How to Build An Author Platform

Hello creatives,

I’m diving into what many authors overlook: how to build their author platform. Truth be told, it’s easier than every to publish a book today. You could upload a pdf to a website and have it ready for the world to read in a few hours. But it’s never been harder to build a career out of writing than ever before.

Writers and authors don’t think about the marketing plan until a book is published, when in reality, a successful book launch requires building up your personal brand for at least 12 months before the book is published. Why? Because to be an author is to be an entrepreneur.

That’s a controversial statement, I know. But a book is a consumer product, just like any other. If you are selling it, it makes you an entrepreneur. And i’ve already covered in previous posts about how most forms of publishing require a lot of effort on the author’s part to actually market the book because small publishing houses don’t have the budget to handle it themselves. Usually, there isn’t a marketing budget at all.

So to help you build a successful book launch, I’m breaking down what a 12-18 month book marketing plan looks like.

18 Months Before the Book Is Published, Build Your Personal Brand

I know at this point, you may be deep into revisions, but this is crucial. Who are you going to be as a public figure, an entrepreneur, an author? Define your brand voice and aesthetic, which you’ll use for promoting yourself and you writing on social media. It’ll take trial and error as you get used to creating content, that’s okay.

Start building a list of blogs, YouTube channels and other types of content creators in your niche or similar to your niche as a writer. Also, build a list of other authors in your genre. Follow them and engage with their content. Later, you’ll work on pitching some collaborations with them.

14 Months Before the Book Is Published, Set Up Your Digital Ecosystem

Set up your website and buy your domain name. Don’t go cheap and use a wix.yourname.com site or something like that. You are a professional and your book deserves your best foot forward when presenting it to the world.

At a minimum, your website should have a homepage, about page and a link to a blog or your books. Now, pick 2 social media platforms that you feel you can get a good handle on and start building out a content strategy.

12 Months Before the Book Is Published, Set Up Your Business

This is where you should consult a legal or tax professional to determine what’s best for you. If you are self-publishing, consider setting up an LLC. If an LLC seems out of the question, at least get a separate account for all the finances associated with your book. You will thank yourself come tax season.

6-8 Months Before The Book Is Published, Begin Marketing Efforts

It may seem early to start marketing your book 6-8 months in advance, but if you want to get featured in magazines, blogs, podcasts, etc, editors handle content calendars on a quarterly basis so you’ll want to start pitching your book and yourself before publications fill their spots for guest or feature content.

You’ll also hopefully have been working with a graphic designer for your book cover and have some marketing materials ready by now to use to set up digital marketing campaigns ahead of the launch date. How much should you budget for this? That depends on your genre and what your goals are. I’d recommend consulting a professional about branding and marketing for your project.

3 Months Before The Book Is Published, Build The Hype

Hopefully, by now you will have landed spots on various blogs, podcasts and publications, maybe submitted your book to an award competition or two and have an Advanced Reader Copy ready for giveaways. This is also where you can collaborate with other authors who are promoting books in similar genres to yours and do a group launch event. Because books are not competitive products. Readers read more than one book per genre so book launch parties with your author friends are a great way to build up your audiences together!

Launch Day: Go Live, Have Fun

During launch day, go live on your social channels and have fun with your online community! Do more giveaways, have a Q&A, etc etc. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished.

Have a Post-Launch Strategy

Launch day is not the end of the journey, but the beginning. For authors who want to make a career out of writing, it’s important to keep the momentum going. Now that you’ve gone through the process of publishing a book, you can leverage your newfound experience to give back to other writers who want to be where you are. Build a thought leadership strategy and drop hints at the next book you’re working on.

Rinse and Repeat.

For career authors, this cycle will be on rinse and repeat for however long you plan to keep writing. I hope this was helpful as a jumping off point to get you started on your book marketing journey. If you’d like to consult with me on how to build your author platform, fill out the form and book a power hour here.

If you are an indie publishing house who needs a consultant to dial to help ramp up their marketing efforts for all their authors, a consulting package might be for you.

If you are a more experience author who wants a solid 12-month plan to use as you prepare for your next launch, an accelerate package might be for you.

Until Next Time,

Rochele