One of the primary advantages of social media over traditional media is bi-directional communication. Rather than just pumping messages into the ether and hoping some of them stick, social media gives you near instant feedback. You know how your words are construed and can engage with an active audience around them. This makes leveraging social media to improve eBook sales more readily accomplishable. Here are a few tips for doing so.
Drop Buzz-Worthy Teasers
Just finished a passage that made you particularly proud? Put it out there for your followers to salivate over. Ditto a really coolphoto, or some profound insight specifically calculated to get a discussion started among your friends. The more people talk about it, the more interest your book will garner, boosting your sales as a result. Be sure to include a hashtag easily tied to the subject of your book, so when people search for threads around the hashtag your book comes up.
Take Advantage of Twitter’s Pin Option
If you’re issuing multiple tweets over the course of a day, it’s very possible for the one about your book to get pushed so far down into your feed it’s no longer viewable at a glance. Pinning it at the topmakes the message the first thing anyone going through your thread comes upon when they look to see what you’ve been talking about lately. This can significantly improve the number of impressions you get on daily basis.
Always Use Photos
People always have been and always will be drawn to images. Social posts with images get 94 percent more attention than those without. The beauty of this when it comes to how to sell eBooks online is the cover is a picture. Post your book’s cover at every opportunity, create a banner with the image as its anchor and link it back to your blog or the site you establish to promote the book. This is the simplest and most effective means of attracting attention.
Engage Influencers
Identify the social media alphas in your genre’s pack and get them excited about your project. You’ll get a lot more attention on your book and you’ll find your reputation will benefit as well when people start associating you with those respected influencers. The good news is these people are always on the lookout for the next big thing to maintain their position. Help yourself by helping them—reach out politely with relevant content about your work.
Become Community-Minded
Start regularly contributing to communities in which people who’ll likely have an interest in your book spend time. However, before you dive in and establish an “I, Me, My” presence, recognize this approach requires finesse and a deft touch. It’s important to demonstrate value to the group if you want them to engage with you. In other words, it’s more about what you can give than what you can get — at first. If you manage this properly, when they learn you have a book, they’ll be happy to support you.
Sponsor Posts
In most cases, paying to play is a bad idea, like buying contrived reviews of your book to make it look better than it might be. On the other hand, advertising in social media can get your book in front of more than just your followers and friends. Further, you can target the ads to go specifically to people who have demonstrated an interest in books like yours in the past.
Leveraging social media to improve ebook sales is a smart tactic. Executed with grace, it can produce significant benefits. These tips will help you jumpstart the process.
