Should You Pay for Book Marketing Services?

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If you’ve self-published a book, you’ve probably wondered whether paying for book marketing services is worth the investment. With countless companies and consultants promising to boost your sales, build your platform, and make your book a bestseller, it’s tempting to dive in. But is it the right move for you? Let’s break it down.

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What Are Book Marketing Services?
Book marketing services are professional offerings designed to promote your book and increase its visibility. These services range from running advertising campaigns to organizing book launches and securing media coverage. Common services include:
– **Social Media Campaigns**: Managing posts, ads, and engagement.
– **Email Marketing**: Building and nurturing your reader list.
– **Advertising**: Running ads on platforms like Amazon, Facebook, or BookBub.
– **Public Relations (PR)**: Securing interviews, reviews, or media mentions.
– **Promotional Listings**: Getting your book featured on discount or free book platforms.

Prices for these services vary widely, from a few hundred dollars for basic campaigns to thousands for comprehensive packages.

When Paying for Book Marketing Makes Sense
Paying for book marketing services can be worthwhile under certain circumstances. Here are some scenarios where it might make sense:

1. You Have a Marketing Budget
If you’ve set aside funds specifically for marketing and understand the potential return on investment (ROI), paying for professional help can save you time and accelerate results. Just make sure the services align with your goals.

#### **2. You Lack Time or Expertise**
Effective book marketing requires a lot of time and know-how. If you’re juggling a full-time job or other commitments—or if marketing feels overwhelming—outsourcing can free you up to focus on writing.

#### **3. You’re Promoting a High-Potential Book**
If your book has strong market appeal (e.g., it’s part of a popular genre, well-written, and professionally packaged), marketing services can help it reach its full potential. Books with broader appeal tend to perform better with paid promotion.

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### **When Paying for Book Marketing Might Be a Waste**
Not all books are ready for paid marketing, and not all services are worth the cost. Here’s when you should think twice:

#### **1. Your Book Isn’t Professionally Prepared**
Marketing won’t fix a book with an unpolished cover, poor editing, or lackluster formatting. If your book isn’t up to market standards, focus on improving it before spending money on promotion.

#### **2. You Don’t Have a Clear Goal**
Are you trying to grow your email list? Generate sales? Build your brand? Without a clear objective, it’s easy to waste money on ineffective campaigns.

#### **3. You Don’t Have a Reader Magnet/Email List in Your Book**
If your book doesn’t include a reader magnet—a free bonus offered in exchange for joining your email list—you’re missing a key opportunity to turn readers into loyal fans. Paid marketing can drive sales, but without a way to capture your readers’ information, you won’t build an audience for future launches. Adding a reader magnet is free and can significantly increase your long-term marketing effectiveness.

#### **4. You’re Relying on Marketing to Fix Low Sales**
If your book isn’t selling, marketing alone isn’t always the solution. Poor sales could be due to issues like unclear targeting, poor metadata, or weak reviews. Identify and address the root cause first.

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### **What to Look for in Book Marketing Services**
If you decide to invest, choosing the right service provider is crucial. Here’s what to keep in mind:

#### **1. Transparency**
Look for companies that clearly outline what they’ll do for you, how they’ll do it, and what results you can expect. Avoid vague promises like “We’ll make your book a bestseller.”

#### **2. Proven Experience**
Check for testimonials, case studies, or portfolio examples. If a company can’t provide proof of past success, consider it a red flag.

#### **3. Alignment with Your Goals**
The services should match your needs. For example:
– Want more reviews? Look for a service that specializes in ARC (Advance Reader Copy) distribution.
– Need ad management? Ensure the provider has experience with platforms like Amazon or Facebook.

#### **4. Realistic Pricing**
Beware of companies charging exorbitant fees without guaranteeing results. Likewise, avoid services that seem too cheap—they may lack the expertise or resources to deliver quality work.

