Raise your hand if you waited until you hit “publish” on Amazon to start thinking about how to get the book launch results that author dreams are made of.

If you’re a traditionally published author, you might not have thought about it at all. You expected your publisher to do whatever was needed to make sure readers discovered your book. No need for you to get involved. (Whoops.)

You were probably disappointed with your launch results, too.

Let’s turn that around. It starts with taking specific book marketing steps while you’re still writing.

Discovery is key

I understand the challenge. It’s hard enough to find time to write the book. Making room in your schedule (and mind) for book marketing while writing might seem like too much of a challenge.

But you have to — even if it means it takes a little longer to finish writing.

If you don’t start laying the groundwork you need to sell books before your manuscript is done, your book launch results will be dismal, discouraging, and disappointing.

Your book won’t be discovered on launch day or any other time of the year unless you goose the discovery process. That work starts early.

9 early steps to improving your book launch results

Here are nine steps to take while still writing that will help lay the groundwork for success.

Take on just one at a time. Fit in what you can, when you can.

If you do this, you’ll have several of your book marketing basics in place by the time your manuscript is done. That will set you up for a better, more successful launch.

1. Learn as much as you can about book marketing.

Read a book. Take a course.

Identify the bloggers who are publishing book marketing information you can trust. Subscribe to their newsletters.

In addition to my newsletter, I recommend:

• Kindlepreneur
• Author Marketing Experts
• The Nonfiction Authors Association
• Reedsy

2. Get clear on who will love your book.

That’s your target audience, the people you wrote your book for.

If you’ve written a nonfiction book, your target audience is people who are interested in that topic. But what do you know about them?

Many novelists tell me they wrote the book they’d like to read. It makes sense, then, that their ideal reader – their target audience – is people who are like them. (That’s not always the case – it’s just an example.)

3. Research your target audience.

Learn as much as you can about the person who is most likely to buy your book.

This will help you visualize your audience “avatar” – the one individual who best represents those who will love your book.

Next, do more research to learn where you’ll find them online and offline. For example, do people in your target audience use TikTok? Will you find them on LinkedIn? Do they like Pinterest?

4. Build a following on the social network that most of your audience uses. 

Your research into your target audience helped identify where you’ll find them online. Select one or two social networks that are most popular with your audience and learn how to use them effectively.

After you’ve spent some time learning how they work, start following “the right” people there.

Try this: Find the most popular authors in your genre. Follow them, and follow the people who follow them, too. (If they like the types of books the category leader writes, they’ll be interested in yours, too.)

And, of course, share content that will interest your ideal readers.

5. Connect with bloggers. 

Virtual book tours (author blog tours) are common and popular book launch elements.

When you “go” on a virtual book tour after your book is published, you’ll ask bloggers who reach the people you want to reach to share content that’s related to your book. That might be a:

• Guest post
• Q&A
• Audio or video interview
• Book review

You will be far more successful with bloggers who already know who you are. So, after you’ve identified the blogs you’ll want to visit on your tour, comment on and share their posts regularly.

They’ll notice you.

6. Build an email list.

Start gathering email addresses now. This is a never-ending process and for many, that growth is slow. So don’t wait.

Be sure to offer a downloadable gift – a “lead magnet”– in exchange for each email address. (Get ideas for fiction lead magnets and nonfiction lead magnets and learn how to create them at those links.)

Learn how successful authors use email to communicate with their readers by subscribing to their newsletters. What do you like about their approach? What do you dislike?

I also recommend reading Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.

7. Compile a list of “key influencers.”

Who is most influential with your book’s target audience? You’ll want to ask them to endorse your book after the manuscript is polished and finished.

Begin gathering names and contact information for them now. That’s all – just figure out who they are and how to reach them, and save it all in a file.

8. Create a Facebook Page.

I’m not talking about a Facebook profile – that’s your personal account where you acquire “friends.” I’m referring to a business Page where you acquire “likes.”

You’ll need a Page to advertise on Facebook, but it’s also a good way to establish your book’s presence on this popular social network without annoying your friends.

Use it to solicit opinions on your book’s topic, share progress updates, ask fans to vote on cover options, and so on.

9. Add your book title to your e-mail signature.

It doesn’t get any easier than just typing “Author,” followed by your book title.

Which one of these will you start doing today? Will you pick the easiest or the hardest?

Do what works for you, but whatever you do, be sure to do it now.

What’s the most important thing you did before you launched your book? Please tell us in a comment. 

TikTok is a social media platform for creating and sharing short videos. BookTok is a TikTok subculture for books and readers. Book lovers create opinionated and entertaining video book reviews, sharing them with the #BookTok hashtag so readers can find them.

BookTok for book marketing is big – but will it help you?

Who’s on TikTok?

Before adding TikTok’s BookTok to your book marketing plan, you need to know if your ideal readers are active on that social network.

TikTok is popular primarily with Gen Z (24 and younger); they make up 41% of its users. That means that 59% of the app’s users are millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers.

Only 2 percent of boomers report using TikTok, though, so if that’s who you write for, don’t spend time figuring out how to use BookTok for book marketing. Put your social media time into Facebook, the most popular social network for that age group.

(Remember this when you continue to see articles and other commentary about how authors must be using TikTok and BookTok for book marketing.)

If you write for a young adult audience, you need to master this social network. Your readers are waiting for you there.

