Birthing a book is not dissimilar to growing a baby. Everyone has their own unique growing pains in the process of making it. And sometimes, we feel ashamed that we’re not as excited as we thought we would be once it lands in the world. We can feel a bit flat. Burnt out by this new thing in our world that needs our constant attention to be kept alive. But unlike birthing a real person, many authors get distracted by the next thing that needs attention, usually more income-generating work and the book is left on the shelf. It got a three-month nurturing sprint that took everything from us energetically and then it sits shrouded in loneliness and disappointment on the shelf. Rarely spoken about again.
If this is you, let me tell you now, you are not too late to get that book baby off the shelf and go back to giving them some love. Rather than an intense sprint, think of it as a long ramble. Gentle and sometimes arguably more boring ways that you can help keep your book spirits alive and still get sales.
And why, pray tell, should you ask me this? Well, I wrote my first book in 2019, it came out in 2020 and I’m still hyping it. (Clue is in the title, it’s called Hype Yourself). In total, that and my subsequent two books have cumulatively sold 11,345 units and I’ve made nearly £17,000 from book sales alone.
Sure. I’m not a Sunday Times Bestseller. But, it’s an income I’m not sniffing at and I’m really bored of the business bro guys who want you to pay to write a business book and gift it as a lead magnet. You know what. Writing is a skill. Your subject matter is your expertise and even though it might not be a lot, I believe my business has benefitted more from people investing in buying my books and wanting to support or be part of my work afterwards.
So how, amongst walking the dog, learning French, running my own paid newsletter, launching various workshops, retreats, doing my own promotion to walk my talk oh and the three kids under 10 situation whom I often solo-parent, do I keep on promoting my books?
Never leave the house without a book
I know. This probably sounds bonkers but the number of times I have hidden books in hotel lobbies, coworking spaces, other people’s offices and then, the right person discovers it at the right time when they need it.
I live down the road from the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and, out of the 15,000+ registered delegates plus however many more are just playing on the fringes, I didn’t see a single person with a copy of their book.
Cue me dropping off my books at every brand activation. Canva were a good sport and left it out. Amazon managed to clear it out within two minutes. But it led to people in my network spotting it and sharing on their socials and even led to one person who had been a huge fan of my work inviting me for coffee.
Hiding your books costs nothing but a pinch of bravado. And can lead to really surprising responses. I highly recommend it for some toe dipping promotion.
We take for granted when we have a physical product that we can represent it.
We take for granted that the tangibility of a physical product speaks for itself, we don’t even have to be there for it to promote us and our thinking.
And people love a surprise and delight moment, you could leave a personalised note inside: ‘Found me: I’m yours now or gift me to someone who needs me’’ or whatever words you would want to leave when someone finds your work.
Always on call
I pitch a lot to be a guest in a lot of other people’s memberships, communities, teach for online places like Creative Mornings or guest lecture for universities.
Sidenote: This works the hardest for me in all aspects of my business to be honest. Some of you may remember meeting me on a live session with Lex or Lex teaching in my community before we launched our bundle. People seeing the way I talk, my energy and the breadth of my expertise in real life is my sweet spot. As much as I can try to show you I’m a badass bitch in my writing, you are always going to be more swayed by hearing me talk to you directly.
The books permanently sit by my desk, every time I am invited to introduce myself the books are flashed up on screen by me giving them a wave in front of the camera. I also usually try to whip them out for video podcasts too. The more I can wave the books on camera in front of different audiences, the more brand recognition they receive. I even have a Hype Yourself light behind my desk that you will often see whilst I’m filming.
Get in front of book clubs
When my book came out I pitched for a lot of book clubs but as time went on, I would keep an eye out and if my book was going to be selected, I would always put myself forward for a free Q&A or live time with them.
Yes, I’m giving up an hour of my time unpaid but I actually think solidifying the relationship with the reader has a ripple effect in how they share the book afterwards.
But Lucy, how do I find book clubs to be part of I hear you ask? Great question, Rulebreaker.
