In 2020 942 million books were sold in the United States – and if the trend continues it is anticipated that 2022 will see well over a billion books sold in the U.S. Look to the New York Times bestseller list to see just how influential books can be. Social Media experts keep advising us that reading is a lost art and that the future lies in images and short videos – don’t you believe it. People are reading fiction and non-fiction in greater numbers than ever before.
However, the ever-increasing numbers of books reaching the market mean that authors need to go that extra mile when it comes to publicizing and promoting their works. You might have written the next great novel, but if no one is aware of its existence it is going to sit gathering dust on bookstore shelves.
It may cause dyed-in-the-wool lovers of the written word to recoil in horror, but the truth of the matter is that promoting a book, and the effectiveness of that promotion will almost inevitably mean the difference between success and failure in an ever more crowded marketplace. This is why book promotion is important.
Book promotion is essential for far more than making sure those copies leap off the shelves, it has a variety of other advantages and benefits.
Take for instance your personal brand. Readers today are just as interested in the author as they are in the words that he or she has penned. In these days of social media, people like to connect with people. This is why you will see some of the most famous authors in the world doing live question and answer sessions and on Twitter. People want to form a connection with a human being. And remember – this might be your first book, but it probably won’t be your last, and if people recognize your name on the spine or the front cover they are much more likely to purchase that second great novel.
Customer loyalty is one of the tenants of good marketing practice. Ever wonder why people keep going back to those same global brands? It is because they trust them and are loyal. To achieve lasting success you are going to need a loyal reader base. Promotional activity including the tried and trusted methods such as book tours and radio / TV appearances – or even that podcast builds reader loyalty. And those loyal readers are the people who make or break an author. A loyal reader base means future sales are almost always assured.
Of course, the most obvious reason to engage in promotional activity is to boost sales. This brings in new readers or readers who might have been engaged with a different genre. It expands the potential readership base and erodes that dreaded market cap.
Book promotion is vitally important. Authors who fail to promote their works are almost always lost in the noise of millions of other books being published. This is why book promotion is important – if you want the reader to turn that first page you need to encourage them to do so.