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### **DIY Book Marketing: An Alternative**
If you’re not ready to pay for marketing services, you can achieve a lot on your own. Here are some cost-effective strategies:
– **Leverage Social Media**: Build an organic following by posting consistently about your book and related topics.
– **Start an Email List**: Offer a reader magnet to encourage sign-ups and engage with your audience through regular newsletters.
– **Run Your Own Ads**: Platforms like Amazon and Facebook allow you to start small and scale up as you learn.
– **Collaborate with Other Authors**: Cross-promote with authors in your genre to reach new readers.
– **Submit to Book Promo Sites**: Services like BookBub, Bargain Booksy, and Freebooksy often deliver excellent ROI for discounted or free book campaigns.

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TL;DR
Should you pay for book marketing services? The answer depends on your goals, budget, and the current state of your book. If you have the funds and your book is professionally prepared, outsourcing can save time and help you reach new readers. However, if your book isn’t ready or your goals aren’t clear, you’re better off refining your approach or trying DIY marketing first.

In the end, no marketing service can guarantee success. The most important factors are the quality of your book, your understanding of your audience, and your commitment to promoting it consistently. Paid services can amplify your efforts, but the foundation of your book’s success ultimately rests in your hands.

No Book Sales on Amazon KDP? Read This

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Let’s have an honest conversation about something many authors struggle with – that complicated feeling when you say you wrote your book “just for yourself,” but deep down, you’re disappointed by the lack of sales.

The Creative Contradiction

You told everyone (and yourself) that you were publishing this book purely for personal satisfaction. “I don’t care if it sells,” you said. “I just wanted to tell my story. I just want to hold my book in my hands.”

And you meant it – at least, part of you did.

But now your book is out there, and the silence is deafening. The sales report shows single-digit numbers, and suddenly, those “I’m just doing this for me” declarations feel a bit hollow. You find yourself checking your sales dashboard multiple times a day, hoping to see some movement. You’re feeling frustrated, maybe even a little hurt, and you’re probably wondering why.

If you secretly thought that just putting your book on Amazon was going to be enough and now you are disappointed and feel betrayed, we did a whole article about that right here.

Why We Tell Ourselves the “Just for Me” Story

Let’s be real – saying we’re writing “just for ourselves” is often a protective mechanism. It’s safer than admitting we hope others will read and love our work. After all, if we claim we don’t care about sales or readers, we can’t be disappointed when they don’t materialize, right?

But here’s the thing: if you truly wrote the book just for yourself, you wouldn’t have published it. You would have saved it in a private folder on your computer or printed a single copy for your bookshelf. The act of publishing inherently implies a desire to be read.

The Truth About Wanting Readers

There’s nothing wrong with wanting people to read your work. In fact, it’s completely natural. Writing is, at its core, an act of communication. When we write something, we’re trying to share a story, an idea, or an experience with others. Wanting that connection doesn’t make you less authentic or more commercial – it makes you human.

Bridging the Gap

So how do you reconcile your artistic integrity with your desire for readers? Start by being honest with yourself:

If you genuinely want to share your work with others, acknowledge that. It doesn’t diminish the personal value of your writing. You can write something deeply personal and meaningful to you while also making it accessible and appealing to others.

Consider this: some of the most beloved books in history were deeply personal to their authors, but they were also crafted with readers in mind. The personal and the commercial aren’t mutually exclusive.

Moving Forward

If you find yourself in this situation, you have two honest paths forward:

1. Embrace the truly personal nature of your work. Accept that it might not have commercial appeal, and be genuinely okay with that. There’s nothing wrong with creating art purely for yourself.
2. If you want readers, acknowledge that desire and learn what it takes to reach them. This might mean studying your genre, understanding reader expectations, and yes, learning about book marketing.

Finding Your Balance

Remember, there’s no shame in either choice. What matters is being honest with yourself about what you want. If you decide you do want readers, that doesn’t mean compromising your artistic vision – it means learning how to bridge the gap between your creative expression and your readers’ needs.

And if you truly did write your book just for you? That’s wonderful too. Just make sure you’re not hiding behind that statement to protect yourself from potential disappointment.

The Path Forward

Whatever you decide, own your choice. If you want readers, start learning about your target audience. Study successful books in your genre. Join writing communities. Learn about marketing. Put in the work to reach the readers you want to connect with.