The press is buzzing about BookTok

What else do you need to know about BookTok on TikTok? Here’s a roundup of what publications are saying about the trend and why it’s important to authors.

“TikTok for Viral Book Marketing,” Publishers Weekly

This guest commentary was written by a co-founder of Big Black Chapters, a marketing resource for indie authors of color. Scroll down to the “TikTok’s online book community” subhead and read from there to learn why it’s important and get tips for using it.

“TikTok is driving book sales. Here are some titles #BookTok recommends,” NPR

This excellent overview of the types of book videos shared on TikTok points out that it’s word-of-mouth marketing at its best. We all want to write books that are so good that others do the marketing for us.

Worth noting: BookTok is turning older books (“backlist titles” in publishing parlance) into best-sellers. Remember, though, that TikTok reviewers have to discover your books before they rave about them.

“The rise of BookTok: meet the teen influencers pushing books up the charts,” The Guardian

Watch the BookTok videos in this article to get a sense of what these book lovers are creating and sharing. (If you’re like me, you might get a few ideas for what to read next, too.)

“BookTok has passion—and enormous marketing power,” The Economist 

Not convinced yet? In this article, one publisher describes BookTok as an “absolute phenomenon.” The writer points out that many of the reviews are so emotional that they might make “fogeyish literary types” roll their eyes.

Some of us might see that as a good thing.

“How Crying on TikTok Sells Books,” The New York Times

Get insights into how and why the BookTokkers create videos that go viral and sell books. It’s also fun to read author reactions to sales surges that seemed to come out of nowhere, and how they feel about the source.

“BOOKTOKERS ARE COMPLETELY CHANGING PUBLISHING,” Mic.com

Check out the reviewers profiled as “11 of the best BookTok accounts to follow.”

How to use BookTok for book marketing

The first thing you need to do is use TikTok yourself.

Research how to do that online. For example, there’s good advice from one of the Young People in “How to Use BookTok: A Guide for Authors and Publishers” at the Literary Ladies Guide site. Or, take a course. Register for a free Udemy account, then watch your email for a sale that will get you a discount on one of the TikTok courses.

You can create videos for your own book, but is it possible to get a BookTokker to review your book instead?

Most authors writing for a younger audience or who write mainstream fiction would be thrilled if a BookTokker reviewed their book. That starts with a top-quality book, which is usually the norm with a traditionally published book. If you’re self-published, your book needs to look and read like there’s a big-name publisher behind it.

The quickest route to reaching influential TikTok reviewers is hiring a specialist or agency offering this service.

Going all D-I-Y

Or, you can do it yourself.

Identify the up-and-coming reviewers who are still building a following. Begin to establish relationships with them. Support them by liking, commenting on, and sharing their videos.

And, note that these enthusiastic reviewers like to hold a print book, so if your book is only available as an e-book, getting BookTok reviews might not be a realistic goal. (Or, once you immerse yourself in the platform, you might find some who do review e-books.)

Eventually, you might be in a position to contact a few reviewers personally with a direct message. But first put the time into using the app yourself and supporting the reviewers who love the kinds of books you write.

There’s no question that BookTokkers are having a profound impact on book sales. If you start small and you’re patient, you might enjoy some of that success yourself.

Or, you might just have a lot of fun learning how to create short videos. That’s good, too!

Do you use TikTok and BookTok for book marketing? What’s working for you? Please tell us in a comment.

With user-created videos that typically involve singing or dancing, the social network even gets credit for turning Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” into a hit.

It’s all the rage now, to the point where even the “Today Show” anchors have jumped on board. Nothing says “we’re mainstream” quicker than baby boomer Al Roker showing up on the app in a dance video.

Before the old folks scare the youngsters off the platform (Facebook, anyone?), let’s dig into the numbers behind TikTok to see if you should be using it for your book. Here are the TikTok demographics for authors.

Who is using TikTok?

• Worldwide, half of its users are younger than 34.
• 60 percent of its monthly U.S. users are 16- to 24-year-olds.
• In the U.S., 26 percent of users are between the ages of 25 and 44.
• Also in the U.S., 80 percent of users are 16 to 34.
• 60 percent of the U.S. users are female.
• Just over half – 56 percent – of all users are male.
• There are 60 million active monthly users in the U.S.
• There are an estimated 800 million monthly active users worldwide and 1.5 billion total (versus active) users.

Where are TikTok’s users located?

• The app is available in 154 countries.
• Over 500 million of its monthly active users are Chinese.
• Users in India account for almost one-third of its downloads – 467 million times.

How much time do users spend on the app?

• Most – 90 percent – use the app more than once a day.
• 29 percent open the app daily.
• Users spend 52 minutes on the app each day.

Should you be using TikTok?

The question to answer now is: Is it likely that your ideal reader is using this video platform?

If you’re targeting a young audience and have mastered the art of the short video, this might be a good fit for your book. If it is, don’t wait too long to figure out how to use it effectively. What’s popular today can lose favor by tomorrow.

EDITED TO ADD: A reader has reminded me that there have been security concerns about the TikTok app. He works in internet security; here is his wise message to all of us: “May I respectfully request that you advise your email list that TikTok may not be a safe app/site to use when personal information is kept on the same device.” Please keep this in mind.

Are you using TikTok? What do you like most about it?

Sources:

https://mediakix.com/blog/top-tik-tok-statistics-demographics/

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tiktok-stats

https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/