As a part of my author platform series, we’ve talked about overall platform, newsletters for authors, social media for authors, and now I want to talk about what authors should blot (and video and podcast) about: aka, content strategy for authors.

Authors often aren’t so familiar with that term… and I think it’s because often we create content without the strategy. Let’s start using the term more because we should be intentional with the content we create.

Let’s talk about what authors should blog (and podcast and video) about: content strategy for authors!

LISTEN TO EPISODE 200 – WHAT SHOULD AUTHORS BLOG ABOUT? CONTENT STRATEGY FOR AUTHORS

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

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WHAT IS CONTENT STRATEGY?

Let’s define this thing. Because you probably know what it is, even if the term isn’t one you use. According to Hubspot, content strategy is “a strategy that takes your business goals, and then uses content as a primary means to achieve those goals.”

What kind of content are we talking about? Typically, this refers to things like blogs, podcasts, videos, and even could include things like posts on Instagram.

This is really hitting the question: what should authors blog about? What should they create YouTube videos about? Podcasts? What kind of microblogging content on Instagram and even TikTok??

See? You know what content strategy is. And you’re probably creating content.

But often, I think authors can miss out on the strategy part, or miss the mark altogether. Let’s change that!

Because the more strategy you use when creating content, the better your results. 

And what results do we want? We want to sell more books without being smarmy. But what that looks like is connecting with readers and turning them into superfans who want to buy and read everything you write.

For authors, the goal of content strategy (should you choose to create content other than books) is to attract your ideal reader, connect with them, and see the relationship mature into superfandom.

MISTAKES AUTHORS MAKE WITH CONTENT STRATEGY

1 // SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME

Growth and content creation takes time. Whether you’re blogging or creating YouTube videos, you’ll have to learn a skillset. 

Do you have time to learn the skills it take to blog well? Will you see a return on that investment of your time and money?

For me, content strategy is the LEAST effective in selling books and growing my readership. With time and attention, this can work well, but I wouldn’t consider it primary in terms of platform–in terms of sales or growing a readership.

2 // ATTRACTING THE WRONG AUDIENCE

Often, authors create content for the wrong reader accidentally. Too often, I see fiction authors talking about WRITING fiction, which attracts authors, not necessarily readers of their genre. 

To effectively create content strategy, you need to consider your target audience and then what that audience is interested in. Often, that is NOT how to write or writing tips.

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CONTENT STRATEGY FOR AUTHORS IN PRACTICE

Not sure what to write, create videos or podcasts about? Consider what your readers might want. Hang out in reader groups and see what readers are chatting about.

What posts get lots of comments? What do people engage with? What do they want to know, read, or watch? 

Here are some ideas and examples:

• Roundup of books by topic. ex: The Best Clean Romances (for clean romance authors)
• Roundup of movies by topic. ex: The Most Hilarious Romantic Comedy Movies (for romcom authors)
• Five books readers wish were made into movies
• Ten books that were better than the movie adaptations
• Inventions that make space travel seem possible (for sci fi authors)
• Historical details authors (or movies) often miss (for historical fiction)

Consider what topics or interests readers in your genre might want to read about. Don’t just limit it to books. Think about food, pop culture, other entertainment, or more. Consider the things fandoms obsess over and how you can create content around that based in your genre.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AUTHOR CONTENT STRATEGY

The great thing about creating content like this is that you have content to share beyond “buy my book” posts. You can share some of these posts in appropriate places, and may have more traction than just a link to your book.

But… make sure your post and blog are optimized for your books. Have links to buy your books or sign up for your email list. Promote yourself in a related way to the content you create.

Consider keywords, SEO- for YouTube and blogging specifically, Pinterest as well. What are people searching for? Create content around that!

• Check out this post on author SEO

CREATING YOUR OWN CONTENT STRATEGY

Spend time brainstorming and considering your content strategy. What is your WHY? What’s the main goal?

What kind of content can you post that will serve that main goal??

This is much easier for nonfiction than fiction, but it’s not impossible. It can work well, even if I do NOT consider content strategy one of my primary ways of selling books or growing my readership.