If you genuinely prefer to keep your writing personal, celebrate that choice too. Not every creative endeavor needs to be monetized or widely shared to be valuable.

Just remember: there’s no wrong choice here. The only mistake is not being honest with yourself about what you really want.

Your work matters, whether it reaches one reader or one million. The key is aligning your actions with your true goals, whatever they may be.

What is Search Engine Optimization? Why Do You Care?

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You’ve probably heard the term “Search Engine Optimization” or SEO thrown around, but what does it actually mean? And why should authors—people who write books, not blogs—care about it? Let’s break it down in simple terms.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is just a fancy way of saying you’re making your online content easier for people to find. When someone types a question or keyword into Google, Amazon, or any other search engine, SEO is what determines which results show up first.

For authors, SEO is about optimizing your book listing, author website, blog, or even social media content so that readers can find you when they search for books or topics in your genre.

Think of it as creating a trail of breadcrumbs that leads readers straight to your book.

Why Should Authors Care About SEO?

1. Your Book Needs to Be Found
   • Writing a great book is step one. Step two is making sure people know it exists. SEO helps your book get discovered by readers who are already looking for something similar.
2. Amazon is a Search Engine
   • Many authors don’t realize that Amazon itself is one of the world’s largest search engines. Readers type in keywords like “cozy mystery with cats” or “dystopian sci-fi”—and SEO determines whether your book shows up.
3. Stand Out in a Crowded Market
   • There are millions of books on Amazon. SEO can help your book stand out by matching it with the right keywords, categories, and audience. If you’re not using SEO, you’re leaving your book’s visibility up to chance.
4. Drive Traffic to Your Author Platform
   • If you have a website, blog, or newsletter, SEO can help direct traffic there. The more people visit your site, the more chances you have to connect with them, sell books, or grow your email list.
5. It’s Cost-Effective
   • Unlike paid ads, SEO doesn’t require you to spend money. It’s all about tweaking your content to make it more discoverable. Once you’ve set it up, it keeps working for you in the background.

How Authors Can Use SEO

Here are a few practical ways authors can incorporate SEO into their marketing:

1. Optimize Your Amazon Book Page
   • Use keywords in your book’s title, subtitle, and description. Think about what your ideal reader would type into the search bar.
   • Choose the right categories and subcategories for your genre.
2. Leverage Your Author Website
   • If you have a blog, write posts that tie into your book’s themes or topics. For example, if your book is about baking, write a blog post about “5 Tips for Perfect Sourdough Bread.”
   • Include keywords that readers might search for in your blog posts and page titles.
3. Use Keywords in Metadata
   • Metadata includes things like your book’s title, subtitle, keywords, and even the tags you use on your website. Be strategic about including terms your readers are searching for.
4. Create Evergreen Content
   • Blog posts, YouTube videos, or social media posts that remain relevant over time can bring in consistent traffic. For example, a post titled “How to Write Your First Fantasy Novel” can attract aspiring writers for years.
5. Use Social Media Strategically
   • Even your social media profiles and posts can benefit from SEO. Use hashtags and keywords that align with your book’s genre or audience.

What Keywords Should Authors Be Optimizing For?

Keywords are the bridge between your book and potential readers. As an author, you should focus on keywords that reflect the genre, themes, and audience of your book. For example, if you’ve written a historical romance, keywords like “Regency romance” or “Victorian love story” might be perfect. Think about what your ideal reader would type into Amazon or Google to find a book like yours.

To find the best keywords, tools like Publisher Rocket can be invaluable. Publisher Rocket helps authors uncover high-traffic, low-competition keywords that can improve your book’s discoverability. It’s a great way to take the guesswork out of keyword research and focus on terms that will actually drive results.

SEO Isn’t Just for Tech Experts

The good news is you don’t have to be a tech genius to use SEO. It’s really about understanding your audience and speaking their language. Think about what they’re searching for and make sure your content—whether it’s your book description, website, or blog—matches that.

When done right, SEO can act like an invisible marketing assistant, helping readers find your work without you having to hustle 24/7. And who doesn’t want that?

Show Your Work!

