It’s always been hard to get your book discovered, but with the growth of self-publishing, it’s even more difficult.

UNESCO estimates that globally today, 2.2 million new titles are released every year.

Yowza.

In today’s saturated market, understanding how readers discover books can make a significant difference in your success. The more you know about this, the better able you are to focus your efforts in the right places.

Here’s your guide to understanding how readers discover books so you’re better able to get yours in front of them.

Recommendations

Good word of mouth makes a big, big difference.

Personal recommendations from friends and family are influential because they come from trusted sources. We love sharing books we’ve enjoyed; that creates a ripple effect that can greatly boost your book’s visibility.

You’re probably familiar with this from your own reading habits. If a friend likes the same types of books you do, you pay attention when they say, “I loved this book and I think you will, too.”

Recommendations also come from online communities and platforms. Goodreads is the most vibrant community for readers. It’s where they discuss their latest reads, offer recommendations, and create reading lists.

For example, when one of my daughter’s friends and I discovered we loved the same books while talking at a wedding, she quickly jumped to, “Are you on Goodreads? Let’s connect there!” It’s a great way for us to quickly see not only what each other is reading, but whether we like those books, too.

Other influential online gathering places for readers include Facebook (it has groups dedicated to readers of nearly every book niche imaginable), Library Thing, Riffle Books, and Reddit, among others.

Engaging with these communities can help your book reach a wider audience.

Collaborations

One of the best – and possibly most overlooked – ways to get discovered by more of the right readers is to collaborate with authors and other types of product or service creators who already reach your target audience.

A newsletter swap is an easy way to collaborate. You and an author who reaches your audience recommend each other’s books to your newsletter subscribers.

You can also swap guest blog posts, host Q&As, or plan Instagram or Facebook Live events for each other’s followers.

Online platforms

Online platforms and their algorithms are key players in book discovery today, too. Selling your book on Amazon is a no-brainer. It’s where most people who buy books online buy them. It’s also where they review them.

They review them on Goodreads, too, so in addition to using Goodreads as a reader, you’ll want to claim your author account there so you’re more directly connected to your book on that site.

The same goes for BookBub, which is both a site and service created specifically to help readers discover more of the books they enjoy reading.

These options are all pivotal for book recommendations because they use complex algorithms to suggest books based on a reader’s past behavior and preferences.

When you list your book on these platforms and optimize your metadata on each, you enhance your book’s discoverability.

Reviews

You also know that reviews and ratings on these platforms are important.

Positive reviews can boost your book’s ranking and visibility, while detailed feedback can help potential readers decide to pick up your book.

Don’t expect them to happen organically, although that can and does happen, of course. Instead, encourage your readers to leave honest reviews that will help you maintain a steady flow of new readers.

Traditional and digital media

Media coverage, both traditional and digital, significantly impacts book discovery. This news media attention known as publicity can help your book reach a broader audience.

Don’t overlook the power of magazine and newspaper reviews; they’re still influential, especially with older demographics.

Visibility in online publications and blogs has become essential because readers turn to trusted bloggers and online magazines for book recommendations.

Trade magazine publicity – both reviews and interviews – can be important for certain nonfiction books, so be certain to explore that.

Securing coverage on popular book blogs can drive significant interest and sales, but so can interviews and guest posts on subject/topic blogs.

For example, if your romance novel is set in Door County, Wisconsin, pitch Door County bloggers (yes, they exist, I checked) on a review or Q&A with you on why you chose that setting.

Podcast publicity is increasingly important for authors, too, as more and more people are drawn to the specificity of podcasts. As with blogs, pitch an author interview with book podcasts, but also approach topic podcasters, as well.

Social media

As we’ve seen with BookTok on TikTok, social media has revolutionized how readers discover books.

Social media didn’t exist when my first book was published.

It was a humor book that took a lighthearted look at male behavior, explaining to women why men do what they do or say what they say. The topic is perfect for social media, so I can only imagine the impact these platforms would have had on sales.