Realize that your strategy might be turning current readers into superfans OR it might be disoverability. Or both. You can have some posts that aim to grow current readers closer to you, while some posts might be more about discoverability where strangers may find you and read your books.

Again, consider that overall WHY. What’s your purpose? How can your content serve that purpose?

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CONTENT STRATEGY?

Author blog school is focused on blogging, but the overall principles work for other platforms as well. You’ll learn how to set up an effective author blog and utilize SEO (search engine optimization) to help you be discovered by people searching for particular topics.

Want to do better with your content strategy? Sign up for Author Blog School, a self-paced course on blogging and search engine optimization. For just $25, this course is a steal! 

Social media is often a dreaded piece of the author platform. There are so many different places to be and to post … not to mention WHAT to post. Then there’s the matter of how to handle social media while also writing books.

Never fear! Authors can handle social media. You don’t have to be everywhere or post a million times a day. Megan Ericson, a social media strategist, joins me for a conversation on social media for authors.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 199- SOCIAL MEDIA FOR AUTHORS WITH MEGAN ERICSON

This interview deals with how authors should use social media, mistakes they make, how to choose a platform right for YOU, and how to run social media on limited time.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

CONNECT WITH MEGAN! 

• Megan’s Social Media Marketing Show
• Instagram

(more on Megan below!) 

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SOCIAL MEDIA FOR AUTHORS

To discuss social media, first we need to start by backing up a step to consider the big picture. Remember that author platform is an overarching look at how authors connect with readers. (Check the post on Author Platform in 2021.) It’s the bridging of the gap between author and reader.

Social media is just one piece of the platform pie. I would totally give up social media for my email list, but social media can work in conjunction with email (more on email HERE) to help build a solid author platform. Social media is about engagement, connection, and discoverability.

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WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

The common misconception about social media is that you need it to sell your book. While I can certainly attribute some sales to social media, overall, selling isn’t main purpose of social media.

Social media, as Megan says in the interview, is a part of a larger funnel drawing readers closer. It’s a place to be discovered, to meet and connect with readers who might become superfans.

Social media is about being SOCIAL. -Megan Ericson

Go figure, right??? Being social on social media…

Social media may not be your primary place for sales, but it is great for discoverability and connection. Can you sell books with it? Sure. But don’t count on this as a primary way of selling books.

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HOW CAN AUTHORS KNOW WHAT TO POST?

Nonfiction authors have it easier. There is so much built-in content around the topics they write books about. You can repackage information from the book or write about similar but related topics.

For fiction authors, it’s more about peeling back the curtain and being real, like sharing your workspace or your work in progress.

BUT YOU CAN’T JUST SHARE THOSE WORK THINGS. Social media is social, remember? Your readers want to see the real you behind the curtain.

The thing is … not everyone WANTS to come out from behind the curtain. Many people don’t want to share personal photos of themselves or their children. And that’s okay!

TIPS FOR WHAT TO POST ON SOCIAL

Pick 3-5 things you’re actually interested in that you can share about (this can include your writing). This does NOT have to relate to writing or your books, but it can. If you write historical romance, maybe you share facts or links or images to interesting corsets.

Maybe one of your things is cats. You post pics of your cats or specific kinds of hairless cats. Maybe it’s coffee. Or sushi. Or alligators. (That’s me.)

You can rotate the five things, working your promotional posts (which don’t have to be buy-my-books posts) into the flow. Consider this like an edit of yourself: you’re not sharing EVERYTHING with your readers, but picking a select few true things about you that you can share.

When readers have unique things they associate with you, they think about you. When they spot that whalebone corset, they might pop into your Facebook group and share a picture there. THAT’S what you want. Association. These seemingly unrelated things can come to make an easy way for readers to connect.

For a great example of someone being personable (and talking lots about tacos), check out author Lucy Score’s Facebook page. She has a mix of posts about her books, about other authors books, and just random posts about herself or asking readers questions.

Don’t overthink this! We’re creative. Get creative with your social media.

