In my experience, non-fiction is much easier to market, because readers are specifically interested in a topic or they want the answer to a question.
It is also more profitable because many non-fiction authors have other parts to their business, either in person as a speaker, consultant, coach or other practitioner, or online with multi-media courses and affiliate marketing. The book is often a way to demonstrate expertise and build credibility or a lead generation tool for people to funnel through to their higher-priced products.
Here are some specific marketing techniques that I've found to work for non-fiction.
(1) Write books that people actually want and make them easy to find
We covered the importance of categories and keywords in chapter 1.1 earlier, but the easiest way to market a non-fiction book is to write books that people want in the first place!
- Research the categories and sub-categories where readers shop as they relate to your topic
- Use keyword-specific book titles and metadata
- Use covers that resonate with the genre and target market
- Make sure the sample of the book offers enough information so that they want to read more
- Write more books in the same niche so readers will buy more than one
You can also use a series in the same way that fiction authors do. Just use the series title field on the self-publishing platforms to link the books together.
(2) Build an email list and create a funnel
My own non-fiction funnel looks like this:
I have a website, TheCreativePenn.com that attracts people through content marketing (blog posts and a podcast). On the site, I offer a useful free Author Blueprint and a self-publishing mini-course that people can sign up for at www.TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint
They receive a series of emails, videos and audios that take them through the process of writing, publishing and marketing a book for free, but also contain links to my non-fiction books and affiliate links to products and services that I recommend.
It's important to have your own website if you want to build an online business like this. Here's my tutorial for building your own site in 30 minutes: www.TheCreativePenn.com/authorwebsite
My non-fiction books are on topics that my target market want to read, e.g. How to Market a Book and How to Make a Living with Your Writing, so that if people buy one, they might also want to read others as they relate to the specific niche.
If people find the books first, each one has a call to action that points them at the Author Blueprint, so the funnel has multiple entry points.
Like many non-fiction authors, I also have higher-priced products. I have online courses at www.TheCreativePenn.com/learn as well as offering professional speaking, and if people find the free information or my books useful, they can transition to these higher levels.
(3) Use paid advertising
Many non-fiction authors up-sell higher price products within their books, for example, courses, consulting, and speaking, so paid ads can be significantly more profitable than for fiction authors.
Personally, I do a lot more paid advertising for my non-fiction books, even the free ones, than my fiction because of the potential for extra income. If you have a budget, it's definitely worth making paid ads part of your strategy.
As stated in the previous marketing fiction chapter, paid ads through Amazon, BookBub, Facebook and others like Freebooksy/BargainBooksy enable authors to target sub-genres, comparative authors, and even specific books.
These can be incredibly powerful for driving sales — but only if you spend time testing and honing your ad copy, images, and targeting. You’ll also need a budget for the testing period and then ongoing investment for ad spend.
There are books and courses on using paid ads as well as communities on Facebook where you can discover the latest tips. These change regularly as the platforms shift, so it’s worth investing time and a budget to get to grips with this option particularly if you are a data-minded author.
Remember, paid ads drive sales for as long as you keep paying for them but dry up when you stop. So definitely consider using them as one aspect of your marketing plan, but also build your email list and author platform so you are not wholly reliant on them for the long term.
(4) Content marketing
If you want to build up a platform over time, where traffic eventually comes to you for free, then you can also build up content marketing that drives people to your email list and into your funnel as above.
Once you're clear on your niche and target audience as well as the keywords that relate to your book, you can use that information to create content that people will want and that will bring people to your books. You can also do it in advance of your book launch, so you have readers ready and waiting.
Some possibilities for non-fiction content marketing include:
Write more non-fiction books and vary the length
In the non-fiction niches, there are a lot of books that are quite short e.g. around 20,000 words. You can make one of these permanently free as a way into your funnel.
Podcast within your niche
Although podcasting takes time, it's a great way to build a loyal fanbase.
If you don't want to go as far as producing your own podcast, you can pitch podcasters to have you on as a guest. Make sure you're a good fit for the show by listening to a number of episodes in advance and pitching a specific topic that would be useful to the audience. This is my preferred medium and I have The Creative Penn Podcast as well as Books And Travel.
Produce videos
These can be interviews, tips or entertaining snippets. There are no rules!
Video is a great way to communicate and build trust because ultimately, we judge someone by their body language far more quickly than their words. If you enjoy video and can commit to regular production, it can be a fantastic form of content marketing.
Blog/write articles
This can be on your own site and/or guest post on more established sites or post them on Facebook, Medium, LinkedIn and other high-traffic sites.
Guest posting can be really effective for non-fiction book marketing, in particular, but only if you write for sites that specifically focus on your niche.
Image marketing
Consider sharing pictures or inspirational quotes from your book on social media. Certainly, all your content should have some kind of image attached, but some content marketers focus entirely on the image platforms like Pinterest or Instagram for the foundation of their business.
Is content marketing worth doing for non-fiction?
Is it worth building a platform?
For me, it's absolutely been worth it, as my multi-six-figure business is built on the back of my podcast and blog at The Creative Penn. I have a lot of information available for free, but I also have books and courses for those who want to take it further and plenty of affiliate products for multiple streams of income.
I travel the world as a professional speaker as a result of building my platform online and I love the work I do. I continue to blog, podcast, and share on social media because I still find value in it.
But you have to consider what you want for the long term and what effort you want to put in. Are you building a long-term business? Or is this all about one book for you?
What do you already enjoy in terms of content consumption? What would make sense for you to produce? For example, I listen to a lot of podcasts but rarely watch video, which is why I focus more on audio than video production.
If you want to be effective at content marketing, my quick tips would be:
Understand what your target market wants
Then dominate that niche by producing specific, high-quality content that will be relevant for the longer term.
Learn basic copywriting skills around headlines and how content is structured online
Writing a book is very different to writing a blog post that results in the reader taking action. Check out www.copyblogger.com for great content on copywriting.
Be consistent
My podcast used to be ad hoc, but when I switched to a weekly show, the engagement and traffic really took off.
If you produce consistently, you will build book sales and your online platform over time. All I’ve done is write pretty much every day, podcast, blog and share regularly, and over the last decade, this process has built up to a significant online business. I recommend reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, as it really brings home the idea of a little bit every day making a difference.
Be authentic
Share your personal journey and your ups and downs and people will resonate with that so much more than a stilted business-like persona.
Make sure you are always sharing your own spin on particular topics, don't just share other people's thoughts or reuse ideas. In the end, readers will connect with your personality and your voice.
Remember social karma
You should always be sharing other people's material more than your own. Give before you expect to receive. Use social media to connect with influencers and be useful to them before asking for anything in return.
These chapters are just a brief taster on marketing and of course, you can dive down deeper on every single one of these topics.
You can find more free information on marketing at www.TheCreativePenn.com/marketing or check out my book, How to Market a Book.