The Four Non-Negotiables of Book Marketing (and a Few Others You Can’t Ignore)

The Nauseating Excitement of Your First Book Launch

It turns out: if you build it, readers don’t necessarily come. Not unless you’ve nailed what I refer to as the four non-negotiables of book marketing. There are plenty of fancy tricks and clever tactics people argue about online, but a handful of things form the bedrock of sound book launch. Miss them, and you risk your novel being cast into the

darkest voids of the Amazon book swamp. After many years helping authors launch their books at The Book Marketer, Here’s how I’ve come to see them:

1. Genre Relevance
2. Optimised Metadata
3. Sources of Traffic
4. Social Proof

And, if I’m being completely honest, there are a couple of others I will sneak onto the list, but let’s unpack these first:

1. Genre Relevance: A Signal to Your Reader

This one’s brutal but true: readers judge books by their covers. We all do. And not just covers, the whole package. The

way the title looks, the imagery, the blurb tone. All of it must shout your genre so loudly that readers know exactly what they’re getting in under a second.

Book Covers Aren’t Just Pretty Pictures

Your book cover is your silent salesman. We are told we have three seconds to capture someone’s attention on Amazon. It’s your cover that makes them stop. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your prose is if the outside looks amateur. I learned this the hard way with a short story collection. The stories were gritty and dystopian, but the cover looked like a pastel mindfulness journal. No surprise that the wrong readers picked it up. and the right readers walked on by. How did I know? The bad reviews told me. If you’ve written romance, you need a romance cover. Crime? Dark, moody imagery. Science fiction? Stars, spaceships, or at least something futuristic. Think of it like signage outside a pub. If it says “Traditional Alehouse” but only serves smoothies, people will soon become confused and annoyed.

Respect Your Reader’s Expectations

Genre relevance isn’t about selling out. It’s about keeping a promise to your audience. When people are very attached to

reading a particular genre, they know what they are looking for. When you nail the packaging, readers feel reassured that your book will scratch the genre itch they’ve got. If you mislead them, intentionally or not, they won’t thank you for the surprise.

2.Optimised Metadata: The Invisible Workhorse

“Metadata” sounds like the sort of thing you’d ignore in a software licence agreement. But in book marketing, it’s the

invisible workhorse. It’s what tells Amazon (or Apple, Kobo, Waterstones, etc.) who your book is for and where it should live. Your title, subtitle, categories, keywords, and blurb all feed the algorithm directing readers to your books. They’re like labels on supermarket shelves. If you don’t have them right, your book ends up in the wrong aisle. No one buys spaghetti from the lightbulb section. Finding competitive keywords is a vital piece if this and using them between your title/subtitle, blurb and online real estate. Think of this as an example. Imagine publishing a fantasy novella with a poetic title like: “The Ashes of Forgotten Whispers.” Compare this to something like: “Dragon’s Blood: A Dark Fantasy Adventure.” Guess which one the algorithm is more likely to understand? Placing your book inside the most relevant and optimized categories is also important. Amazon has something called ‘ghost categories’ which are hidden away digital black holes that rarely see the light of day. Put your book in one of these and its visibility becomes drastically reduced. 

The Power of a Blurb

Don’t think the blurb is a throwaway paragraph. It’s not just a bit of decoration, it’s sales copy. Once readers have seen your cover and land on your sales page, skim the first couple of lines, they make a snap decision. Yes or no. If your blurb is rambling or vague, they’ll click away faster than you can say “add to basket.” I’ve fluffed blurbs before. I wrote one that

read like an essay about my themes and inspirations. Nobody cared and more importantly, nobody clicked buy. Then I rewrote it like a movie trailer, snappy, intriguing, leaving questions unanswered and suddenly clicks turned into sales.

Here’s a simple, proven structure for a fiction blurb:

1. Hook line: a sharp opener that grabs attention and sets the tone.
2. Protagonist intro: who they are and what they want (keep it short, 1–2 lines).
3. Conflict/obstacle: what stands in their way, the stakes if they fail.
4. Escalation: hint at the twists, tension, or dangers without giving spoilers.
5. Cliffhanger close: end with a compelling question or tease that makes the reader have to open the book.

So yes, metadata is the technical side, but it’s also the words that make a human lean in and think, “Ooh, this one looks

good.”

