As 2016 winds down, now is the time to consider how you will market your new print book. While eBooks play an integral part in digital marketing strategies, there's also an audience out there looking forward to pages they can flip through and spines they can proudly show off on their shelves.
1. Create a Unique Design
Print publications provide an effective means of reaching your audience. They can be delivered via mail, dropped through letterboxes or handed directly over.
Design that is both visually appealing and identifiable should be prioritized when creating publications. Legible fonts should be utilized, while excessive text should be avoided on one page.
If your publication will be wire or spiral bound, make sure that there is enough margin space between pages for any visuals that might get cut off. Furthermore, testing out your layout with a proof would also be wise.
2. Promote It on Social Media
Social media marketing strategy is essential to the promotion of any print publication. By integrating various platforms into the mix, you can reach a larger audience while increasing engagement rates.
Use relevant hashtags when sharing content on social media to make it easily discoverable, and ask writers and contributors to promote it on their social channels, giving you the ability to gain new readers organically.
3. Add QR Codes
Implementing QR codes in print publications allows readers to gain access to more information and connect with the company more directly, helping create brand loyalty while engaging consumers and growing consumer base.
Cosmopolitan magazine utilized QR codes to connect their readers to digital content, such as Victoria discussing Quilted Northern toilet paper products.
Make sure that your QR code links to a mobile-friendly website and select a QR code generator capable of tracking and analytics for successful campaign management.
4. Reach Out to Local Businesses
Reaching out to local businesses can be an effective way of promoting your print publication. Offering coupons could persuade consumers to make purchases or visit your store.
Consider featuring an enthusiastic customer in your print publication to generate buzz and build brand recognition, while simultaneously drawing in new clients. Include digital calls-to-action such as links to your website or social media accounts in these printed materials for maximum effect.
5. Collaborate with Other Brands
Brand collaborations can often be less expensive than digital ads and lead to increased sales and engagement rates for both businesses. A study by American Express indicated that mid-sized companies who collaborate five or more times each year experienced significant business growth.
Mobile operator Three collaborated with Time Out magazine to produce an innovative approach to cross promotion and marketing: they created a video-in-print cover enabling viewers to stream behind-the-scenes footage of a new Netflix series through it. By doing this, they successfully created an innovative cross promotion strategy.
6. Ask for Reviews
By offering customers the option of leaving reviews on Google, businesses can generate customer feedback and build connections with online audiences that may otherwise miss your print publication.
When asking customers for reviews, it is essential to be courteous and respectful. Instead of using generic greetings such as "Hello [reviewer]," personalize each message by including their name - this shows your respect for both customers and feedback while helping ensure authentic reviews are collected.
7. Offer a Discount
As a self-publisher, offering discounts is crucial. Retailers want wholesale discounts so as to remain on an equal playing field with traditional publishers.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, couponing your print publication to retailers is an effective way of getting it picked up by retailers. Remember, using coupons will reduce revenue (print cost and Lulu's 20% will still be deducted from each sale), yet can help sell more copies while creating an engaged community of readers.
8. Offer a Contest
One effective way to promote your print publication is through running a contest. By doing this, you can generate interest about your book while encouraging people to discuss it among themselves and tell their friends about it.
Contests are an effective way to generate leads by collecting customer information that you can later use for book marketing purposes. There are various kinds of contests you can run; make sure the one chosen best meets your goals.
Woorise is an excellent platform for designing contests and giveaways that can expand readership and increase sales, while ShortStack allows you to easily build powerful contests and lead pages.
9. Create a Call to Action
An effective call-to-action (CTA) is key in getting readers to act. No matter how much research and work goes into writing copy, without an audible call to action (CTA), all will remain idle.
Your CTA should stand out visually from other elements on the page. Consider adding pops of color or negative space around it to draw the eye's attention; also consider changing font styles for key words like "free," so your call-to-action will stand out more from other textual content. This will ensure your CTA stands out.
10. Track Your Campaign
Tracking your marketing campaign will give you the data necessary to make informed decisions about future marketing efforts. By keeping an eye on metrics like website traffic, sales conversions and email responses you can determine which methods of promotion are effective and make informed decisions for future endeavors.
Utilizing unique identifiers and CTAs that lead to landing pages specific to your print campaign can also be an effective way to measure its success. This can be accomplished using QR codes or variable data printing that creates individual codes on every piece.
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