How to use book awards and reviews in your book marketing campaign
Book Award Pro
Book awards and reviews are some of the most modern, effective marketing tools available to authors today. With over 2 million books published every year, book marketing is essential if you want to stand out from the crowd. This makes it especially important for authors to understand how to use book awards and reviews in your book marketing campaign.
The good news? Marketing your book doesn’t have to be complicated. With tools like Book Award Pro you can become a notable, award-winning author and maximize the benefits of book marketing.
How to use book awards and reviews in your book marketing campaign
Anything you do to spread the word about your book, engage with readers, and reach out to new audiences contributes to your marketing campaign. Book marketing activities are vital not only to sell more books, but also to establish yourself as a notable author and open doors to exciting literary opportunities.
Smart authors implement a combination of the following tools in their book marketing campaigns:
Awards
Book awards grace the cover of your book and tell the world your book is verifiably excellent. There are thousands of award opportunities for authors of all styles, genres, and publication types. Awards catch buyer attention on a bookshelf or online listing, but from a marketing standpoint, they do much more. You can use book awards to fuel reader interest through story marketing, but more on that later.
Finding, submitting to, and tracking all those award opportunities can be a big, confusing task. With technology like Book Award Pro, the entire process can be done for you. The Book Award Pro platform continually curates award opportunities for your book, submits your book for consideration, and tracks your results. It’s the fastest, simplest way to become an award-winning author.
Reviews
Book reviews are a powerful way to measure and advertise the quality of your book. Good reviews tell readers your story is worth buying, and tell literary professionals you’re an up-and-coming author with a proven track record of critical praise. Both of these review benefits are important steps to establish yourself among notable authors.
Story marketing
Story marketing is the most modern, effective way to leverage awards and reviews in your book marketing efforts. Basically, it works like this:
- You submit your book for an award or review.
- You share the news of your submission with your readers through modern social media platforms.
- You continue to share updates about your book’s award or review journey with your readers, creating continued audience interest.
- You’ve won the award or been reviewed. Congratulations! Now, you can share your triumph with your readers and pique buyer curiosity.
This strategy is the most powerful way to keep readers hooked as you advance your career as a notable author. Book Award Pro technology automates the entire story marketing process for you, helping you promote your book in just a few clicks.
Other ways to market your book
Apart from book awards, reviews, and story marketing, there are several other ways you can promote your work as an author. Check out these additional ways to market your book:
Work with a consultant
Working with a book marketing consultant is a tried-and-true method of selling more books and establishing your name among notable authors. However, it’s important to find a consulting service that’s knowledgeable in modern, innovative strategies (like awards, reviews, and story marketing).
Optimize your website
If you have an author website, it’s important to update your homepage to lead with your recent book award or review. This can be as simple as adding the award seal to your homepage or creating ‘Reviews’ option in your menu.
It’s also important to share recent story marketing updates in a blog. If you don’t have a blog, be sure your social media accounts are linked somewhere visible on your homepage so readers can stay up-to-date with your latest author developments.
Keep your Amazon listing up-to-date
As the largest book retailer in the world, there’s a good chance your book is listed on Amazon. Here are a few tips to promote your awards and reviews on Amazon:
- Put an award winner seal on your actual book cover
- Display awards and reviews prominently in the book description
- Update your author bio to reflect that you're a reviewed, award-winning author
Maintain a newsletter
If you have an email list, maintaining a regular newsletter is another great method of keeping your readers engaged. It’s also an excellent platform to announce award wins, reviews, sales, and book releases. There are several tools that allow you to build and automate email campaigns, like MailChimp and Keap.
Appear on podcasts
According to Riverside FM, 26% of Americans listen to podcasts, many for several hours a week. In terms of book marketing, think of podcasts as the new television.
Consider getting in touch with some podcast hosts and offering yourself to be on their show. Specifically, try to network with podcast hosts that discuss literature, up-and-coming authors, or the genre of book you’ve written. Be sure to give the host your unique link and mention any special deals during the recording.
Do I need to spend money on a book marketing campaign?
The short answer? No! The more realistic answer: it all depends on your individual marketing goals, availability, and budget.
If you have the time to dedicate to book marketing, it’s possible to spend little to no money on promoting your book. For example, Book Award Pro offers a free plan that includes thousands of award and review matches. With this uniquely curated list, you can submit to each opportunity on your own time and market your success along the way.
If you have less time to dedicate to promoting your book but a more flexible marketing budget, Book Award Pro has plans that range from a helping hand to complete automation. Ready to unlock the unlimited marketing potential of awards and reviews?