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WHAT MISTAKES DO AUTHORS MAKE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

• Speaking to the wrong audience. A lot of authors write for AUTHORS, not readers. If you’re posting a lot of how-to posts, a ton of behind the scenes posts, or all writer interviews about process, you might attract other authors, not readers. Yes, authors read. But the main bulk of your audience should be readers in your genre (unless your goal is to attract authors and sell services to them). A lot of authors accidentally draw in other authors instead of their ideal readers.
• Posting all promo. When you don’t know what to do with social, you might just post links to your books, images of your book, and links about buying your books. YES, you can sell. You don’t even have to be sorry about it–we’re running a business. You can sell. But social media should have more than just links to buy.
• Not acting human. I can always tell when someone’s taken an Instagram training. I’ll have someone follow me, then like exactly six different images, maybe commenting on one. It’s like clockwork and feels… impersonal. If you attend some kind of training that has EXACT actions to follow like that, consider the spirit behind them rather than following some list. And the spirit behind most things is that you need to act like an actual human being, not a bot. Be real. Be engaged. Be engaging.
• Posting things that are too lengthy. While you CAN write more on Instagram or Facebook, these platforms shouldn’t be confused with blog posts. Write a blog post if you want to write a lot. There’s a reason those platforms are often called microblogging. Micro, as in, SHORTER. Use social to give a tease about something. A teaser of your book. A teaser of a longer blog post. Quick. Engaging.
• Using your personal Facebook profile for business. The Facebook terms of service are, as many TOS are, vague. They DO want your personal profile (where you add friends, as opposed to your PAGE, where you get likes or follows) to be about PERSONAL. The lines are much blurrier between personal and business these days, especially in the creative fields. We aren’t as compartmentalized as we used to be. Personally, I do SOME sharing of my work on my page, though Megan warns against doing it. Ultimately, you don’t want to lose your account, and Facebook decides what is too much. Use your page or a group primarily for your author things and keep the personal profile personal.
• Having two Facebook personal profiles. Many authors create a second personal profile on Facebook for their author name. This is against the terms of service. If you’re found out, you could lose your WHOLE account. Not worth it. It’s harder to get engagement on a page, but if you work hard, you can find it. Or you can use your page to run ads and focus engagement in your Facebook group.
• Not utilizing hashtags on Instagram. One of the features authors should use more on Instagram is hashtags. Look at what other hashtags authors are using. Check out this post from Kindlepreneur on the best hashtags. You can follow hashtags also to connect with readers and authors. This is a GREAT tool for being discovered.
• Taking yourself too seriously. Megan makes this point and I LOVE IT. Social is about social. Don’t feel like everything has to be perfect or totally serious. The same goes with photos and things, like for Instagram. You don’t have to have photos of you or gorgeous photos at all. Create quote graphics in Cavna. Just show up imperfectly, as you are. Be yourself. Take the pressure off.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU ONLY HAVE 10-20 MINUTES A DAY?

Megan’s best tip for managing social media is to batch and schedule. If you don’t already use batching, it’s basically taking a larger chunk of time once a week or once a month to schedule out all your content. This can save time and keeps you in the same creative flow. You can schedule natively, on each platform that allows it (for Instagram, you can schedule natively via FB) or use a tool like Hootsuite or Buffer.

Daily, your “work” on social media might be showing up to engage with your people. Responding to comments, engaging with other people’s posts, or sparking discussion on the fly.

TO SUM UP: SOCIAL MEDIA FOR AUTHORS DOESN’T HAVE TO OVERWHELM

You don’t have to be on all the platforms at once. You don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) spend hours a day on the various platforms.

Pick one to two places you can really engage (though I always like to stake my claim by getting the same name/handle on new social) and plan out the 3-5 kinds of posts you’ll do and make a schedule for how you’ll manage it.

Above all, remember the goal: social media is about discoverability and connection, not PRIMARILY for sales.

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MORE ON MEGAN ERICSON

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

The Create If Writing Facebook Community

The Quick Fix Weekly Email from Kirsten

I’ve written so much email content on this site, but I haven’t FULLY explored creating an author newsletter. WHAT! Well, it’s time to get after it. 