Today, in addition to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are homes to vibrant book communities that actively share and discuss their latest reads.

Instagram hosts book group accounts (think Reese’s Book Club), YouTube has BookTube, and Facebook (mentioned above) is home to lots and lots and lots of genre readers groups.

Reader communities also have their own gathering place on Twitter/X with Twitter Communities.

Are your readers on Threads? That newer social network lets users create groups (Book Threads) that become mini-communities, too.

The best way to work toward book visibility in any online group is to become an active member and participant first. Showing up as a marketer, especially before you understand a group’s vibe and personality, is a waste of time.

Bookstores and libraries

Let’s not overlook how many people rely on browsing through physical bookstores and public libraries for books they might enjoy.

Fact is, while many self-published authors release only as e-books, most people still prefer physical books. Even Gen Zers prefer that format.

Curated displays in both stores and libraries plus bookstore staff recommendations can spotlight your book to new audiences.

Case in point: When I attended an NYU School of Professional Studies webinar on how Braiding Sweetgrass became a best-seller six years after it was published, I learned it was through the power of independent bookseller recommendations. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

As for libraries, many readers rely on them almost completely for reading material. That means library programs that include “lunch and learns,” book clubs, and author talks can introduce your book to new-to-you readers.

What can you do today to get better plugged in to your local library’s programs?

In-person engagement

One of the best ways to maximize discovery and good word of mouth, though, is meeting readers in person, face to face.

Author signings, book tours, presentations, and literary festivals allow you to connect with your audience directly on a personal level. These events create memorable experiences that can turn attendees into loyal readers.

Virtual events. including virtual book tours, webinars, and summit workshops. have also become popular, especially since the pandemic.

They offer the advantage of reaching a global audience without the need for travel. Participating in or hosting virtual events can help you connect with readers from different parts of the world, too.

Advertising

Paid advertising on Amazon, where readers are looking for books, can pay off under the right circumstances. Many authors also have success advertising on Facebook, where they can target specific demographics and interests.

Both options help your book reach potential readers who are likely to be interested, as long as your Amazon detail/sales page is “optimized” and you understand how to create and buy effective ads.

How will readers discover books by you?

Considering how many ways authors discover your books, where should you put your efforts to make sure yours gets found?

There’s no pat answer for this. With the exception of selling on Amazon, what will make the most difference for one author might not be the best choice for another.

For example, novelists get more traction on Goodreads than nonfiction authors do. And, some authors are so uncomfortable with in-person events that while they’re great for visibility, they’re not worth the stress.

Choose your discoverability channels – social media, publicity, advertising, and so on – according to where you’ll find your readers, your skills, and your interests.

But do something. Don’t wait to be discovered. You have to make it happen.

FAQs about how readers discover books

1. How important are personal recommendations in helping readers discover books?

Personal recommendations are incredibly influential in book discovery.

Readers often trust friends, family, and even online communities like Goodreads for book suggestions. These recommendations create a ripple effect that can significantly boost a book’s visibility, as people love sharing books they enjoyed.

Engaging with these communities can help authors connect with potential readers and spread the word about their books.

2. How can collaborating with other authors help in book discovery?

Collaborating with other authors can be a highly effective way to reach new readers.

Authors can participate in newsletter swaps, guest blog posts, or co-host events like Instagram Lives or Q&As. These collaborations allow authors to tap into each other’s audiences, increasing exposure to readers who are already interested in similar genres or topics.

This strategy can be particularly powerful in niche markets.

3. Why is a presence on platforms like Amazon and Goodreads crucial for authors?

A presence on platforms like Amazon and Goodreads is crucial because these sites are primary destinations for readers searching for books.

These platforms use algorithms to recommend books based on user behavior and preferences. By listing their books and optimizing metadata on these platforms, authors can enhance their discoverability.

