The Best Book Marketing Timeline for Indie Authors

There are several book marketing strategies to promote your book, but knowing what to do and when to do it can be overwhelming. Effective book marketing requires careful preparation as part of the publication process. This book promotion timeline for indie authors is intended for new writers. However, because all these methods are vital, you may begin implementing them regardless of where you are in the publishing process.

With so much information to digest and many strategies available, it is best to give yourself plenty of time to implement them. Having a marketing calendar specifically for book Promotion is a good idea to stay organized. Today, we will examine seven phases of the book marketing services timeline.

7 Phases of the Book Marketing Timeline

1. Before You Begin Writing
2. As You Begin Writing
3. While You’re Writing
4. While Your Book is Being Edited
5. Two Weeks Before Release
6. Release Date
7. Post Release
   
   
   Step 1: Before You Start Writing

Creating a detailed book promotion plan or author business plan will help you consider all the strategies and efforts necessary to market your book correctly. Success is measured differently, so it is essential to understand what it means for you.

Before creating a marketing plan, it’s a good idea to understand these questions, as they will affect your overall book Promotion strategy.

• Who is your target audience, and who did you have in mind when you created this book?
• What ambitions do you have for your book?
• How many books do you want to sell to make money if you wrote the book? (You may categorize this as pre-release, first month, first quarter, and first year.)
• If you authored the book to inspire people, how will you do so while positioning yourself as a subject matter expert?
• How will you assess the book’s professional credibility if you authored it?
• Determine your marketing budget and examine book marketing services.

Begin making a list of the tools you’ll need to sell, promote, and distribute your book. The majority of them will be listed in this post, but you are welcome to perform further research. Then, build your chronology on the one shown below. Begin by determining the release date of your book, then proceed backward. Feel free to modify this timeline to suit your requirements, and enjoy the voyage.


Creating a Timeline is Key

One of the finest advice I can provide to any author is to construct a timeline for your whole project, including the writing, publishing, and marketing phases. Treating each phase as a separate project is fine, but you should have an overview of the entire process to ensure that each phase is finished on time and under budget. A timetable helps you stay focused and reduces stress.

Step 2: As You Begin Writing

Use your discretion at this period to ensure that you concentrate on your writing. Consider the following exercises to prepare for writing or take a mental break.


Build Your Author Brand

To increase marketability, create a distinct author brand for social media, websites, and materials. A brand can be a logo, your name, or a series name, and it may include certain colors, font styles, or language. It may symbolize your book’s message. Think beyond the box.


Craft Your Book Metadata

Begin working on your book metadata, which includes the description and author profile. Learn about BISAC topic codes and select the most appropriate ones for your book before employing a book distribution service. It’s important to understand remuneration, printing expenses, and available resources. Amazon offers a Publisher Compensation Calculator to estimate earnings from various distribution channels.


Create Your Author Website

Develop a 5-page author website. Include an About the Author, About the Book, Blog, Contact the Author, and a Home Page. You may add pages as time passes, but this is all you’ll need to get started.


Build Your Email List

To create your email list, provide something in exchange for an email address (e.g., giveaway, contest, or free content). Include email registration forms on your website, social media pages, and email signatures. Connect with your list by sending a newsletter containing an article about your book’s message, some fascinating facts or news about the subject, and a promotion or giveaway for your future book. This plan should adapt as your following grows and your marketing skills improve.


Devise Your Social Media Strategy

Create a social media plan using one or two platforms that best fit your target demographic. Spending your effort mastering one social network is preferable to performing a mediocre job on numerous. Create a variety of memes, blogs, tweets, articles, and other content related to your book’s topic. 20% of your time should be spent advertising your book or engaging your fans in your publishing journey. 80% of the time, you should share information that is entertaining to your audience but does not promote your book.


Revise Your Social Media Strategy

Goodreads and YouTube are other social media platforms that should not be overlooked. While neither is a typical social networking site, they both provide similar strategies for attracting and retaining loyal followers and for marketing your business.

Goodreads allows writers to market and publicize their works while engaging with readers and fellow authors. It’s also an excellent resource for getting readers to review your work.

YouTube allows authors to submit and promote video content while also including searchable text in the body of each post. Authors should develop and routinely release thought-provoking videos. Reading extracts from your book and sharing a book trailer or author interview are effective strategies for marketing your book, message, and brand.

Step 3: While you are Writing (3-6 months)

When you take a break from writing and focus on book promotion, you will have a greater appreciation for your work, as most authors would rather write than promote. When you return to writing, you should have more endurance to finish your book.


Research Book Reviewers

Make a list of book review businesses and their needs. Send early review copies of your book to groups that demand unpublished content with long lead periods. Many reviewers, bloggers, and corporations like NetGalley accept early digital copies. Consider any influencers you know who might read and evaluate your book. This method should be maintained even after the release.


Start a Blog

Start blogging about your book’s subject matter and message. From now on, aim to create a blog article monthly.

Create a Media Kit

Make a media kit including information on the book, your background, a professional author photo, any book PR related to the project, and answers to frequent customer/media queries. Add this to your website’s ‘About You’ section.