• If you want to check out the post directly before this one and related to it, go read AUTHOR PLATFORM IN 2021.

I have long been a fan of email lists. I think I started mine in … 2010? Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. That’s how it feels, anyway. Mostly because I was growing a newsletter as a blogger.

Now? I’m growing one (or several, actually) as an AUTHOR.

Some principles of creating an author newsletter are the same. Some are different. Let’s dive in and take out some of the intimidating factor of what I still believe should be the cornerstone of your author platform.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 198 – CREATING AN AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

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CREATING AN AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

Why am I still harping on email all these years after starting Create If Writing? (Because, if you’ve been around the whole time, email has always been my recommendation.) 

After growing email lists for nonfiction and for fiction, it is STILL king. It’s still more effective to sell books than social media platforms.

It also is the only real DIRECT connection with your readers. Any time, Instagram could yank you, or your Facebook account could get hacked and shut down. And then… you’re done.

With email, you have that list of emails. You can hit up their inbox because they’ve given you permission, inviting you in. Sure, inboxes are crowded. But readers still get excited hearing from their favorite authors personally. And if they hit reply to an email you send out to everyone, it then becomes a one on one conversation.

Email is YOURS. It’s a direct line. It’s personal, and there’s no algorithm to an inbox.

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GROWING YOUR AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

There are two big distinctions when it comes to growing your author newsletter. The first is organic growth, which would be having someone join your list from the back of a book they purchase or just on your website.

The second is paid growth, where you’re running Facebook ads, joining giveaways, or doing paid author promos. Essentially, you’re not BUYING subscribers (ew! don’t do that!), but you’re paying to get in front of the right readers who might opt in.

There’s also what I’d call orgnic-ish growth, which may not include paying to get in front of subscribers, but has an incentive to opting in, like a free book or chapter. This might be something like a Bookfunnel group promo by genre with other authors. Or–it might be inviting readers at the end of a book to opt in to your newsletter to get a bonus epilogue, a free prequel, or a chapter from another character’s point of view.

WHAT’S WORKING FOR ME?

What I’ve found is that using shorter pieces of content as incentives to join my newsletter has worked REALLY well. Readers have so many options for free books. They’re overloaded with whole free books. Try something smaller.

I’ve REALLY grown my list giving away shorter prequels related to my books and series or giving away a bonus epilogue. A bonus epilogue in the back of my first romcom has given me 2k subscribers just since October. (As a caveat, I’ve sold a LOT of books. I still think this can be super effective, but will depend on your book sales and how many people see that offer.) 

In other words… short and sweet. And related to your other stories.

Over the years, I’ve done a mix of organic, organic-ish, and paid, and have gotten a good response with solid open rates and engagement, even as I’ve grown to over 7k.

Recommendations for Free Organic-ish Growth

• Bookfunnel
• Story Origin
• Book Cave

Recommendations for Paid Growth

• AuthorsXP (hosts by genre giveaways where readers must opt-in)
• Booksweeps (hosts by genre giveaways where readers must opt-in)
• Fussy Librarian (you can pay to have traffic sent to your Bookfunnel page for your freebie)
• LitRing
• Fiction Atlas

 

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EMAILING YOUR READERS

What do I say? How often do I send?

I hear those questions a lot, but not the question that needs to drive those answers. Which is: WHY am I sending email?

There are specific reasons you might use email, but the big, overarching WHY of email is not to sell your book or promote your new release.

GASP! I know. I know.

The overarching WHY of email is to connect with and build your superfans. They don’t just buy your new release. They buy ALL your releases. Everything.

I write short and sweet emails, usually recommending 1-3 books from other authors in my genre as a newsletter swap. But I also have a few paragraphs (often just a few sentences) about something personal. Typically humorous, though I’ve also shared struggles and heartaches.

Does everyone care? NO. But it absolutely does help me form a relationship with my superfans. It makes me stand out in their inbox as not just another author in my genre. They get to know me. We bond.

