A Basic Framework To Grow An Author Platform and Sell Your Books
12 Steps to Getting Followers, Subscribers, and Buyers
You don’t become a “best-writing author, you become a bestselling author.”
And that means you must learn how to sell your books, not only write and publish them.
Capturing new followers, converting them into subscribers, and eventually getting them to buy your books involves a simple strategy. It’s one part content marketing, one part engagement, and one part sales.
And here’s the thing: if you want to sell your books, you need to get over yourself and start taking action today.
And I want to help you.
So, today, I will share with you a basic framework to help you get started selling books.
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12 Steps to Followers, Subscribers, and Book Sales
Create high-quality, consistent content on social media to earn engagement.
Engage with people who like, share, or comment on your social media posts and turn them into followers.
Send followers to your content on a writing platform.
Funnel these followers on the writing platform to your email with a call-to-action at the end of every article.
Create a lead magnet (freebie) for people when they sign up for your email list.
Send at least weekly emails to those subscribers with valuable and actionable content.
Create polls or ask people to ‘reply’ with content looking for pain points and opinions.
Share your books at the end of every email.
Share your books (status updated, behind-the-scenes looks, etc.) when working on them.
Invite your email subscribers to become Advance Copy Readers (new email list, like VIPs).
Share your published books with the Advanced Copy Readers and then your regular subscribers.
Send follow-up emails after a book launch for feedback and remind them to leave reviews.
After that, you just do it over and over again. Of course, you will want to update things as you go, but this is a simple way to convert someone who is new to your content into a buyer.
Final Thoughts on the Simple Sales Funnel
It’s all about consistently providing value, building trust, and maintaining engagement throughout the customer journey.
You can effectively capture new followers, convert them into subscribers, and ultimately turn them into loyal customers who purchase your books by following these steps.
Best of all, once you master this part of your self-publishing business, you can apply it to any other endeavor.
When you look at this list, is anything missing? Let me know!
My name is J.R. Heimbigner, and I am a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon with 14 self-published books. I have two things I want to share with you:
A short book to help you use your Substack posts to write books.
The First Draft Masterclass. I share exactly how to write your first draft so you can get that book published!
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Also, this post may contain sales or affiliate links, so I might get a little kickback if you purchase anything. Thank you in advance!
Thanks for sharing - this is helpful. I have an unpublished novel ready to go and the only thing holding me back is the lack of a platform.
This is a basic strategy that it seems so many tend to avoid, myself included in a way. I'm learning how things work and I'm excited to share my books with the world.