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I recently read one that is so good, I really think it should become part of your library. The book is “Show Your Work,” and the author is Austin Kleon. This book is a couple of years old (2014), but the message is so timeless and so motivating, I wanted to share a couple of passages that have really, REALLY inspired me.   Austin Kleon is also the author of “Steal Like an Artist,” which is a great book about creativity that I am also reading.  As you probably have concluded, I am in sort of a “re-grouping” period pertaining to the teaching of book marketing, because for years I have been putting out content and having authors argue back that they do not really want to market (I’m not saying you did this or think this, I’m just saying that’s what happened and why I’m regrouping).

Here are a couple of quotes from this book, which I think is going to really change the way you think about marketing.   Most authors (even me, to a certain extent) do not like the idea of “push marketing,” meaning when you go out and find your audience.   I get that.   This book is just a really great alternate way to start thinking about your marketing efforts. In the authors own words, “This is a book for people who hate the idea of self-promotion.”

Here is my favorite quote (so far):

“ In order to be found, you have to be findable. I think there’s an easy way of putting your work out there and making it discoverable while you’re focused on getting really good at what you do.”

Here’s another one, just to further motivate you to go check it out:

“Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.”

So, that’s a kinder, gentler type of marketing philosophy, right? Maybe we can all read this book together and find new motivation to be great at our respective crafts, to be findable, and to help others in the process.

Hope you’re having a great Monday!

LC

3 Twitter Basics You Probably Don’t Know About

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Twitter is hands down my favorite platform for authors. Again, and as always, not for tweeting BUY MY BOOK links repeatedly (which is not only annoying but also against The Twitter Rules we all agreed to), but for connecting with readers, book bloggers, and book reviewers, as well as other authors. There are few tools I find particularly helpful when it comes to sharing my work and the work of my clients on Twitter.

Let’s deconstruct.

1) How To Make Everyone See Your Replies!

The . before the @.

Let’s just say, for this example, that you see a tweet go by from oh, Lady Gaga, and you have the wittiest reply ever recorded in all of recorded history. If you want EVERYONE on your stream to see the tweet, put a . right before the @ (i.e., like this: .@) at the beginning of the reply (meaning, if you write the tweet and then add .@LadyGaga in the middle of the tweet, the .@ isn’t needed).

I know, it seems confusing but it’s really simple. No . before the @, only the intended recipient sees it. Add a . before the @ at the beginning of a tweet or reply, then everyone who follows you will see it. This is particularly useful during Twitter chats.

2) New ‘Pin’ Option 

If you’ve been on Facebook for awhile, you know what Pinning a post means — it stays at the top of your feed until you ‘unpin’ it. Now, Twitter has that option, too (if you’ve upgraded free to their new layout). If not, click here.

Why bother? It’s simply a way to promote something (a book sale, a quote that people have retweeted quite a bit) for as long as you want. I recommend switching it up at least once per week or less if you have a busy, active account, once every few weeks if not that active. Plus, I’m here to tell you, this pinned tweet is the first tweet people will see when they make the decision to follow you. What do you want them to see?

Finally, I’m seeing significantly more retweets and favorites on my pinned tweets than on my non-pinned tweets.

3) Amazon Cart #AmazonCart 

A wonderful new service started between Amazon and Twitter in early May of this year. If you add #AmazonCart to your book tweets (remember, for all that is holy or made of Nutella, do not spam these tweets):

‘Under the program, users must link their Amazon.com account with their Twitter account. Then they need to add the hashtag #AmazonCart when replying to a tweet that has an Amazon product link. The product will then be automatically added to their shopping cart.

Twitter users will get a reply tweet from @MyAmazon as well as an email from Amazon when the item is successfully added to their cart. The service is for U.S. customers only, although U.K. users have a similar service with the hashtag #AmazonBasket.’ (Source: Huffington Post) 

Use this judiciously, and as far as I can tell, we as authors receive no data on how many sales come from using this hashtag. But who cares? It’s one more way for us to reach readers and Amazon makes it even easier to merge social media into a sale funnel — a win/win for everyone!

Are there any new changes you want me to cover in next week’s article? Please respond below with comments or questions.