Reviews and ratings on these sites also play a significant role in attracting potential readers, making it essential for authors to encourage reviews.

4. What role does traditional and digital media play in book discovery?

Traditional and digital media can significantly impact book discovery by reaching broad and targeted audiences.

Media coverage, such as magazine and newspaper reviews, remains influential, especially among older demographics. Digital media, including blogs and online publications, offer a more accessible and often cost-effective way to gain visibility.

Authors can pitch to book blogs, podcasts, and online magazines to secure reviews, interviews, and features, driving interest and sales.

5. How can social media influence book discovery, and which platforms are most effective?

Social media has revolutionized book discovery by creating vibrant communities where readers share and discuss their favorite books.

Platforms like TikTok (BookTok), Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and newer networks like Threads have dedicated spaces for book lovers. Authors can build a presence on these platforms, participate in discussions, and engage with readers.

The key is to be an active and genuine participant rather than solely promoting books. Each platform has unique features that can be leveraged, such as Instagram’s visual appeal, TikTok’s short video format, and Facebook’s extensive group communities.

What are you doing to get discovered that’s working for you? Please tell us in a comment.

Authors often think that writing the book is the hard part . . . until they discover they have to market it, too.

This comes as a shock to many — especially those with traditional publishing contracts who expect the publisher to take care of it.

It doesn’t work that way.

Regardless of the publishing model used, all but the very top-tier authors have to invest significant time and energy into book marketing. Once new authors realize this, they inevitably ask, “Where do I begin?”

Start your book marketing with these 5 steps

You begin by understanding that your goal is to figure out what works for your book and what doesn’t. Do more of what does work and less of what doesn’t.

In addition, know that book marketing requires the same slow, steady, and consistent effort that went into writing your book. You might not see instant results, but if you’ve written a good book and you’re supporting it with the right tactics, you’ll see progress and results.

Here are the first steps to take to make sure you reach the right readers with your book’s messages, whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

1. Identify your ideal reader.

Who will love your book? (Pro tip: It’s not everybody.)

You can’t skip this step. Most of what you do to promote your book will be a waste of time if you aren’t promoting to the people who enjoy books like yours.

If you wrote the book for yourself, then your ideal reader might be people like you.

Learn as much as you can about that target audience.

You want to know your ideal reader’s:

• Demographics — age, gender, marital status, geography/location, income range, etc.
• Psychographics — lifestyle, life stage, hobbies/interests, etc.

Use this information to learn where you’ll find them online and in the real world.

For more on this, read “The formula for more sales” on this blog.

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

Most authors skip this step. (Bad move.)

Instead of studying how to promote a book and what tactics will reach their book’s ideal reader — their target audience — they copy what they see others doing.

As a result, unless the author you’re mimicking (a) writes books that your target audience reads and (b) is successful, that approach won’t get you very far. You want to do what works for your book, not anyone else’s.

The process for that is:

• Know who will love your book
• Know where to find those people
• Know which book marketing strategies and tactics will help you reach the right readers where they are

To give you a head start, my just-updated and revised “Book Marketing 101 for Fiction” and “Book Marketing 101 for Nonfiction” e-courses teach you all of that — and more. Each course relies on my hands-on experience as well as my work teaching hundreds of authors how to save money by learning what to focus on for their book — and what they can leave behind.

Whether you learn it from one of my courses or somewhere else, your goal is to be clear on what will work for your book and your audience — not what works for anyone else.

3. Pick one tactic and master it.

After learning as much as you can about how to market your book, pick the one tactic you think is the best fit for you and your book based on:

• Your ideal reader/target audience
• What you do best
• Your personality
• The amount of time you have available

For example, I might tell you as your book marketing coach that public speaking will help you sell more copies of your memoir. But, if the thought of public speaking frightens you more than snakes frighten me (and that’s a lot!), then that tactic won’t work for you.

But, if I suggest that you use guest blogging to promote that memoir and you enjoy writing, that might be where you start.