So, I’d highly recommend drawing some lines about what you want to include that’s personal and then BEING personal. Doesn’t have to be pics of your kids or your house or you in pajamas. Consider a few areas you’re willing to share and then let that flag fly.

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FINAL WORDS ABOUT AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS

I know not everyone is a fan of email, and that it might not be as effective for everyone. HOWEVER, I still believe it’s the best place to connect on a more permanent level with readers and create superfans. It’s also the one platform that’s not changing.

We’ve seen a lot of upheaval this year on various platforms. Email is… decidedly the same as it was years ago. It’s a dinosaur. It’s stable. Even if it’s not your favorite, don’t miss out on creating your author newsletter!

Other email resources from the blog/podcast: 

• How to Create a Freebie 
• How to Deliver a Freebie
• How to Keep Your Email List Legal
• Which Email Provider Should You Use?
• How to Grow Your Email List

Let’s get real– what do you need for an author platform in 2021? After a few years of selling fiction, I can tell you that it’s less than you might think. Let’s dive in! 

Author platform. Did you shudder when you read that? For some authors and creatives, the idea of building a platform to connect with an audience is daunting. Others might like it, but almost all would agree that it’s easy to lose focus worrying about follower counts and other stats.

• Check out last year’s episode on platform 
• What is a platform and how do you build it?

For the sake of defining the term, when I talk about author platform, I’m talking about the various ways you connect with your readers in hopes of selling more books and building superfans.

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LISTEN TO EPISODE 197 – AUTHOR PLATFORM IN 2021

 

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AUTHOR PLATFORM FOR FICTION AUTHORS

I have to start with a caveat. There are a lot of things you can do that might work. There are a lot of authors doing different things that work.

The upside? So much freedom to try things!

The downside? Total overwhelm.

I’m going to share the things that I’ve tried out or have experience with. That doesn’t mean it will be the same for you! Sometimes things work differently across different genres as well, so I suggest finding like-minded groups on Facebook for authors in your genre and joining the conversation to see what’s working for them.

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THREE BIG AREAS OF AUTHOR PLATFORM

1 // EMAIL LIST

I’m all about email. This hasn’t changed. That said, I wish email were as effective as it could be. I have something like 7k people on my email list. If all those 7k people bought my books when I sent out a new release, THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.

That’s not what happens.

Even so, this sells way more than social. Whether I’m sending out emails about my own books or other authors are sending out books in newsletter swaps, I see the most impact on sales with email. I still believe this is and should be the cornerstone of your platform and is a worthy use of your time and your money.

2 // SOCIAL MEDIA

Oh my goodness. Is social media still going strong? Yes? Okay, then. This year, I’ve seen a rise of authors hopping onto things like TikTok or using Instagram reels (which is … almost the same thing). When it comes to social media, you can pick your poison and find a platform that works for you.

What I’ve seen from now three years of doing this author marketing and platform-building thing is that social media doesn’t have a massive impact on sales.

3 // CONTENT STRATEGY

Huh? What’s content strategy? This is where I’d place things like blogging, podcasting, YouTube, or creating longer-form content based around your brand and your books.

This doesn’t always work well for fiction authors, who sometimes fall into the trap of writing about writing, which attracts writers. Sure, writers are readers. But they may not be YOUR ideal readers. A tiny percentage of my readers are interested in my writing things or the podcast.

If you can find topics to blog about that relate to your subject matter, genre, or the brand you’re trying to build as an author, this can work for you. Especially if you harness the power of SEO.

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HOW DO YOU LEARN TO BUILD?

I’m going to go through the various areas of platform and also go through these three areas, then dive into other non-organic areas of building your sales… aka ADS and paid promotions.

It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You don’t have to spend hours doing it, but you CAN. It’s so easy to get lost in Facebook or on Instagram. Timers are my friend. It’s like the reminder you need to GET OUT of the addictive social feed.

I’m going to give some overall tips and things to consider as we move into this series on where to spend your time, energy, and money in 2021 while you work to sell more books without being smarmy.

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FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ON AUTHOR PLATFORM IN 2021

Remember ROI – You might need to test, but don’t do things that don’t work.

