Three Marketing Steps for New Authors

Another common question I see popping up in my self-published writers' groups: Once I've finished my book, how do I start marketing?

They are asking the wrong question. The right question is: When do I start marketing?

The answer? Immediately. Before you finish your book. Before you finish your first draft, you should be marketing your book.

Oh, my god, if there was one thing I wish I had known a year ago, it's that you can never start marketing too soon.

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Why Should I Market So Soon?

First: everyone else is. This is when you should give in to peer pressure, because your peers are also likely your competition.

Follow some people on bookstagram or booktok to discover what other authors are doing, then learn to imitate the popular ones.

Second: you, an indie author, will need all the help you can get. There is no publishing firm to handle your PR; you must hustle.

Hustling includes giveaways, newsletters (hi, readers <3), promotions, creating reader magnets, book cover reveals, posting excerpts, and more.

So when you write a banger of a scene, post a snippet to your social media or website or both. Yes, later you might revise it—so what? Readers love getting a "behind the scenes" look at how the process works. If/when you decide to revise that passage, you can always post about that, too.

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Fine, I'll Market Now...But How?

There are three easy steps you need to take to start marketing.

Step one: Determine your budget. Even if it's as small as $20/month. Some expenses to track might be: a custom domain (I pay $10/year), website builder ($125/year), and advertisements.

Step two: Create an author website and/or landing page. Landing pages are catered toward a specific goal, like: buy this book! When creating a landing page, you will probably want to wait until your book is available for preorder.

Websites are broader and include things like an author bio.

Here, you might be thinking: An author bio? I don't have one! Never fear—I've tackled that subject already.

I use Wix for my website. I am not good with website building, and Wix is simple to navigate.

Step three: Create an author newsletter—I like Substack because it also has a social media element, and it's easy to find and read other people's newsletters.

I started my blog so that my author newsletter would have content, but you can also just post about your writing journey. People like reading about that, they really do.

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Once you've got your website and newsletter, you're off to a good start! You can begin building a reader base. You will also become more comfortable sharing your thoughts over time.