There’s no point in putting your effort into learning how to do anything you already know isn’t a good fit for your time, interests, or skills.If you don’t like doing it, you’re not going to make the time for it, right?

4. Track your results

Once you’ve mastered the tactic and begun implementing it, monitor your book sales.

Is it working? Are you selling books?

If it’s helping you sell books, do more of it.

If it isn’t, there are two likely reasons:

• You aren’t executing it properly.
• It’s not the right tactic.

For example, I see many authors complain that Facebook ads don’t work.

I also see their ads.

Trust me, it’s not the tactic.  It’s the execution.

If you’ve nailed the execution and it still isn’t working, try another tactic.

5. Take your time.

Many authors mistaken believe that they need to achieve category best-seller status on Amazon within the first week of publication.

If that doesn’t happen, they feel like failures.

The only way you can fail with your marketing is if you sit around expecting your book to sell itself.

It won’t.

You need to make things happen. And that takes time. Plan for that.

It also requires that you make book marketing a priority. Schedule time to do it every week, then stick with that schedule.

Stuff happens

Finally, don’t worry about making mistakes. We all make mistakes. It’s how we learn. What matters most is that you try. Because if you don’t, the people you wrote your book for won’t learn about it. They won’t read it. They won’t love it.

Give them the chance to discover your book.

Do one thing right now that will contribute to your book marketing. You won’t regret it.

What do you need to learn how to do to market your book effectively? Tell us in a comment. 

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

In the May 30, 2018 post, you learned “How to write an op-ed column or essay.” Now I’ve got a resource that will help you place that op-ed.

This list at the Op-Ed Project website (a wonderful resource for authors who understand the value of this communications tool) provides submission guidelines and an email contact for more than 100 print and online publications that accept opinion essays.

While you’re on that site, be sure to explore all that the Op-Ed Project can offer you. A well-written op-ed can have an impact on the people you want to influence.

What’s more, Invesp, an an online marketing services firm, reports that 92 percent of social marketers are using Facebook advertising.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

I’m thinking that advertising on Facebook could be a good strategy for many authors.

“Where do I begin?”

But if you’re new to this, as so many authors are, the question is, “Where do I begin?”

That leads to: What works with Facebook ads? What doesn’t work?

And . . . How do I figure it all out?

The best way to start is to decide to invest in learning how to do it. You will need to invest time, energy, and probably some money if you want to learn how to do it right.

And you do want to learn how to do it right. Otherwise, you’ll waste nearly every dollar you spend on this massive social networking site with 1.13 billion daily active users. What’s the point of using Facebook ads if you’re throwing your money away?

Because I’m connected to hundreds of authors on Facebook, I see a lot of ads. I’m going to be honest here: Most are bad. As in, really bad. I’ve seen ads with:

• Typos
• No “call to action,” meaning, something that tells me what you want me to do now that I’ve seen your ad.
• Confusing imagery.
• Videos that are so author-focused that I start to feel sorry for the authors.

I’m no advertising expert, but I’m in touch with what motivates me as a consumer. When it comes to books, it’s not spelling mistakes, vague or confusing messages, and videos that are all about the author and nothing about what the book will do for me, the reader.

3 ways I’m learning about Facebook advertising

And because I’m not an advertising expert, I’m learning about Facebook advertising at the same time you are. Here are the three things I’m doing to get as smart as I possibly can before I spend a single dollar on ads:

1. Taking a Udemy course. I’m working my way through “Facebook Ads & Facebook Marketing Mastery Guide 2017” (affiliate link). I’m watching the videos while walking on the treadmill, which is something of a two-fer, right? (UPDATE: Carol Dunlop reminded me in a comment below about Facebook’s training. Thanks, Carol!)
2. Maintaining a “swipe” file. I save both good and bad Facebook ads on my smartphone with a screen grab when I see them in my newsfeed. Most of my good examples aren’t from authors, though. They’re from successful information products marketers or marketing services firms. Start looking for ads from companies and products whose pages you’ve liked, and grabbing screen shots of those that you think communicate well or motivate you to take action.
3. Looking for information online. I’m interested in finding articles that help me understand what I should be learning about or paying more attention to.

