Carlyn from BookBub explains how authors can utilise their ads platform, plus tips on how to snag one of their powerful and elusive promotions.
You know you need to advertise your books. But how exactly do you start?
BookBub display their best author profiles, Libbie Hawker gives an interview, and female readers keep fiction afloat (apparently).
BookBub Ads success stories, Forbes is developing an AI to write its articles, and the best bookselling street in London.
Websites are costly and time consuming. But are they essential when you first start out?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
FREE PDF: Adam created a free PDF about BookBub Ads for SPF listeners
BOOKBUB WAITLIST: Use the form at the bottom of this article to get on the waitlist to be a BookBub advertiser
It’s difficult to talk about marketing for self publishing and indie authors without the name of Bookbub coming into the conversation. That’s because Bookbub is a very effective and powerful platform for getting indie authors notices in the very niches their readers love. On this episode of the Self Publishing Formula James and Mark host Katie Donelan, the first non-founder employee of Bookbub, to chat about how Bookbub works, why it’s so powerful, and how self published authors can use the platform to promote their own work.
How does the Bookbub promotion platform work?
Bookbub has been around since 2012 and has build a very powerful platform for promoting self published books to the specific niches of readers who are interested in their genre. Its main approach hinges on an email they send out to readers who have opted-in to their list. Authors are able to submit their books for consideration and the Bookbub team makes the decision about whether to include the author’s book or not. Since Bookbub gets so many submissions, there is a very careful selection process and not all submissions are accepted. You can find out how Katie suggests you go about applying to get your work included in the Bookbub newsletter.
The Bookbub approach focuses on quality and data, with an editorial twist.
Katie shares how Bookbub uses the data regarding authors and their past successes as well as a group of editors who evaluate submitted books with a human touch to make sure that there is a proper assessment of each submission.
Coming soon: The Bookbub ad platform.
For a while now the Bookbub team has been running a beta program of their new ad platform where authors can purchase ads to promote their books within the Bookbub newsletter. They can do so without the editorial hoops to jump through and with the ability for their ads to appear to their specific audience. It’s a masterful move by the Bookbub team and Mark has actually been trying it out. On this episode you’re going to be able to hear how the ad platform has been going for Mark and why he’s convinced it’s going to be a great tool for authors of any stripe and skill level.
What can you do if your submission to Bookbub has never been approved?
Many authors have submitted to be included in the Bookbub newsletter but have never been accepted for inclusion. Why? It has to do with the genre your book is in and whether there is a high demand for books in that niche. It also has to do with the historical success of books within that genre as well as the success of the author in past book sales. There’s also the issue of quality and the view Bookbub has of taking care of its reader audience by only promoting books that meet their quality standards. So what should you do if you’ve never been accepted by Bookbub? You can find out on this episode.