3. Sources of Traffic: Where Are Your Readers Coming From?

Here’s the truth no one wants to hear: you can have the best metadata and the most genre-perfect cover, but organic readers finding your book aren’t always gifted to you on a plate, at least to start with, you have to earn them. How? By selling books. But that’s a paradox no? Let me explain. Amazon’s algorithm will only gift you a certain amount of organic exposure and your book does sell it will drop you without so much as a by-your-leave. That’s why bringing your own sources of reader traffic is so important. By traffic, I just mean how readers are discovering you. Ads, email newsletters, blog tours, podcast interviews, social media posts, local bookshops, even a weird TikTok dance if you’re brave enough.

The method matters less than the consistency. I resisted email lists for ages because I thought it felt corporate. Then I set up a scrappy monthly newsletter, nothing polished, just chatty updates and a giveaway now and again. To my surprise,

readers replied. They told me what they liked, asked when the next book was coming. That little list became my most reliable source of traffic. Pick one or two social media channels and stick with them. You don’t need to be everywhere, but you do need somewhere. Otherwise, your book is like a brilliant café down a back alley with no sign outside. Lovely coffee, but who’s going to find it? Ad platforms are key. Amazon ads, Facebook Ads and Bookbub Ads all have their part to play in driving people to your sales page.

I also have to mention newsletter promotion companies. Big companies like Bookbub that in some cases have millions of readers on their lists, just waiting to hear about a hot new book release. The magic of newsletter promotions is this: they shorten the distance between reader and story. For the overwhelmed commuter scanning emails on a crowded

train, or the late-night reader scrolling before sleep, that one recommendation can open the door to a world they’d never have found alone. Here are some the biggest companies out there:

BookBub – the giant in the space, with millions of subscribers across every major genre.

Ereader News Today (ENT) – one of the older, trusted services with a strong following in romance and thrillers.

Bargain Booksy – good reach across multiple genres, focused on bargain-priced books.

Freebooksy – sister site to Bargain Booksy, excellent for free promotions.

Robin Reads – highly engaged readership, known for good conversion rates.

Fussy Librarian – delivers daily deals matched to reader genre preferences.

ManyBooks – large audience, originally an ebook discovery site, now runs a newsletter promo as well.

4. Social Proof: Readers Trust Other Readers

Think about the last time you bought a book online. Did you glance at the reviews? Of course you did. We all do. Reviews are the gold dust of book marketing. They don’t just convince readers, they also feed the algorithm, nudging your book into more searches and recommendations. Even a handful of reviews can make a world of difference.

I used to feel awkward asking for them, like I was begging. But honestly, people are often happy to help. I once nudged a mate down the pub about a review he’d forgotten to write. He pulled out his phone and did it on the spot, right between rounds. Not the most professional approach, but it worked. Endorsements from other authors, blog mentions, or readers tagging you on Instagram all count as social proof. They’re little trust signals. And in a crowded market, trust is what tips

browsers into buyers.

A Couple More You Can’t Ignore

Those four are the spine. But I’d argue these two are also important if you want your book to really stand a chance.

Priced-to-Market Strategy

This isn’t about undervaluing your work. It’s about recognising where your book sits. If you’re a new author with no audience yet, slapping a premium price tag on your debut will likely slow book sales down. Smart pricing like launch discounts, free promos for series openers, short-term price drops can give you the visibility you need to get sales

moving. I learned this the hard way. I priced my first kindle book at £4.99 because, well, I thought it was worth it. But nobody else did. When I dropped it to £2.99 for a week, sales spiked, reviews came in, and so I decided to keep it that price. I dropped the price and made more money. You need to think strategically on this. Hot tip: examine what your author comps are pricing their books at.

Author Presence

This one’s more about reassurance than selling. Readers like to feel the author’s real. That doesn’t mean you need to post TikToks every day or reveal your breakfast routine on Instagram. But a basic website, a mailing list, or even the occasional social post makes a difference. When I discover a book I like, the first thing I do is Google the author. If nothing comes up, I hesitate. Will they write more? Are they even still around? A tiny presence, even a one-page website with a bio gives the signal you are still here as an author and not vanishing after one book. How you build your author platform is vital in this regard. That however, is a chat for another day!

Pulling It All Together

So, there you go. Genre relevance (with a professional cover), Optimised metadata (with a strong blurb), reliable sources

of traffic, and solid social proof. Add in sensible pricing and a dash of author presence, and you’ve got the scaffolding your book needs to be seen. Will you make mistakes? Absolutely. I still do. You’ll overthink keywords, regret a cover, maybe even launch with the wrong price. But that’s part of the journey. Start with the essentials, celebrate the

small wins (like your first review from your first non-family subscriber), and remember: your book deserves readers. These non-negotiables just help it find them.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go and rewrite another blurb I thought was “artsy” but actually just makes no sense.