The Self-Publishing Balancing Act

Congratulations, you’ve just finished your book! Well, perhaps that's not quite accurate. More likely, you have completed your first draft, let it sit forgotten for roughly half a year, remembered it again, and then spent a solid month editing out all the mistakes. Then came beta readers, some tough feedback (maybe a few tears), followed by a second draft. And a third. And just to be safe because why not, a fourth.

Finally, your manuscript felt ready for agents. But as it often happens within the traditional publishing industry, finding one felt nearly impossible. Or maybe you did find an agent, only for your manuscript to stall on submission to bigger companies. Now, you’re considering other avenues to share your hard work with the world.

Self-publishing, unlike traditional publishing, very rarely requires the approval of agents or editors. You are in full control, which can be quite empowering, especially if you value having complete creative freedom and higher royalties. But many authors soon realize that writing multiple drafts might have actually been the easy part about becoming a published author. The editing, formatting, distribution, and most critically, marketing can become an overwhelming task for any everyday, busy adult.

While some authors love managing every aspect of their book’s journey from start to finish, others may hit a wall. Their sales plateau. Their schedules become overloaded. They feel demotivated and frustrated, like they’ve wasted valuable time on marketing efforts that don’t seem to be paying off, time they very well could’ve spent on writing.This is where a professional book marketer can change everything. Here at The Book Marketer, we’ll walk you through five key signs it might be time to bring in a professional, and what to look for when you do.

Sign #1: Your Book Sales Have Plateaued

One of the most frustrating experiences for any author is seeing book sales grow sluggish despite consistent marketing efforts. You've launched promotions, posted consistently on social media and engaged with readers, maybe even experimented with advertisements and reviewers, yet your sales remain flat. 

According to Written Word Media, the average self-published book sells around 250 copies in its lifetime.

A professional marketing team can bring fresh perspectives, innovative strategies, and a pool of industry connections that can help breathe new life into your sales. For example, the right marketing company might be able to get your book in the hands of social media influencers that correlate with your book's genre and brand who are willing to read, review and promote your book. This kind of targeted exposure can bring a lot of brand new, positive attention to your book!

Sign #2: You're Spending Hours on Marketing with Little Return

Every hour spent on marketing is an hour not spent writing your next book. This is a classic opportunity cost dilemma. You must ask yourself, is maintaining your current DIY marketing routine more or less valuable than maintaining consistency with your writing?

If you are pouring money into advertisements, review services, and promotional tools without any sign of a clear return, it might be time to bring in help. A professional team will be able to tailor strategies to your genre, help you plan a budget and clear milestone goals, and overall streamline the etier process for you, saving you both time and money in the long run.

While they handle the marketing heavy lifting, you’ll be free to do what you love most: write. You will avoid wasting money on marketing tools that end up not working, gain a consistent return revenue and have the time to invest into your long term returns by producing more content. In the end, outsourcing smartly can lead to better results and less stress.

Sign #3: You Don't Understand Amazon's Algorithm

Amazon is one of the largest marketplaces for books today. However, its ranking algorithm put up against an expanding list of sub-genres and shifting publishing trends, can often feel like a puzzle that even the detectives in the “cozy mystery” section can't figure out. So it would be no surprise if you are struggling to navigate it as a seller. Factors such as your novel's average sales velocity, international conversion rates, keyword relevancy and even reader behaviour, all play into your ranking and how quickly it can rise or fall. Marketers who specialize in the book industry stay on top of Amazon's ever-changing algorithm shifts and current trends. They ensure that the book is being pushed towards exactly the right people by keeping on top of your book’s metadata. They can manage ads, and implement strategies that improve your visibility on the platform, leading to a significant boost in sales.

Sign #4: Your Social Media Presence Feels Like Shouting into the Void

You are posting on social media regularly, but no one seems to be engaging with your content. Sound familiar?

Random posting is a common pitfall for many authors, which is a shame because social media can be a powerful tool! But putting in the effort to curate bespoke content for your platform, means very little if you do not take the time to formulate an appropriate brand strategy and set yourself an upload schedule. Random posts with no long term plan or target audience in mind often fall flat. The key is to know your audience and serve them the kind of content they care about, at the right time, on the right platform. That is exactly what professional marketers can help you with. They analyze your readers’ demographics, map out a clear brand voice that will resonate with those specific readers, and create content calendars that keep your messaging consistent and impactful. With a solid strategy in place and team helping you keep track of your content, your posts stop feeling like a chore and start driving real engagement, and sales.

Sign #5: You're Ready to Scale from One Book to a Series

If you are transitioning from a standalone book to a full series, your marketing game needs to evolve, immediately. This could be a pivotal moment in your career, one that demands a long-term vision.

A professional marketer can help you build a sustainable author brand by establishing what worked for your audience previously and continue these motifs and themes across future titles. The consistency in imagery and tone helps imprint a strong identity in your readers minds. This type of strategic planning is essential for sustaining momentum and driving cumulative sales growth as your catalog expands.A good marketing team will promote each release carefully and ensure that your older books do not get overshadowed by incoming content.

Switching up your visuals or messaging style too drastically between book launches can confuse loyal readers and dilute your overall brand. Instead, a marketer can help you link your books together with things like cohesive cover designs and book bundle deals, attracting new readers while keeping your established audience invested in your growing catalogue.

What to Look for in a Book Marketing Professional

When you're ready to hire a book marketing professional, here are the qualities you will need to look for:

• A proven track record in your genre : Having had successes with promoting books in your preferred genre certainly puts you at ease knowing they have done this before.
• Case studies or testimonials from past clients : Reading up what past clients have had to say can be a great insight on what you can expect from them and with predicting any potential issues that may later become an issue in the process.
• Transparency in their pricing and process : You are paying for a service. If you do not understand how much it is going to cost you and why, by time you are finished with your first initial meeting with a marketing professional, take that as a warning flag and look someplace else.
• A clear understanding of your goals : If you know exactly the kind of progress you want to see come from this transaction, an experienced marketing professional will be able to tell you how realistic those goals are and what can be done to get you there.

Ask them about their past campaigns, what tools they use, and how they measure success. You should be cautious of anyone who offers vague answers when asked about their methods. If you can’t understand what they plan to do with your time and money, then that is a major red flag. Deciding whether to hire a book marketer is a personal choice that depends on your time, budget, and long-term goals. However, if you're facing one or more of the signs mentioned above, professional help could be the key to unlocking your book's potential. It comes with a cost, but you have to weigh that up about potential expensive mistakes of running ads and wasting time in the wrong areas. You want someone who will collaborate with you, not just sell you a generic one-size-fits-all package. Ultimately, investing in a book marketer is also an investment in your career as an author. It should allow you to focus on what you do best: writing great stories.

If you think you're ready to take the next step, have a look at our services today and set your career on the path to success!