Christina Kaye
If you still think TikTok is just for dance challenges and viral trends, you’re missing out on the hottest, most effective way to sell your books to hit the author community in years!
For the last couple of years, TikTok has given numerous authors a platform to grow their brand and more visibility than ever before.
What makes TikTok so unique and such an effective book marketing strategy?
If you know what you’re doing and are strategic in creating content, there’s no better tool for spreading the word from reader to reader to reader worldwide than through catchy, engaging videos that capture the attention of your target audience in a matter of seconds.
And with more than 112 billion #BookTok video views across the platform, you’d be insane to discount the most popular social media app on the planet and NOT leverage it to sell your books.
But in recent months, an even newer, more effective channel you can and absolutely should use to sell your books is TikTok Shop.
In this post, I’m going to explain how this app has already transformed the careers of numerous authors and how you can jump on this new, trending, and super effective book selling bandwagon now!
Table of Contents
Why you should sell your books on TikTok!
TikTok has fast become a go-to source for booklovers when searching for their next great read.
By nature, most people want to be in-the-know and on top of what is trending and cool, which is why books that are featured prominently on BookTok wind up selling like proverbial hotcakes.
If several MILLION people tell you that, for example, Colleen Hoover’s books are the best in dark romance, then, if you’re a dark romance reader, you’d feel left out completely if you didn’t read her books.
And remember a lil’ ol’ book by Sarah J. Maas, called A Court of Thorns & Roses?
Here are some brass tacks stats for you to consider:
- Over 20 million books were bought after being found on TikTok in 2022
- By the end of 2024, BookTok had over 182 billion video views worldwide
- Some authors have seen 100X or more sales on their backlist books after posting on TikTok
- 62% of US TikTok users say they have read at least one book based on BookTok recs
Starting to pick up what I’m laying down?
It’s clear that, even just posting effectively about your books on TikTok can be a game changer for you and your author career.
But if you set up a Shop on TikTok and take advantage of this highly popular new sales channel, where tons of people, including authors, are making money hand over fist by selling their best products…
You’re not just jumping on a fast-growing trend, but you’re also opening yet another sales and distribution channel, and most importantly, a new and potentially profitable revenue stream!
Examples of Viral TikTok Authors
Adam Silvera’s book, They Both Die at the End, was originally published in 2016 and it landed on the New York Times Bestseller List.
But after a few years, in an effort to garner more interest and attract new readers to this amazing YA sci-fi novel, Silvera’s publisher decided to feature TBDATE on their TikTok account.
And before he knew what had happened, the hashtag #TheyBothDieAtTheEnd had amassed over 40 million views, and users were jumping on the trend to talk about how the book made them feel (most claim to burst into tears)!
By early 2023, Silver’s book, which had officially been “on the market” for 7 years, had suddenly seen a surge of new sales and sold over 1 MILLION copies.
58-years-young debut author Shawn Warner had his own unexpected viral moment on TikTok 2 years ago, and he didn’t even post anything (at that time)!
A video showing Warner sitting at a basic plastic table in the aisle of a Kroger store behind a pile of his YA murder mystery books, TITLE, was posted at the promise of two young TiTokers who found him looking a bit dejected and disheartened.
Behind the camera, the two young men inquired about Warner’s book, gave him a moment to explain what it’s all about, and promised to post their video on their account.
They did, and I think it’s safe to say that the results were beyond Warner’s wildest imagination.
Not only did Warner’s book become a bestseller almost instantly, this impromptu video even landed as a No. 1 trending video on TikTok that summer!
How to Create TikTok Videos that Sell Books!
There is so much advice floating around out there about how to “go viral” on TikTok, and each and every guru has their own spin on virality, not to mention, the algorithm shifts on what seems like a monthly basis.
So, how on earth are you supposed to ever get ahead and know exactly how to create content that can go viral, and most importantly, sell massive quantities of your books?
Sure, trending sounds, viral challenges, and hashtags are key elements that can help your videos show up on the FYP of readers, and I’ll go over that next.
But as someone who has already grown one TikTok account to over 100k followers and 1.6 million video likes, I can tell you firsthand what works, above all else.
And the first step is knowing your target audience of readers like the back of your hand.
I’m not just talking about demographics, and in fact, that information is harder to dig up than you’d imagine, aside from knowing in general that your readers tend to be women or men and maybe their average age.
I’m talking about getting super familiar with that group of readers who are specifically seeking books in your genre/subgenre and knowing without a doubt what they expect in books they love, what they prefer and don’t prefer, and what kind of content draws them in.
Then, once you are super familiar with and know everything you can about your Ideal Reader Avatar, the next most important thing you can ever do is to create content that is going to grab their attention and that speaks to them in their language.
Way…way too often, I come across authors posting content aimed at each other, trying to do “follow parties,” or commiserating about this or that on their author journeys.
But you have to put yourself in your readers’ shoes (as you always should be doing) and think for a second.
If you were scrolling through #BookTok, searching for a great dark romance book to read, and you came across some author looking worn out and dejected, and starting their video off saying, “Hey, fellow authors. So, is it just me or….” then blathering on about the perils of novel writing…you would keep scrolling… you know you would!
One thing every TikTok expert agrees on is that the first 6 seconds are the most crucial, and if you don’t grab scrollers’ attention in that timeframe, you lose them…possibly forever.
And if you do manage to hook them at the beginning, you have to maintain their attention by giving them the kind of content that inspires, entertains, educates, and/or engages them.
And finally, if you want to grow your following and reader fanbase, so you can leverage TikTok to sell your books, don’t forget to simply ASK them to buy your book in the caption, the title, and your call-to-action.
The best way I can sum up the most effective and time-tested strategy for doing well on TikTok is to make sure every single post you put out there contains these three crucial elements:
A visual and an audible hook (in the first 6 seconds);
Valuable content in the middle that will entertain your target audience;
A call-to-action, directing them to pre-order, purchase, or even sign up for your newsletter
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, the choice of whether or not to promote your books on TikTok is a personal one, and no one can force you to do anything you don’t want to do.
But my advice is to go for it!
Even if you’re insecure, shy, or plain uncomfortable showing your face on camera, there are plenty of ways you can still create viral-worthy content that will attract your target audience of readers, get more eyeballs on your book, and sell even more books.
If you’d like my help with this and all the other steps to successfully launching and selling your books, then email me now at hello@christinakaye.com to schedule a free consultation with me as early as today.
