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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /srv/users/sandra/apps/sandra/public/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Our guest blogger today,\u00a0Diana Urban<\/a>, is the industry marketing manager at BookBub, where she manages the BookBub Partners Blog<\/a>. She was previously the head of conversion marketing at HubSpot, and is an expert in inbound marketing, content marketing, and lead generation. Diana is also the author of three young adult thrillers, and is writing her fourth novel. Follow her on Twitter at @DianaUrban<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n (Editor’s note: I highly recommend subscribing to BookBub’s Partners blog<\/a> — use the email form in the upper right to get it delivered to your inbox.)<\/em><\/p>\n Making a book available for preorder can be a great way to build buzz and drive word-of-mouth sales for an upcoming release. It can also help you hit a bestseller list, since many retailers count preorder sales as release day sales.<\/p>\n But driving sales for a book that isn\u2019t immediately available to read can be a challenging task. To help you brainstorm how to convince readers to buy early, we\u2019ve put together a list of ideas for running a successful book preorder campaign. I hope these strategies implemented by fellow authors can give you some inspiration!<\/p>\n One of the easiest ways to let your fans know that you have a book up for preorder is to send a BookBub Preorder Alert<\/a>. This is a dedicated email announcing your book\u2019s availability, with retailer links to the preorder. Only your BookBub followers receive these emails, so they\u2019re highly targeted and cost-effective (at only $0.02 per eligible follower). When Carrie Ann Ryan sent a Preorder Alert for Inked Expressions<\/a> <\/em>to her 12,000 followers (at a cost of $225), she sold about 350 copies and generated at least $1,200 in revenue.<\/p>\n By linking to the preorder in the back of a previously published book, readers will be able to order the new book right after they finish reading, without having to remember to buy it later. For example, Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese linked to the preorder of Phoenix\u00a0<\/a><\/em>in the back matter of their previous two books:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve updated the back matter of a previous book, discounting that book can help attract new readers and drive preorders. After Melissa F. Miller made Irrevocable Trust<\/em> <\/a>(a sixth-in-series book) available for preorder, she updated the back matter of her box set of the first three books in the series to include a link to the preorder. Then she ran a $0.99 BookBub Featured Deal<\/a> on the box set, which went on to hit the USA Today<\/em> bestseller list. This introduced tons of new readers to the series and boosted preorder sales. You can read more about Melissa\u2019s preorder marketing strategy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many authors offer giveaways to readers who preorder. This gives readers an extra incentive for preordering; they may need an additional nudge since they can\u2019t get the instant gratification of reading the book right away. In these promotions, readers usually need to email a copy, screenshot, or picture of their receipt to receive whatever the author is giving away. This might include:<\/p>\n For example, Tiffany Schmidt ran a preorder offer where she gave away swag packs with relevant items (including candy, a sticker, a signed bookmark, and a personalized note) to everyone who preordered Hold Me Like a Breath<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Many authors create a street team<\/a> or fan club via a private Facebook group to garner reviews and word-of-mouth buzz. Fans who join often become advocates for the author in exchange for sneak peeks and exclusive content. These groups are a great place to announce that a preorder is available, like Megan Erickson did in her Facebook group Meg\u2019s Mob<\/a>:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n If you can have a book available for preorder in time for its cover reveal, linking to a page where readers can preorder their copy in the cover reveal announcement can help you get early sales. J. Daniels included preorder links in her cover reveal post for Bad for You<\/a><\/em>, linking directly to each retailer product page:<\/p>\n BookBub Ads let you market any book \u2014 including preorders \u2014 at any time to BookBub\u2019s millions of power readers. These ads appear at the bottom of BookBub\u2019s daily emails, and many authors have promoted preorder books via this platform.<\/p>\n When CD Reiss wanted to let her fans know her new sequel (Separation Games<\/a>)<\/em> was available for preorder, she ran a BookBub Ads campaign<\/a> promoting the preorder. She specifically targeted her own BookBub followers and ran the campaign during the four days prior to the book\u2019s launch.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Here are just a few more examples of preorder campaigns on BookBub Ads:<\/p>\n Some authors send their subscribers an exclusive look at the first chapter of a book that\u2019s available for preorder to get them excited and encourage them to buy. For example, Heather Sunseri sent an email to subscribers notifying them that Covered in Darkness<\/a><\/em> was available for preorder. She included the first chapter in the email itself, a link to read the first seven chapters of the book, and retailer links so readers could preorder the book right away.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the intro of this email looked like:<\/p>\n An author\u2019s social media header image \u2014 such as on Twitter and Facebook \u2014 offer a great branding opportunity for preorder books. In Sandra Brown\u2019s Twitter header image, she had a direct call-to-action to preorder her upcoming novel Seeing Red<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Some authors run fun giveaways on their blog or social media profiles to provide advance reader copies to their most loyal fans. This helps to drive early reviews for a book and build buzz online. For example, Julie James ran a giveaway for her book The Thing About Love<\/a><\/em> on her Facebook page, and included preorder links in the description for people who wanted to order their copy right away.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Still have a question about a successful book preorder campaign? Ask it in a comment.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I\u00a0like to share\u00a0a \u201cTip of the Month,\u201d a free resource or tool for authors, on the last\u00a0Wednesday of the month.<\/p>\n If you’re looking for an agent to represent your book to publishers, you’ll love this month’s tip. It’s AgentQuery.com<\/a><\/strong>, a free, searchable database of literary agents. The site also offers AgentQuery Connect, a free social networking site.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n It can be one of the tools you use to connect with just the right agent for your book. As you might know, other options include referrals from author friends with representation, looking in the acknowledgements of books that are similar to yours, and searching through the Guide to Literary Agents 2018<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Happy hunting!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/a>Our guest blogger today,\u00a0Diana Urban<\/a>, is the industry marketing manager at BookBub, where she manages the BookBub Partners Blog<\/a>. She was previously the head of conversion marketing at HubSpot, and is an expert in inbound marketing, content marketing, and lead generation. Diana is also the author of three young adult thrillers, and is writing her fourth novel. Follow her on Twitter at @DianaUrban<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\nHow to run a successful book preorder campaign<\/h2>\n
By Diana Urban<\/h3>\n
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1. Run a BookBub Preorder Alert.<\/h2>\n
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2. Add a link to the preorder in an already-published book.<\/h2>\n
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3. Discount an older title and cross-promote the preorder.<\/h2>\n
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4. Offer freebies for preordering.<\/h2>\n
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5. Build an author street team or fan club.<\/h2>\n
6. Promote the preorder with the cover reveal.<\/h2>\n
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7. Run a BookBub Ads campaign.<\/h2>\n
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8. Email your subscribers about the preorder.<\/h2>\n
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9. Update social media header images.<\/h2>\n
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10. Give away ARCs to drive early reviews.<\/h2>\n
Tip of the Month<\/h2>\n