they are. Unsurprisingly, you can find them on various social media platforms. I promote my books on several social media channels: Facebook (groups and pages), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. My recommendation is to find a channel that you like and learn what it has to offer. For instance, I like to join Facebook Groups to reach people not already in my network. I have author friends who love using Instagram for the stories feature. Whichever platform you choose, learn it inside and out, and utilize every tool available to you.

Strategy 5: Work with a Publicist

Last but not least is strategy five. Celebrate Lit is a fantastic Christian publicity group. They offer a wide variety of customizable publicity services to fit any author’s needs. I had them design a book tour for my first and second books. I reached over 400,000 potential readers during the first tour and about 285,000 on the second tour. I also received more than 22 honest reviews from bloggers who actively promoted my books on their sites. The reviews were posted to Amazon and Goodreads. The tours were terrific because they drove my Amazon rankings up and increased my sales. I published my first book in 2019, and through Celebrate Lit, I refocused my marketing efforts, resulting in consistent and steady sales.

I offer two examples of books on tour with Celebrate Lit.

To learn more about Celebrate Lit and how they can help, head on over to their website!

Finding non-Christian publicity groups is as easy as doing a simple Internet search. Don’t be afraid to ask other authors in your social media groups or in your community groups on Goodreads what publicity tools work for them.

There you have it – five fantastic marketing strategies you can use to get your book in front of readers. I am confident you will love these marketing tools and resources as much as I do!

I am cheering for you, friends!

Article by Dr. Jeannine Bennett

I am a self-published author who writes both Christian Bible studies and career-centered self-help books. You can find my books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, BookBub, and several other sites.

I currently split my time between my Christian career coaching business Vision to Purpose, teaching gigs, and my writing adventures. I have helped hundreds of individuals find their dream jobs, thousands of students through their college courses, and have written four books to date.

Please visit me at www.jeanninebennett.com. Check out my books, review some podcasts, sign up for my newsletter and get my first e-book for free.