You are going to have geeked out on your book for a particular audience in a particular subject. Have a search online for ‘book clubs on XX topic’. Or even better, brush up on your hype skills and ask your audience if they know of any book clubs on your subject.
Put yourself where you don’t belong
Courier Magazine (RIP) was one of the first glossy modern business magazines. I remember booking a stand in the Courier LIVE space where, alongside talks and workshops, there was a marketplace that was for physical brands selling products.
Lots of people thought I was bonkers being the only person who was a service-based business owner in a place selling products.
But that is exactly what I wanted. I stood out. To the perfect audience.
I created a sign saying 15-minutes free PR or branding advice and made mock-ups of my book as it hadn’t launched yet. With a four month old baby strapped to me and my trusty clipboard, I duly noted down name and addresses and let people pre-order signed copies of the book and even took payment.
Don’t let not having physical copies hold you back!
Lucy's booth at Courier LIVE
Create merch
When the cofounder of the kids (their dad) joined my PR agency to set up the branding division, we created a physical product to announce the partnership.
Instead of a press release, I thought about how can I use my skills to showcase what it is I’m making. And the 52 PR Tips were made. The tips were taken from my book. They worked as a complimentary product to either upsell into the book OR to go alongside the book as quick prompts.
And then when the book launched, I had a little merch pack like postcards, stickers, branded letterhead that I could send out.
In this digitally saturated online slop land we live in, creating a tangible offline moment can be a really cute way to bring you to life and keep you front of mind.
Offer free downloads
Before I launched my newsletter on Substack, I grew to 5,000 subscribers on Mailchimp using downloads or what some of us call lead magnets.
People forget that books are often the interactive calling card to lead people back to us.
In my books, there are links to my website to download free resources and workbooks that accompany them and order to receive the download you had to put in your email address. It’s a great way to keep people continuing their journey with you.
Small disclaimer here: since I’ve moved sites and changed branding I need to first change the link inside my books and then refresh and update the PDF download. But I know even six years later it still works, because people message me asking for a link to find the download.
Gamify getting more reviews
Every now and then, I get to a milestone review number. It started when I was closing to getting 50 reviews, then I was chasing 100. Today I’m close to 300 reviews so when I get close to the next 50, I’ll do a little ask out to remind people to review it.
Reviews are good for Amazon because it helps prospective readers to see your book as being credible and to buy a copy. It sounds really dry and boring so find a way to add your own creative flair to it. Can people submit their reviews to you afterwards as part of a raffle?
I also ask people if they can’t afford to buy it or have already bought elsewhere to add the book to their wishlist. I’ve not got any real scientific evidence about this, so you can take this advice with a large pinch of salt. But, you can top the ‘most wished for list’ and my hunch is that it helps just with some sort of Amazon visibility. Maybe it does nothing? Fun to try though right, and it gives people another way to support you.
Future plans
You know, I might do a cheeky second edition. Hold my kombucha.
A lot of things have changed since I first wrote the book. It might seem bonkers to go back to my old work but it gives me a second bite of the cherry to relaunch it. For the time it would take me to edit, it could be worth the second promotional push.
Another reason why I want to push a second edition is a big part of what I do is walking my own hype talk and sending the lift back down to others to help them learn how to do it for themselves.
It’s easy for me to tell you to keep on pushing your book, but if I make a literal song and dance about it seven years later, then you definitely can, right?
You are never too late to relaunch that thing. It doesn’t have to even be a revised version. But you can approach it with a revised attitude. Is it an anniversary since you launched it? Are you trying to hit a sales milestone? Did you just get the best or worst review ever? Are you visiting somewhere new and want to do something with your book at the same time?
Most importantly, how can you promote your book in a way that feels good to you? That is unique to you? This doesn’t just apply to your books but to anything in your business? Find a way to enjoy doing it. If you have a good time, we will have a good time with you.
Lucy Werner is the founder of hypeyourself.com and runs The Hype newsletter for self-employed folks who are brilliant at what they do but terrible at talking about it. Learn more about her community at hypeyourself.com.
What's one thing you stopped promoting that could use a new hype cycle? Sound off in the comments!
