The 8 Secret Steps to Successful Self Publishing No Other Experts Are Talking About (FREE Resources Included)!!
As recently as five years ago, self-publishing was the last resort for aspiring authors, who dreamed of being successful and sharing their books with readers around the world, but they’d exhausted their efforts toward finding a literary agent and, hopefully, a book deal with The Big Five.
In the last few years, however, self-publishing has been the ultimate choice for aspiring authors who want to maintain control of their creative vision and keep much more of their hard-earned book sales revenue in their pockets.
But where too many new and aspiring indie authors miss the mark is by rushing the process, crossing their fingers as the hit “publish,” and hoping for the best.
There is so much more to the successful launch of your book, and especially your indie author career, than writing a great book and uploading it to KDP.
In this post, I’m going to outline the eight crucial steps you cannot skip if you want a fair shot at a self-publishing success, and you want to sell your books to more than just a handful of family and friends!
The 8 Secret Steps!
Research Your Target Audience of Readers
Your target audience is exactly what it sounds like – it’s that group of readers who are out there actively seeking books just like yours.
They’re those readers who are typing “romantic fantasy books” or “small town romance books” into search bars on Amazon and on social media.
Audience demographics are less important than what those readers love about books like yours and what they don’t love.
To help you out, I have an easy to follow mini course, which you can access now by CLICKING HERE.
Build Your Author Brand
Your brand is about so much more than visual elements, like colors and fonts.
It’s about everything that makes you the storyteller you are now, and it’s the promise you make to readers as to what they can expect from you when they open your books and even when they visit your online profiles.
You’ll need to write a compelling author bio during this step, keeping your target audience in mind, and talking directly to them about your journey to becoming an author and what you write now and without dumping boring autobiographical details on them they do not care about.
But aesthetics are also important, so you’ll want to choose brand colors and fonts that best fit and represent your genre and the stories you write.
Put everything together in a “Brand Kit,” which you can learn all about in my mini course on author brand building FOUND HERE.
Set Up Your Magnetic Author Website
You need an author website for many reasons, including establishing your online presence, building credibility as an author, and in the future, selling your books directly from your site to increase your profitability.
But you don’t have to hire an expensive website designer who may or may not be able to keep your brand and your vision in mind when creating your site.
Believe it or not, there are several different ways you can build a professional looking, on-brand, and beautiful website that captures your target audience’s attention and draws them into your world, all by your lonesome!
Want to know how? CLICK HERE for my mini course on building your starter author website, essentially for free.
Launch Your Email Marketing Campaign
Most authors know they should be sending a newsletter, but that’s about all they know.
A well-put-together email marketing funnel that is complete and attracts your target audience and compels them to turn over their email address voluntarily (not an easy thing to do these days) will give you a list of readers who are 74% more likely to buy your books when the time comes.
But you can’t just start sending emails out willy nilly, and you must have all the crucial elements of an effective email marketing campaign.
And the easiest way I can help you achieve that is with my popular and affordable digital resource on building your email funnel, which you can find and instantly download for less than $10 by CLICKING HERE.
Grow Your Social Media Following
Anyone who tells you authors can get by and be successful without a social media marketing campaign is off their rocker and should not be giving authors advice!
Since well over half of the world’s population consider themselves “active” social media users, and since 2.71 Billion people shop social media platforms for their favorite items (including books) online, you MUST be on the right platforms (where your target audience hangs out) and you must put out content that hooks them and draws them into your world!
Every piece of content you create, as well as your social media profiles, must always keep your target audience of readers in mind, speak to them, and compel them to follow you, engage with your content, and be ready and hyped when you finally announce your book’s launch.
To get you started, I’m gifting you THIS DIGITAL RESOURCE, “101 Social Media Prompts for Authors” just for reading this blog post!
Get Featured in the Media
This step is often overlooked by too many authors, but it can make all the difference in how well your book launches, as well as how your author career takes off from day one.
You don’t need an expensive book publicist to get yourself featured in major media outlets; however, and you can do it completely on your own.
The best way to get started is to find podcasts, blogs, magazines, etc. that your target audience of readers is already tuning into, reading, and consuming, then write a simple and short pitch email and send it to the point of contact.
The worst thing you’ll hear is “no,” but if you keep at it, you will eventually become a pro at pitching yourself, and each media outlet in which you are featured, you’ll watch your reader following grow exponentially!
You can find my digital download on Publicity for Authors, by CLICKING HERE!
Prep for Your Book Launch
There are so many other things you should be doing as you work up to your book’s launch, including setting up and preparing for your official release WEEK event, your official announcement of launch WEEK event, and your official cover reveal WEEK event.
You should also be attending as many book fairs and book festivals as you can in your area, taking at least 3 copies of your book with you, and using each event as a networking opportunity, so be sure you are always gathering emails and social media followers…if you aren’t hosting a booth, that is.
Furthermore, there are numerous reputable and affordable websites and newsletter blast platforms out there, where you can get more exposure for your books for very low fees, including FussyLibrarian, BookRiot, and more.
Be sure to leave a comment below if you know of other good, low-fee promo websites or newsletter blast platforms you recommend to my readers!
Master the Amazon Algorithm
Before you can hit “publish” on KDP with confidence that your book will succeed, you must first know the Amazon algorithm and how it works, specifically with regard to the first crucial week after launching.
I have a short TikTok video that clearly explains how this works and why it’s so important to understand, which you can FIND HERE.
You also want to make sure the Big 3 Crucial Elements are as perfect as can be and ready to hook your readers, including: your title, your cover, and your book blurb.
Most importantly, to master the Amazon algorithm and increase your chances of being seen on the critical first page of the results feed, especially during week one, you must be gathering and using the most effective keywords you can find, making sure to use a healthy mix of macro and micro keywords.
In Conclusion...
All of the above are exactly the things I teach my coaching clients in my program, Indie Author Accelerator!
If you are interested in learning more about how I can help you successfully launch your book and your career as an indie author, CLICK HERE to request a FREE consultation with me as early as today.
You can also CHECK OUT MY ETSY SHOP, where I sell over 100 helpful templates and tutorials for authors, as well as stickers, jewelry, book accessories, and so much more, each for under $20 and free US shipping every day!
Questions and comments are always welcome below, and I do my best to answer each one within 24 hours, so feel free to drop your thoughts in the space provided below.
