3 Ways To Build A Fanbase For Your Books
- By DK WALKER
- Book Marketing, Podcast
Authors, are you thinking that building a fanbase for your books is hard? It’s not really, all it comes down to is having a few easy systems in place and being consistent adding content to those systems.
Most self-published authors struggle to sell books because they fail to build a fanbase for their books before actually writing them.
Before, not during, and definitely not after.
This is the number one reason that most self-published authors NEVER get around to writing their second book because, without readers to sell them to, you really have no need to write.
You lose interest, and now you have quite a few W.I.P.’s (works in progress) on your computer’s hard drive collecting dust.
So in order for that not to happen, here are 3 ways to build a fanbase for your books…
Attraction vs. Conversion: It’s easier to attract readers who are actively looking for your books than those who may have some interest, but not at that moment.
Slightly confused? No need to be…
Yes, there are some authors who have mastered the art of selling their books via social media. Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter. Sadly, they are in the minority.
The rest of the self-published authors who attempt to sale their books via social media can’t get past the latest trends, hashtags, being satisfied with likes, shares and comments only, and of course the dreaded… ALGORITHM.
You’ll likely go mad before you build a fanbase for your books for authors before you master any of the social media hoops you have to jump through 1st.
Yes, people who would love to read your books hangout on TikTok, Twitter, etc. But they are on those platforms to be entertained and NOT to buy (for the most part).
So most self-published authors spend their time wasting their marketing efforts trying to convert potential readers instead of attracting readers who are looking for their books.
Simply put, it’s easier to attract readers that are ACTIVELY LOOKING for your books, than convert a potential reader who isn’t thinking about you.
So that leads to you wondering how do you attract readers who are actively looking for you?
To build a fanbase for your books, read on…
Author Website: And as soon as you read this word I could literally hear a collective sigh. Ok, since you’ve breathed the bad air out, lets take a deep breath of the good air, meaning the good news.
Just need you to say it with me, ‘an author’s website is their best friend if they are looking to build a fanbase for your books.’ And here’s a list of the reasons why:
- You own your digital real estate (not a free website, but one you pay a hosting service for, either monthly, or once a year).
- You are not subjected to algorithms, hash tags, trends, your content possibly being pulled, or worse yet, your account getting deleted, and you being banned. Think of the rise and fall of Andrew Tate.
- You get to control the narrative of your story and what I mean by story is the way you sell your books.
An author’s website is their digital real estate that they own and should be their base of things. Yes, have a presence on Amazon, but remember you don’t own the process in which Amazon sales your books.
Let me share with you a hack you can readily implement. Earlier in this blog post I spoke of attracting your ideal reader instead of trying to convert a potential reader and here’s an easy way to do it.
First, if you’re using Google, get the chrome extension named Keywords Everywhere and install it. It’s a freemium extension so no cost to use it.
Second, Google a term that’s related to your books or genre. On the right of the page you will see that keyword data. And that data will tell you how often that genre related keyword has been searched the last 7 to 30 days.
If that keyword that’s related to your books or genre has been searched for in great volume, you now have a topic to write a short story about (keep searching for one that you can write a short story about easily).
(Of course you have to have your website set up for you to write blog posts and recognize what keyword you are trying to rank for. Its very easy and takes about 10 minutes to get up and running. Don’t let the tech scare you off. This is where the money is made at. I won’t go into details on the setup but click here to watch this video explaining the process.)
Third, at the end of that story, leave a call to action where the people who just read your short story can click on a link and buy your book(s).
Wanna go a step further to really build a fanbase for your books? Of course you do…
Do this process twice a month, at the end of a year where you’ve been consistent with this, you’ll now have 24 short stories. Add 6 more stories (yes they can be different, but DEFINITELY IN THE SAME GENERE) now you have 30 short stories.
Clean them up via editing and repurpose that content into another book you can sell.
Organic Traffic vs. Paid Ads: As you just finished reading, having a website is one great way creating organic traffic, social media is another. But the key to making organic traffic work is your commitment to it.
Will you show up everyday even when your numbers suck?
Will you find a way to produce content even when you feel creatively burned out?
Will you stay committed to the process long after the feeling has passed?
How bad do you really want to build a fanbase for your books?
Not trying to scare you, but these are the questions you have to honestly answer when going the organic route. Simple as that. Understand this and you are well on way to being a successful self-published author.
If you feel as though you will not be able to sustain the effort to build a fanbase for your books, but you still want to garner as much success as possible, then paid traffic is the way to go.
I’m nobody’s guru when it comes to running ads, but I do know someone who can teach you all that you will EVER need for just $7 a month. Her name is Laurel Portie and she is who the ad strategy gurus go to.
Click here to join her program (FYI, I’m NOT an affiliate marketer for Laurel’s $7 ad program. I’m just one of her students and can testify that she does phenomenal work)
So is building a fanbase for your books worth it to you? It should be, so don’t let a little work scare you off. If you wanna get even more information how to build a fanbase for your books, check out the podcast below…
I hope you enjoyed the show as much I loved bringing it to you. But before you go, please do me a huge favor and subscribe to my YouTube channel, leave a comment on what part of the podcast you received the most value from, and share the episode on any of your social media platforms. I would greatly appreciate the love and support.
See you next week!!!
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Unsure of where to find your ideal readers? Do you feel like your marketing efforts are falling flat, leaving you frustrated and overwhelmed?
It’s time to put an end to the guesswork, take control of your author journey, and start to consistently sell books with our comprehensive guide, The Self Publishing Target Marketing Cheat Sheet: Your Shortcut To Book Marketing Mastery.
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DK WALKER
DK Walker has been self-publishing for close to 20 years. These days, he helps other self-published authors become more productive, going from book idea to completed manuscript in 30 days or less with The Unfair Writing Advantage System. Design especially for authors who wants to STOP STRUGGLING as they write and increase their productivity dramatically.