3 Things You Should Do to Prepare Your 2022 Author Marketing Strategy
What writers can do now to help them reach their business goals
photo by nick morrison on unsplash
Marketing can be a challenge, but it is key for authors in both self-publishing and traditional publishing. It’s important to know what works for you, and what gets results. The tips below will help you create your author marketing strategy for 2022 so you can meet your goals, whatever they may be.
Set goals
Think about what you want to accomplish in 2022 and set reasonable, tangible goals. This might look like setting a specific number of books you want to sell, vanity metrics like followers you want to have, or a new platform you want to experiment with. Check up on yourself monthly or quarterly, track your progress and see how your goals are coming along.
Use the SMART method to ensure that your goals are clear and reachable.
Specific: What exactly do you want to accomplish and why is it important? Who is involved, where is it? are there limits? Figure out the basics of your goal to make it clearer!
Measurable: how can you measure your goal so you know when you’ve achieved it? a certain number of book sales? followers? articles published?
Achievable: how realistic is your goal? Do you have the skills and resources necessary to achieve your goal?
Relevant: Does this goal seem worthwhile? Is now the right time? Ensure that your goal matters to you and drives everyone forward.
Time-bound: When do you want to achieve your goal? What can you do today to start? what can you do each week or month to work towards it?
Plan ahead
When it comes to your author marketing strategy, planning ahead can help ease the stress of creating content. Now that you have your goals in place, start thinking about the type of marketing you want to focus on in 2022:
Blogs (your own blog content, guest blogs)
What will you write about and how will your blog posts help you reach your goals?
Who can you collaborate with or guest blog for that will help your reach your goals?
Social media marketing
Where is your target audience?
What platforms will you focus on?
What are your key content pillars?
What type of content will you create? Text posts, Reels/TikToks, Twitter threads?)
Are there any social media accounts you could collaborate with? What would that collaboration look like?
Book signings (virtual or in-person)
How many signings do you want to do?
How many books do you need to order in advance?
What other marketing collateral do you need to prepare for the events?
What bookstores / local organizations will you contact to host a signing?
How will you make sure your target readers are there?
Paid advertising
What is your budget?
What platforms will you advertise on?
How will you track the performance and success of the ads?
PR (podcast interviews, blog interviews, etc.)
What does your target audience listen to or read?
How many interviews do you want to do in 2022, or quarterly?
Who do you want to reach out to about collaboration opportunities?
Evaluate your strategy often
On a monthly basis, I review my book sales (which I understand not every author can do depending on your publisher), look at my social media metrics, website traffic, etc. and keep all of that information handy in a spreadsheet.
Create a routine that makes sense for you—whether you review the information biweekly, monthly, or quarterly.
Look at what is working and what isn’t. Did a particular type of content receive higher engagement than others? Did you sell more books one month than the previous month? What could that be attributed to?
To be an effective marketer, you need to be analytical and understand the metrics you’re looking at. But, it doesn’t need to be overwhelming! Pick a handful of metrics that are most important to track in order to reach your goals.
There are so many resources out there for authors to learn how to market effectively. But the best marketers start with a plan that includes goals, an action plan, and a way to review data.
For more tips, and a free social media strategy guide, subscribe to my author marketing newsletter here.