7 Things to Look for Before Paying for Book Marketing

If you’ve recently published a book, you’ll know by now that the writing it is the easy part. It’s the marketing it that’s the hard part.

With so many other books out there, being seen can be a tough task, and it’s tempting to hire an outside marketing consultant or agency to help you to market your book.

Like in every industry, you will find book promotion services that are fantastic and get you great sales, and you’ll find others that just don’t. The ones that don’t aren’t necessarily bad per se, it could just be that they aren’t a good fit for you and your book.

It can be hard to know which service or person is the right fit for you, especially if you can’t find the information you’re looking for on their website. A good book promotion company will be happy to answer any questions you might have so don’t be afraid to ask.

Naturally when you’re making this decision, your budget and the company’s availability will play a factor, but there are many other things you need to consider too. Below you will find seven things to look for in a book promotion service before you commit to paying for their services.

Are Their Audience Your Target Market?

It can be tempting to choose a book promotion service based on the fact that they have a large, engaged audience. This is a great asset – assuming their audience are your audience.

If you’ve written a gripping murder mystery book, then that amazing book promotion service that sells thousands of copies of Amish romance books isn’t for you.

Can They Give You Sales Figures Based On Past Campaigns Similar to Yours?

In the world of books, there are no guarantees. Reading is subjective, and no one can accurately predict exactly how many copies you will sell.

Sales depend on so many factors outside of a good marketing strategy such as the quality of your book’s cover, the release date, the actual story, the hook, market saturation etc.

Having said that, a good book promotion company should be able to identify where your book sits in the market and which past campaigns have had a similar target audience. From this, they should be able to provide you with sales information for past similar campaigns they have ran.

If they refuse to do this, then think very carefully before working with them.

Are Their Expectation Realistic and in Line with Yours?

Be wary of unrealistic expectations on both sides. If the company make sweeping statements like “we’ll sell a million copies” know that it’s probably not going to happen (unless they have a proven track record on similar campaigns, which is much difference to just plucking a number out of thin air).

Look for a company that has realistic expectations based on past performance of books in your niche.

Take the time to ensure the company’s expectations match yours. If you expect them to work harder than they are proposing for the fee you’ll be paying, talk to them. You might find they are willing to meet in the middle, and if not, walk away.

Going in with unrealistic expectations will only lead to disappointment.

Are Their Followers Real?

It’s a fair assumption that at least part of the marketing plan for your book will involve the company sharing it with their followers on one or more social media networks.

Check out their profiles. Are their followers real? Do they engage with the posts?

It doesn’t matter if the company has a million followers if they’ve bought fake followers and/or none of their followers engage with their posts.

Do They Have a Marketing Plan in Place That You Can Access?

This ties in with the sweeping statements questions. Ask to see the marketing plan the company has in place for your book.

If they refuse to provide one, that’s a major red flag. Marketing isn’t something you can do sporadically. Campaigns should be planned to ensure they’re coherent and that they aren’t too much or too little.

Refusal to provide you with a copy of your marketing plan suggest you don’t actually have one.

Assuming they do provide one, check it over and make sure it covers everything you agreed on.

How Much Do You Have to Do?

If you go down the route of choosing a book publicist rather than a promotion service, it’s expected that a lot of the work will fall on you. The publicist will get you into places you otherwise wouldn’t have had access to, but the actual selling is on you.

Make sure you know exactly what’s expected of you, and how much time you will have to commit to the tasks you need to complete.

Do They Communicate Effectively?

Recently, I was contacted by a book marketing service on Twitter. I asked a question and they didn’t respond. Guess whose now off my “potential people to work with in the future” list. If they can’t be bothered to answer a simple question, are they really going to put any work into promoting a book?

If a company you want to work with can’t even make the time to talk to you before they have your money, they certainly aren’t going to communicate with you after they have your money.

Ideally, you want someone who responds within a reasonable time frame to messages and doesn’t try to hide things from you.

Have you ever purchased book marketing or worked with a book publicist? Do you have any tips to add? Let me know in the comments 🙂

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