Remember your WHY – Don’t get sidetracked from your big goals.

Know your BUDGET – It’s easy to buy all the shiny things. Don’t. Use the money on the most effective things, and try to stay in your budget.

Know your TIME – Before jumping onto a platform, make sure you have the time it requires.

Know your SKILLSET – You may love podcasts, but they require equipment and abilities. Are you ready to learn them or hire someone?

Stay true to YOURSELF – Pick places that feel comfortable to you, where you WANT to spend time.

Don’t base your platform on UNICORNS – I see a lot of advice out there that authors can sell books with this or that platform. Just because ONE person did it doesn’t mean EVERYONE can (or should) do it. Try to base your decisions on what’s working for multiple people, preferably in YOUR genre. Not some outlier who happened to start on a platform really early.

 

So… where do you plan to spend your time and money in 2021?? 

 

• Want to join the free community? CLICK HERE!

 

• Want to join me for Ads Extravaganza? CLICK HERE to find out more. Use the code challenge to sign up in January 2021 for the February challenge!

Two book launches, one month apart. Both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. Oh, enough Shakespeare. Let’s dive into the nitty gritty of two different launches I had this fall.

Book launches don’t just come in one size. That’s something I’ve found in my own experience. AND in listening to other authors and watching launches. I’m always testing, always trying, and never think launches should go JUST one way.

The takeaway from this post should NOT be: follow my launch plan that worked better. But I DO want to lay out the differences between these two launches a month apart and break down some things for you to consider when making your launch plan.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 196 – A TALE OF TWO LAUNCHES

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app!

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Ads Extravaganza (my new course on ads strategy)
• The Free Facebook Group
• The Quick Fix– My Weekly Email

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Are you ready to dive into a tale of two launches? Let’s do this!

First up, let’s take a look at our contenders.

A TALE OF TWO BOOK LAUNCHES

Book #1 – Secrets Whispered from the Sea

Genre – Women’s Fiction

Length – 85k

Series – #1 in Sandover Beach Books (a spinoff series from another four-book series)

Retailers – WIDE (see my post on wide vs exclusive to Amazon if you want more on that)

Price – full price at $4.99

Preorder – yes (sold 42 at $4.99)

Date launched – September 18

Book #2 – Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin

Genre – Romcom

Length – 65k

Series – #1 in Love Cliches

Retailers – EXCLUSIVE to Amazon in Kindle Unlimited

Price – on sale at 99 cent

Preorder – no

HOW IT WENT DOWN: THE NUMBERS

Secrets Whispered from the Sea total earned from Sept 18 – Dec 3: about $1,500

Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin earned from October 11 – Dec 3: about $12,000

Um, HELLO. That’s … quite the difference.

On paper, you might think that this data means that a 99-cent launch in KU is the best. BUT THAT’S NOT THE WHOLE STORY. Let’s break it down a bit more and I’ll give you some things to consider as you plan your launch.

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BREAKING DOWN THE TWO LAUNCHES

Launch #1 – A Disheartening Bust

For Secrets Whispered from the Sea, I planned to piggy-back off my popular Sandover Beach series and go in the women’s fiction direction. I kept a strong romance subplot and used characters from that original series as well. Paired with a strong trend in women’s fiction, this book SHOULD have done well. I had Bookbub Featured Deals on my other Sandover series recently, and thought that might help this one launch strong.

My other Sandover series has been wide since the beginning of the year, so I decided to try a wide launch at full price, which was my highest price point at $4.99. (The book is around 85k, a bit longer than my romance books.) I planned to run Facebook and Amazon ads from day one and when book two came out in this series, apply for a BookBub Featured deal on Secrets Whispered from the Sea.

From the start, my launch just lacked juice. My own audience (which is pretty strong) didn’t really show up. Which makes sense… as I’ve built up an audience used to reading in Kindle Unlimited. AND this wasn’t a 99-cent sale. It was $4.99.

My ads also underperformed. By A LOT. The cost per click was low, as I’ve learned how to run ads effectively and built up some audiences on FB who like my other beach books and buy wide books. The cover was right, but the blurb wasn’t, so I rewrote it. Twice.

