I would never presume to give tips to authors. But, PR by the Book’s Author to Influencer Accelerator designed this list for World Book Day, which is Thursday, April 23 (Shakespeare & Cervantes both died that day). However, my blog is booked with What Are You Reading? for World Book Day. So, I’m going to pass on these tips today.
And, good luck to all the authors out there. I know it’s not the best of times for anyone, but certainly not for you.
5 Tips for Authors to Promote during COVID-19
1. Pitch to media strategically
Despite the total saturation of the media, there are still ways that you can break through the noise with your pitches. People are looking for distractions from the scary hard news and many will spend extra time at home reading books, getting caught up on their wishlist of titles, so play to this need.
2. Engage with your fans on social media
People are spending much more time on social media. This creates an opportunity for social media promotions with lots of “lives” since people at home will be scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
3. Audit content that you have put out in the past
Most people have never heard of a social media audit. But, how can you know what content to post if you don’t know how your content is performing? Most social media platforms make it easy to look at metrics, so you shouldn’t have to spend too much time tracking down numbers.
Once you know which types of content are performing the best, then you can tailor your future content and post more of what resonates with your audience.
4. Take time to develop new content
When you have extra time on your hands – like now, one of the best things you can do is create content that you can release in the future. Consider breaking down your book’s major points into bite size pieces. You shouldn’t give away all your book’s secrets, but you can share important bits of information to entice readers into wanting more and positioning yourself as an authority in those areas.
5. Build out a content calendar
Once you have content ready to go, it’s best to organize it by using a content calendar. If you plan out what you are posting in advance, releasing content on a daily basis won’t be nearly as overwhelming.