Pre-Publishing Strategy Update

During these months, or sooner, you should take advantage of your author marketing platform by creating and publishing your book’s Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs). This copy can be sent to Book marketing Company, especially those requiring books to be received at least 90 days before publishing. Sending a book to a newspaper or magazine three to four months before publication indicates that the author/publisher is an experienced professional who knows the book industry.

Most importantly, having the release date set several months in advance allows the author to grow their following and prepare all aspects of their author platform for a successful book launch.


Consider Events

Determine whether you feel comfortable chatting with people face-to-face, in front of a camera, or over the phone during a live radio interview. This will assist in designing your book promotion approach and enable you to concentrate on your skills. If you are comfortable with public speaking, list book fairs, events, radio shows, and podcasts you should attend. You’ll know which events to attend as you chat with other authors and get more expertise. Put them on your marketing schedule.

While virtual events and technology have replaced in-person events, authors must rely on and adapt to technology more than ever. Writers’ conferences, book clubs, and blog tours are now the ‘virtual’ standard for authors. They also provide a low-cost and time-efficient way to develop your writing abilities and become a more successful author.


Apply to Book Awards

Before submitting to any book prizes, use this checklist to ensure the award is appropriate. Make sure you meet any deadlines and record them on your marketing calendar.


Step 4: While Your Book is Being Edited (1-2 months)

The importance of professionally editing your book cannot be understated, but you can work on implementing the following book marketing strategies while that’s happening.

Pick Your Dates

Finalize publishing and release dates and your pre-release plan. The promotion of your book is dependent on these dates, so timing is essential.

Consider How You’ll Sell Your Book

Create a book page on the author’s website and determine how to sell the book. You can include links to online merchants where your book is available. You may use shared purchase links to provide discounts to friends and family, organize promotions, or sell books at events. Readers purchase your book, Amazon sends it, and you receive payment. What is the best part? Even at discounted pricing, you might make more for every book sold.

Research Options for Help

Learn about book promotion businesses and the pre-release process. Several free and paid promotional companies can assist you with your book launch. Consider attending book tours, signings, and other author events, both digital and physical.


Start Creating Promotional Material

Create video content to market across social media, your website, and YouTube. Create and print collateral materials, such as bookmarks and sales papers. Use social media best practices to develop your following by creating memes, blog posts, tweets, and articles. Remember to favor quality above quantity, and consider using post-scheduling tools to assist speed the publication process.

Research Reviewers 

Your advertising operations should create some reviews, but collecting the rest is up to you. Be innovative and consistent. You can solicit reviews in many places, starting with friends, colleagues, alumni, and online review sources. You must wait for organic reviews to appear consistently to ask everyone to read and review your book. Your advertising activities should generate a proportion of reviews, but it is up to you to collect the rest. Be inventive and consistent.

Step 5: Two Weeks before Release

Successful book launches are key. Your rating, sales statistics, reviews, and general activity help develop momentum, awareness, and legitimacy.

Check Your Book Metadata

Once your book appears online, ensure all the metadata is correct.


Enhance Your Presence in Online Book Communities

Create an Amazon Author Central account and add your author profile, photos, and any book trailers. Connect your blog feed, allowing it to appear on your author page. Set up your Goodreads account and learn about its benefits.

Consider Advertising

Look for advertising opportunities that complement any promotional strategies underway. These ad opportunities can be in print or digital format. Ensure you evaluate all press kits to determine if their ad aligns with your demographics & if the spend justifies the potential reach.

Step 6:

Release Date

This time, it’s about maintaining momentum. Consider having multiple spinning plates in front of you. You must pay close attention to each dish to prevent it from collapsing to the ground.

Keep track of your Amazon rating and book numbers. If you achieve bestseller status, snap a screenshot of your book page with the Amazon emblem and share it on social media. While being a bestseller validates your pre-release effort, it’s important to prioritize regular monthly sales as your overall aim. If you’ve done a good job executing a strong book promotion plan, your statistics should remain rather stable.

Update your social media and website with information about the book’s publication. Also, ensure that any promotions and freebies are offered.

Ensure you’ve created shareable purchase links to distribute to friends, family, followers, and others.

Step 7: Post-Release Checklist Approach local bookstores about carrying your book. If they agree, send local customers into that store to buy your book.

Follow up with each strategy on the timetable to check that all tasks have been performed. It’s OK to approach and follow up with folks who still need to answer or were originally indifferent. People are more likely to participate if their book sells.


Conclusion:

In conclusion, navigating the intricate landscape of book marketing as an indie author demands a strategic and well-coordinated approach. The outlined book promotion timeline serves as a guide, offering a structured path from the initial stages of writing to post-release endeavors. Emphasizing the significance of pre-planning and organization, the timeline underscores the importance of setting clear goals, understanding target audiences, and allocating resources effectively. By meticulously following the seven distinct phases, authors can maximize their chances of success in promoting their work. For ‘Book Publishing Pros‘, adherence to this meticulous timeline ensures the effective promotion of individual books and contributes to building a strong and reputable brand within the publishing industry.