After a few weeks, I jumped the wide ship and put the book in KU. My reasoning? I didn’t plan out what I needed to for a wide launch. My current readership probably WOULD read the book, but hadn’t done so because of the cost. That helped a little, and my ads started performing better, but still not stellar.

You know what else? I didn’t enjoy writing the book.

While women’s fiction is a great genre, during this year of hard things, writing about more emotional things WAS NOT FUN. We were also dealing with virtual school (which was a nightmare for us and our five kids).

Launch #2 – A Delightful Surprise

For Falling fro Your Best Friend’s Twin, I actually had NOT planned to launch. I started writing this series (I’ve worked a little on multiple books and another romcom in a related series) in October 2019. I’d been saving it.

When I finish a book, I usually hit a creative depression where I feel low. Starting another one helps. So, I pulled out the 5k I’d written on this book, and finished the 65k book in two weeks.

On the heels of such a poor launch, I figured I might as well push this one out with no preorder, no warning, and no launch plan. I had it proofed, had my ARC team read it, got another romcom author to critique it, and then took a deep breath and hit publish.

While I had no launch plan, I HAD been planning to launch romcoms, just in a slower, more coordinated way. I had studied the market and was able to design covers and hire illustrators for the people (check out Melody Jeffries Designs for the first two series covers and I have Simply Dylan Designs doing two more). I bought a font from Creative Market, created a template for the five books in the series, and there we go.

I decided that I would do what has worked well for me in the past: launch into KU (which I’d planned to do with this series anyway) at 99 cents. Then I could take a three-pronged ad strategy: start with email newsletter promos (find out more about those HERE), set up and test Amazon ads, and set up and test FB ads, ramping both of those up as the email promos ended. That’s what I did. I don’t crunch numbers often, but I’ve spent about $3500 total in ads, starting small and going bigger.

While women’s fiction HAS been doing well (and still is) and a lot of clean romance is trending to look and be more women’s fiction-y, romcom is also having a moment. And I think CLEAN romcom is a pretty underserved market. Add to that a year in which we ALL want to laugh, and my book struck a chord.

I will also say that even though I wrote the book in a short time, it’s some of my best work. It IS funny, not just witty, as evidenced by the reviews. (It now has more reviews than any of my other books.) I think overall, the cover hit all the right notes, the writing is strong, and the timing is right. Add in ads that work and BOOM. The book has been in the top 500 in the whole Amazon store for over a month.

WHICH BLOWS MY MIND.

WHAT DO I TAKE AWAY FROM THESE TWO LAUNCHES?

The easy answer might look like a 99-cent Kindle Unlimited launch. But I do NOT think it’s that simple. Let’s talk about some of the factors!

PRICING CONSIDERATIONS

I feel like sometimes there is this sense that if you have “arrived” as an author, you have full-price launches. At least, I get that impression. Here’s the thing: I try not to be precious about things. I want to make money. I want to find new readers. I don’t need to care about what my launch price is. Whatever makes the money, that’s where I’m at.

Which is why my romcom is STILL at 99 cents. Because I’m in KU and so many people are reading in KU, I’m making wayyyyy more than I could if I were only selling ebooks at 99 cents. If I were launching wide, a 99-cent price point wouldn’t be making the money it’s making. (Though other platforms allow you to make more money on a 99-cent book, while Amazon makes the royalty rate 30% rather than 70%.)

Which brings us to the next thing to consider.

WIDE VS KU

Wide and Kindle Unlimited are both choices you can make. I’m not going to weigh in on one being BETTER and people have many reasons for making these choices. (Read more on these decisions in THIS POST.)

But if you ARE going into Kindle Unlimited, those readers might be more willing to try a newer author or a genre that you’re new to writing in. Some genres also are very KU-heavy. It’s often an easier start.

If you’re wanting to go wide, you need a strategy and you need to consider the long game. It can be a lucrative strategy and keeps you from being beholden to Amazon. It also means that you need to be a bit more intentional and realize that it might take a bit more time to gain momentum.