How To Stop Those Annoying Twitter AutoDMs!

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If you’ve been on Twitter for even a nanosecond, you’ve received one of these enthusiastically, obviously fake, exclamation pointed, auto-generated ‘welcome’ messages, otherwise known as an ‘auto DM (direct message):

Hi! Thanks for the follow! Please buy my book here (link), review it, follow me on Facebook, clean my house, and tell the world how amazing I am!!!!!!’ 

Okay, I jest (only slightly). DMs can be a useful tool in taking a public conversation private, or to connect with someone over a topic that you or they may not want the world to see. However, with the plethora of autoDM spam, the usefulness of DMs is lost.

If you’re tempted to set up your own ‘auto-responder’ welcome message, DON’T. Either take the time to welcome people, or simply interact some other way.

It’s worth noting here that you should NEVER click on a link in a DM unless it’s from someone you know personally, and if that link seems to be suspicious (i.e., ‘gain 10,000 new followers by clicking here!’), it usually means that friend has been hacked.

However, you can fight back! If a service offers an option to send an autoDM, they must also offer an opt out option as well. Let’s deconstruct.

OPT ME OUT 

Owned by Social Oomph (a well-known scheduling service), the process is pretty basic. Twitter-based, go to their Twitter handle @optmeout and follow these instructions:

SocialOomph Opt-Out @optmeout · 

Related articles

• How to Stop Spam on Twitter DM
• Should You Use Twitter DM for Marketing?
• 5 Ways to Kill Twitter Spam
• Twitter Direct Message: 10 Do’s and Don’ts
• 11 Things You Didn’t Know You Were Doing Wrong on Twitter
• Death To The Auto DM (Automated Direct Message) on Twitter
• Are you a social media tool?

Intelligent Links Mean More Book Sales

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I have recently been given the opportunity to write a couple of articles on bookpromotion.com about using affiliated links when promoting your books, and how globalizing those links can help you earn money from your readers around the world. I’m hoping that those articles have helped you become rich and famous and that you’re reading this while swimming in your bank vault of gold coins, Scrooge McDuck style.

If not, I’ve got another trick up my sleeve to help you get there in the form of the most intelligent links on the World Wide Web. It’s a bold claim, but one I feel accurately represents what I’m about to disclose.

Imagine, if you will, that you have not only international fans that love to read your works, but those same fans are all using different devices to do so. For instance, you have a German reader eating a schnitzel while reading your latest novel on his iPad, but also have a French reader chowing down on a baguette and checking out your works on her Kindle. If you’re using a single (hopefully globalized) link to point your users to your book in a specific store, one of those two is going to have a bad time.

This is because when you send all traffic to iBooks, the Kindles and Nooks of the world won’t be able to directly purchase, and you could lose out on a new fan – and on a sale. Alternatively, if you send all of your traffic to Amazon or Kobo, all of your iPad readers are going to be sorely disappointed they can’t easily buy your literary artwork.

This is another issue we’ve been working to resolve over at GeoRiot, and are proud to announce a brand spankin’ new feature that we’ve dubbed “Genius Links.” Genius Links allow you, the author/publisher/marketing extraordinaire, to create “scenarios” to correctly route your readers to the local storefront where they’re most likely to purchase.  These scenarios can be targeted off the reader’s device, operating system, country, date or any combination of the above.

What this means is that you can link to your book in Amazon, iBooks, GoodReads, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and any of our other allowed domains using a single URL (imagine all the characters you can now save in your tweets!). So Kindle readers are automatically sent to your book on Amazon, iPad users get sent to iBooks, readers on a Mac can get sent to Kobo, and Windows users could get sent to GoodReads or anywhere else your heart desires. Genius Links ensure that every user is taken care of, and that you have a better chance to convert each user to an actual sale. You better get your floaties on, because you’ll be swimming in your golden coin pool in no time.

We are also continuing to refine these features, so if there are other websites besides the ones listed above that you’d like added to our list, please let us know. We’re always open to answer any questions you might have about how to use GeoRiot as well. It’s my duty to help you earn more from every link.  Now get rollin’.