5 Book Marketing Tips for Indie Authors Promoting Book Series

by | Nov 10, 2017 | Book Marketing Basics

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There’s a lot out there about book marketing and book promotion, specifically for indie authors, but I’ve decided there isn’t enough about promoting a series.

Promoting a book series is a different animal. There are different factors to consider.

One is the pressure that comes with the all or nothing aspect of getting readers on board. If they don’t like the first one, you’ve likely lost a reader for all the books.

Another is that even if they like the first book, you’re asking them to potentially invest a lot more in your work if they end up buying them all, and that’s not always an easy task.

So here’s a quick list of ways to take your series from just okay, to a dedicated fan magnet!

Brand Your Covers

As your series evolves, so do your characters, your buyer market, and the competition.

It’s not unusual for an author to get to book 3 before they really have a strong sense for what their brand is, and often times their books don’t match up.

Work with a designer to get a real brand created for your book covers and re-release the entire series with the new imagery.

This is a great book marketing opportunity on top of a great business decision.

Brand Your Titles & Series Title

George R. R. Martin is a great example of this, in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, each title played off a similar branding template: A Game of ThronesA Clash of KingsA Storm of SwordsA Feast for CrowsA Dance with Dragons.

Again, if you didn’t have all this figured out at the beginning, that’s okay!

Promoting a book series often means an overhaul at some point during your success journey.

Use this opportunity to strengthen your brand an re-release your books with a new publication date.

Brand Your Descriptions & Product Pages

The descriptions for each of your books should also follow a template of sorts.

Figure out a tone that works for your story line and your genre.

Decide on some really strong keywords and phrases that make your books stand out and that sell readers on your product.

Zero in on each book’s cliffhanger.

You’ll also want to be sure your series page is set up on Amazon. This is an option when setting up the books via KDP. If your books are already out and you’re not sure how to find this feature after the fact simply contact Amazon support and request a series page. They’ll set one up for you.

Use these elements across your series and you’ll seem like an extremely professional and organized indie author, which are strong selling points all on their own.

Use Call to Actions

These are essential. Each book should end with a link to buy the next one, a link to sign up for your mailing list or newsletter, and a request to leave a review.

If you’re asking people to send you your info consider what you can offer as an incentive.

Compliment your series through a short story or novella. It is your best bet. And most authors that have written a series practically have these lying around on the virtual cutting room floor. Make one now if you don’t have one already.

Make Your First Book Free

Indie authors generally hate the term “free” or “loss leader” but these are proven book marketing tactics that really work.

If you can’t wrap your mind around making it free, make it $.99 or discount the pricing regularly, like monthly, and be sure you’re doing promotions or ads around the price drop to pull in new buyers you’d never normally reach.

Remember, you just need them to like the first one, so make it easy for them to get it!

The Takeaway

Promoting a book series can be challenging, but the rewards are also multiplied once things start falling into place.

BONUS TIP

You’ve likely grown as an author as your series developed, and there’s always a chance book one isn’t as strong as it would be if you wrote it today.

Keep in mind that it’s your introduction to new readers. Hook them on the entire series and buying all the consecutive books, consider doing a revamp and re-release.  Use your one chance to achieve this!

There’s no doubt a few elements you could really improve on to make it stronger. Check out your less than positive reviews for inspiration.

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