For these launches, I had NOT intentionally built up the audience I needed to in order to support a full-price, wide launch.

YOUR CURRENT AUDIENCE

Do you have an audience yet? A 99-cent KU launch might make the most sense if you’re new. It gives buyers AND Kindle Unlimited an easy way to give you a chance. But how you start also sets expectations. There’s something to be said for staring the way you want to finish. If you know you want to go wide, it might make sense to play the long-game and start wide, growing a wide audience and collaborating with other wide readers.

My audience has a large number of older women on fixed incomes. If they don’t read in KU… they don’t really read. I understand that. I also read in KU, and so it felt like a smart decision to move my book into KU– at least for now. I do plan to move it back to wide in the future.

CURRENT TRENDS

Women’s fiction is currently doing well, and as I said, a lot of clean romance is starting to shift that way. The covers look more like women’s fiction. Lines are getting a little blurry. I already had a beach series that was popular, but was clean romance. I thought I could piggy-back off that series, follow the trend without breaking from my norm too much, and find success.

It just didn’t work out that way. Maybe there were already too many other beach series to compete with. Maybe I didn’t position it as well as I needed to. Whatever the case, it just didn’t make the splash I thought it should.

While romcom is not a quick trend but more of an overall genre, it’s for sure doing well right now in the steamy world. And there are not as many authors who are writing clean books (without sex, without cussing) who are writing romcom. There’s breathing room. And, clearly, a hungry audience.

I also intended for my book to stand up with the steamy romcoms… but without the steam. I’m targeting a lot of those authors and wanted to see both clean and steamy readers enjoying. Because there are not TONS of romcoms, I think my book stood out.

There’s a wide range when it comes to comedy–from witty banter and lighthearted books to slapstick, laugh-out-loud books. I aimed for the second, and I don’t think as many books attempt or hit that mark. Many of the clean romcoms tend to fall a bit more on the other side of the spectrum with the humor being more quirky characters and witty banter.

In Facebook groups and other places, I sometimes see authors sharing success stories a lot without explaining that they happened to write in a genre that was HOT. Maybe they didn’t realize that was some of the reason for the success, or they just didn’t want to share about the genre. But you can’t take a hot trend out of the factors when it comes to book sales.

I believe that my book succeeded for more reasons than that, but I think the reason it’s done SO well is the hot genre, solid writing and positioning, and the ads strategy I’ve used to support it.

TO SUM UP: IS THERE A “RIGHT” WAY TO LAUNCH A BOOK?

What did I learn from this? A few things.

There are many ways to launch a book. And the launch isn’t the only important thing. My other beach series has sold more copies this year (while moving wide) than it did in the two years prior. They were older books. The newest one is one year old, yet they’ve sold more copies THIS YEAR.

Books are digital assets. If your launch totally bombs, you still have a book that you can sell for years to come. Maybe you can get a new cover later and it will work better. Maybe it will find itself in an emerging hot genre and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Write a good book and you’ll have a digital asset you can lean on for years, no matter what it does in launch.

For me right now, I’m confident in my 99-cent, Kindle Unlimited strategy. Do I care that 99-cents is sometimes seen as a “starter author” price. NO. Because I’m making money. This is working, and I’m going to lean into that. I might price my books up. I might launch at full price when I continue to build my romcom reputation. I’ll probably continue to test.

But I’m also not going to try and fix what’s not broken. It’s working. I invested heavily in ads, then kept upping the budgets and building.

If you want to know exactly what I did, I have a detailed case study inside my Ads Extravaganza course (check that out HERE). 

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FINAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR LAUNCH

• Here are some questions to consider as you plan out your launches:
• Should you go wide or exclusive to KU?
• Should you go full-price or on sale?
• What’s trending and how close is your book to a hot niche?
• How big is your existing audience?
• How much money do you have to invest in ads?

 

OTHER LAUNCH RESOURCES: 

A Simple Launch Framework

What Happens When Your Launch Fails 

Big Launches vs Low-Key Launches

How to Stop Wasting Money and Time on Book Launches