Articles on Facebook advertising for authors

Here are some articles that you might find helpful as a starting point or to fill in some gaps in your knowledge. I’ve provided the title and first paragraph; click on the title to read the entire article:

Facebook Ads: A Guide for Indie Authors: As the number of social media networks continues to grow, indie authors have more and more platforms on which to spread the word about their books. But the granddaddy of all social networks is still Facebook, which boasts more than 1.65 billion active users per month, according to VentureBeat. And it’s this huge user base that makes Facebook an ideal destination for self-published authors looking to market their books and build their readerships.

This is How You Use Facebook to Sell Books: I read the recent DBW piece “Why Facebook Cannot Help You Sell Books” with surprise, and I respectfully disagree with its contentions. I’m pretty much the definition of a midlist author: I write full-time, I’ve hit a few Amazon best-seller lists over the last couple years, and readers seem to enjoy my books. I was making a very good income with the usual forms of advertising throughout 2014—BookBub and the other advertisers, permafree first in series, etc.—but when I turned on my first Facebook ads I immediately saw a massive spike in business.

(Note: The article above is by Facebook ad course instructor Mark Dawson, who offers three free short training videos here.)

How to Use Facebook Ads to Sell More Books: This is the third post in the series to show authors how Facebook Ads Marketing can help sell more books as well as build a viable author platform . . . . In this third post, I will be dealing with how authors can use Facebook Ads and it’s extensions to sell books and grow a sizable author platform.

Day 12: Keep Your Facebook Fans Warm With a Boosted Post: One of the chief purposes of marketing these days is all about keeping your fans and followers warm. A warm audience is a marketing phrase that designates a group that has already opted in to one of your marketing platforms. They have signed up for an email list, liked your Facebook page, or claimed an offer on your website. One of the best ways to keep your Facebook fans warm and engaged is to consider an occasional boosted post.

3 case studies

These “how I did it” case studies from authors are helpful, too:

Facebook Ads: One Author’s Experience: British indie author David Penny shares a case study of his own Facebook advertising campaign, which he’s using to promote the first in his historical crime thriller series, The Red Hill, set in medieval Moorish Spain.tip of the month

My Tale of Boosting a Facebook Post: Many authors I know are hesitant to spend money on Facebook advertising. Without a clear correlation between ads and sales, it can be hard to shell out cash when you don’t know if you’ll see a return on your investment.

Case Study: Amazon Best Selling Book in Just One Day – With Facebook Ads: Meet a contrarian author, H. Ann Ackroyd of TransomPress.com, a Historical Fiction writer. She is one of the authors who took me up on my One Hour Book Marketing And Author Platform Strategy Call. Ann isn’t like any other Historical Fiction writer; she writes her two books in a rhythmic prose format, which isn’t a common phenomenon among authors in the same book genre.

I tend to learn by doing, but this is a big and complicated topic, so I decided to invest in a course rather than use the teach-myself approach.

If you’re using Facebook ads without any training, I’d encourage you to pause your campaigns and commit to learning more about best practices so you get the most for your Facebook advertising dollars.

Are you running Facebook ads? Please us about your experience in a comment. Are they working? What’s your best tip?

Tip of the Month

I always share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

This month I recommend a free and short e-book that I know you’ll find helpful.

Kathleen Gage’s Hit #1 on Amazon walks you through the process she follows to get the top category position for her books. (Note that’s category best-seller status, not all-of-Amazon best-seller status.)

Use my affiliate link to get your free digital download of Hit #1 on Amazon immediately.

Kathleen’s advice applies to fiction and nonfiction. I’d love to see you give it a shot.