How to Market Children’s Books Online
You’ve written and produced a book for children that you’re proud of and that has the potential to bring you plenty of sales. The question is how to tap into that potential through the internet? We know that many people get their books by ordering online, and you’re more likely to reach a much wider audience online than through any other marketing platform.
Ask Credible Professionals to Write a Review
One of the best things you can do (and is often free!) is to contact an “expert” in a field like developmental psychology and ask them to review your book. They’ll often be flattered that you asked for their opinion, and you can offer to let them link back to their own page or website. Cross-promotion will benefit both you and the expert, and they may send potential clients your way as well.
Submit Your Book for Reviews
There are dozens of online websites out there that will review books. While you’re never guaranteed a review if you submit one, you can always submit to multiple sites. Sites like Book Room Reviews have listed submission guidelines, and there are many more out there. If they choose to do a review on your book, you will have an ally in your marketing campaign.
Find the Moms
Kids want books, but they don’t buy them. If you want to increase sales of your books, you need to market the books to parents and convince them that this is the best book for their child right now. For most products and services, the end user is going to be your target. When you’re writing children’s books, your target needs to be focused on the parents.
Don’t Forget the Teachers
This is a group that is all too often overlooked when people are beginning to market children’s books. Teachers buy more children’s books than anyone else, and each book has the potential to reach hundreds of kids. Consider educational websites and marketing your book with a nod towards a life skill or teachable moment. Sharing, compassion, responsibility—you get the idea. Make sure that you can illustrate to a teacher how your book can be used as part of a lesson plan and you’re golden.
Promoting on the Right Sites
Once you’ve found them, you need to begin placing your targeted ads where they will see them. One of the most commonly overlooked sites for marketing children’s books is Pinterest. Moms and teachers are all over Pinterest, and pins tend to last much longer when generating new content than a blog post or a Tweet.
When in Doubt, Hire a Professional
If marketing isn’t your strong suit, it may pay to hire a marketing or PR professional to help you find the best ways to get the word out. While it may sound expensive, you’d be surprised. You can hit up a site like Gumtree to find a freelancer who will be significantly less expensive than hiring a marketing firm.
Paying someone who knows what they’re doing usually gets a much greater return than the cost of hiring them, so make room in your budget for this.
The key to having a successful online marketing campaign for children’s books is being able to target those with the purchasing power in the household. While you may occasionally appeal to the children themselves, especially as they get older, finding the parent’s and the teachers, and convincing them that this book will help with a child’s long-term development is the best way to sell more copies of your book.
Emily Burgess is an avid blogger who enjoys writing about careers and entrepreneurship. Emily is currently sharing some of her ideas at Course Guru – experts in the field of online education. Personally, she’s a great fan of foreign languages.
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