The moment you sit down to write, it’s like the clock starts. It ticks in your ear as you stare at your blank screen.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
You rush to fill the screen with words as the other tasks you need to do for the day clamber for attention in your brain. There are dishes, laundry, and soccer for the kids. Not to mention your day job that sucks up the majority of your day.
Time is the most precious commodity that you have. And it's chipped away a little more every day as your plate fills.
Once the book is complete, you’re hoping for a reprieve. But tasks will fill that space faster than you can make a margarita.
Why? The story has been told!
The answer is marketing.
The book is beautiful, but now you’ve got to let the world know it exists. If you’ve gone through a traditional publisher, they will help to some extent. They will get it into brick-and-mortar stores. They’ll feature it on their website. If it’s projected to do well, they might even have a well-known author in your niche write a blurb.
But that’s about it. You’re on your own when it comes to digitally spreading the word.
Don’t panic. Marketing isn’t as difficult as it sounds. And best of all, automated marketing is an option!
#3 Best Way to Automate Your Marketing: Get Social
Readers love talking about their favorite books and current reads. Social media is no exception! And readers love hearing from authors.
If you’re not on social media, you should be. Book communities are flourishing on platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and GoodReads. They’re great resources for getting your book out there into cyberspace.
But social media is so incredibly time-consuming.
We’ve all been there. You get on to post an update, and three hours later you look up from a TikTok of a dancing cat wondering what happened.
The best way to post on social media is to not go on at all.
It sounds a little counterintuitive. But automating your social media marketing will keep you free for other activities. Like signing copies of your new glossy novel.
There are tons of tools out there to help automate your posting process. Many of them are free too. Some examples are Post Planner, Later, Crowdfire, or Mailchimp.
Write your posts ahead of time, pop them in your automated system, and voila. You’ll be trending in no time!
Without the hassle of turning into a Twitter zombie.
Save that for the time you’ve set aside to engage. Definitely set a timer for this to avoid the before-mentioned zombification.
#2 Best Way to Automate Your Marketing: Use Emails
On your automated marketing journey, you will need an email list and a few email sequences.
Don’t have a list? Don’t fret. It’s super simple to build one. Simply ask those who visit your website, your table at book events, or even your house for their email. Add it to your list.
It helps to give them something free in return. Sneak peeks, a short story or a discount code are all great ideas.
Once you have your list, it’s time to connect with your devoted audience!
This is done with an email sequence. As the name implies, this is a sequence of emails usually centered around a topic. You can have as many or as few as you’d like. I’d recommend at least having a Welcome Sequence.
A Welcome Sequence consists of three to five emails. They will introduce the subscriber to your world. You as an author. Your books. What you’re about. Once you establish a bond, they will feel more comfortable making a purchase when you ask.
This is the most simple example of a sequence.
You can create a sequence around a holiday, a book release, or a sale. Anything. The point is to tell a story through the sequence and build the reader’s desire to act.
The act is buying your book. Or connecting with you on social. Or just about anything else you want them to do.
Now to the mind-blowing, time-saving part.
All these sequences can be automated. Once you load them into the email automation software, you're done. The sequences will be triggered by an action taken by your audience.
This means you set it and completely forget it!
Confused yet?
Here’s an example. When the little box pops up asking the reader to subscribe to your website, they will enter their email. This action will automatically trigger the welcome sequence to deploy.
I’m sure you’ve signed up for a mailing list before. The emails you get from that company after handing over your info is their Welcome Sequence. Which is almost guaranteed to be automated.
You definitely want to take advantage of this type of automated marketing. According to Campaign Monitor, automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails. That is a huge percentage!
Now, I know I breezed right over the subject of email automation software. The idea that you have to use software for this can be anxiety-inducing. But they are very simple programs.
Some popular ones include Mailchimp, Active Campaign, MailerLite, ConvertKit, and Hubspot. These programs are a little bit like socks. They each fit a little differently, and everyone has their preference. Most of these automation software choices have a free option to try out to see if they are your preferred fit.
Commitment-phobes rejoice!
Some of these programs even pull double duty with social media automation options. Mailchimp, for example, really reaches for the stars here.
Now for an even easier time saver…
#1 Best Way to Automate Your Marketing: Hire a Copywriter
Before you argue that this is not marketing automation, let me explain.
Hiring a copywriter to write all your marketing is even easier than using the software. Because you write NOTHING. They take care of it all.
Formatting? Yes.
Pictures? Many offer royalty-free options.
Editing? Of course.
Research? They were born to spy on your target audience.
Shaking your hand once you earn out from your publisher? Maybe. If they live in your local area.
When you have a copywriter write your marketing materials, all you have to do is drop them on your website. Or blog. Or email automation software.
And BAM!
The marketing is fully automated and complete.
You’ll even have time to prop up your feet and read that smashing story you’ve been dying to finish.
There’s no downside here. You save your most precious resource. You get amazing automated marketing for your book. And sell your story to the masses!
Again, like socks, no one can choose the best option for you and your book except you. But this should be an easy one. Fully automating your marketing is honestly the choice that’s great for everyone.
Want to learn more? Reach out here to chat with me, a copywriter who specializes in writing for authors just like you! We can start your marketing automation journey right now.