There are so many tools for authors nowadays, it is easy to feel lost in the sea of options. But have no fear. I have set out to document, review and recommend the best book marketing tools for authors in this series. Book marketing or book promotion can be a confusing term or process for a lot of authors. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to book marketing, but below I have compiled a list of my favorite book marketing tools that could help streamline your overall marketing plan.
1. Canva
If you’re building a platform online, that means creating a blog and social media profiles. People share content more frequently if it includes visuals — and social media posts that include images are more likely go viral. In fact, tweets with pic.twitter.com images are 94% more likely to be retweeted. But most authors are not graphic designers. It can be incredibly time consuming to create fancy images from scratch.
That’s where Canva can help. You can search from a library of images, backgrounds, layouts, and fun fonts to quickly drag-and-drop a unique design. They have templates for Facebook posts, presentations, posters, blog graphics, and more… even Kindle covers! That’s right – you can design your own book covers in Canva.
2) MailChimp for Mailing Lists and Email Templates
MailChimp is the go-to default for all small business owners, and authors are no exception. MailChimp provides an easy way to create templated emails and send them to your readers. The learning curve is gentle, so you can get going really quickly, but it’s also very powerful and feature-rich, so as you grow as an email marketer, MailChimp grows with you. It’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers, and there are a few premium features (like automation) that are only available if you upgrade, but once you’re over 2000 subscribers it’s still worth every penny. Out of the box, you get mailing list signup pages, a full suite of templates, and great customer support. As a bonus, MailChimp works with everything. Chances are that all your other book marketing tools directly plug into MailChimp. We’ve written about MailChimp before to show you how to set up automation in MailChimp and more generally about email marketing for authors.
- Cost: Free, up to 2,000 subscribers, some features are premium only
- Signup Link: www.mailchimp.com
- 3-second summary: Easy to use, powerful tool for sending emails to your readers.
3) Evernote (and Skitch) for General Organization
Everyone who writes a list like this one recommends Evernote and there’s a reason for that. It’s a superior tool for keeping track of notes and ideas. It has a range of functionality that is useful for all types of users, but there are a few specific reasons we like it for authors. At its core, Evernote is a way to keep track of notes. You make one Evernote account and all of your information will be accessible on the web and through their app, so you can reference your notes wherever you are. Even if your primary writing interface is something like Vellum or Scrivener, Evernote is always in your pocket. If you get struck by inspiration, it’s easy to pull out your phone and make a note. Note input is taken through typing, drawing (with your finger) or speech dictation so no matter how you take notes, Evernote will work with you. You can organize your notes into notebooks, so all your notes about Book A can stay in one notebook, which is separate from Book B. All notes are searchable and date stamped to keep them all organized.
- Cost: Free, premium features are $6.99 / month
- Signup Link: www.evernote.com
- 3-second summary: The ultimate note taking app, works on your phone, tablet, and computer.
4. Playbuzz
Polls can be an important part of your social media strategy. They can help you get:
- Free feedback on anything. Ask for fans’ opinions on your cover design, character names, book trailer, and so on.
- Inspiration for your next book. Learn more about your biggest fans and what sort of books they might be interested in reading next.
- Fodder for your next blog post. Ask your fans something, and then write a post about the results.
PlayBuzz is a free polling tool that lets you embed your poll directly on your website or on a blog post, and there’s no limit to the amount of responses you can get. The embedded poll also comes with a social sharing button so fans can recruit their friends to answer your poll question as well.
- Draft2Digital (D2D) 3.0 stars
This is a self-publishing platform that provides a wide distribution for your book. You simply set up an account and upload your manuscript. D2D handle publishing the book to retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Tolino, Vivlio and Amazon. It also includes eBook library distribution to networks such as Overdrive and Bibliotheca, as well as some subscription services. They charge 10% of the retail price of the book when it sells.FIND HERE: DRAFT TO DIGITAL
- KDROI 3.0 stars
Designed as a Chrome or Firefox Browser extension, KDROI is compatible with both Windows and macOS. It is a kindle marketing tool. KDROI is usually sold for a one-time fee of $137.31 AUD with unlimited updates. Currently it is available at a discounted price of $66.53. There is no free trial, but there is a 60-day imoney back guarantee.FIND HERE: KDROI
- publishdrive 2.5 stars
Indie authors use publishdrive. Its biggest advantage is as a tool for splitting royalties between publishing teams or co-authors. It distributes to Google Play and Kobo. It caters to the library market through Overdrive and Odilo, and some subscription services such as Scribd. The starting price is two titles on the platform for around $7 AUD per month.FIND HERE: PUBLISHDRIVE
- PublisherRocket 5.0 stars
This software provides information on keywords shoppers type into Amazon. It also provides information on the estimated number of times a keyword is typed. The cost of books that rank for that keyword and how many books are competing for that keyword is also detailed. It helps you find best-selling categories and how many sales you need to be the number one best seller. It costs $137.29 AUD to own outright, with a 30-day money back guarantee.FIND HERE: PUBLISHER ROCKET
9. Fiverr 4.0 stars
This is a freelance marketplace for graphics and design, digital marketing, writing and translation, video and animation, music and audio, programming and tech, business, and lifestyle. You can quickly find a service and set the turn around time. It works based on good feedback for the client and freelancer.FIND HERE: FIVERR
Conclusion
Knowing how to market your books is just as important as publishing them! As an author you will be managing your own marketing campaigns. I hope to teach you how with this guide.