Timing for Book Sales Success

Timing for Book Sales SuccessTiming for Book Sales SuccessHow do you market your book in a way that its timed for sales success? Timing is everything - and no less in book marketing and book publicity than in any other endeavor. There are many factors that affect book promotion timing - from launch date to bookseller seasonal promotions and special events (like Small Business Saturday for Booksellers see November Book Promotions, below). Heres what you need to know about timing your book promotion. How to Market Your Book - Timing Your Book Promotion Promote Your Book Pre-Publication Ideally, authors should begin a year or more before their books get published to start building their social media followings, their affinity group networks, and on- and off-line social awareness of their upcoming publication. (Learn more about the pre-publication book marketing steps to take, here.)Promote Your Book at Launch The launch window is likely your books best shot at marketing and pu blicity exposure for a number of reasons. If its keyed to a specific season or event (see Super Bowl, below), then your publisher will likely launch your book into the marketplace timed in advance of that event. Promote Your Book Often - Of course, you dont want to stop there.When youremarketing or publicizing a book - whether your own or someone elses - youll be looking for marketing opportunities throughout the life of your book. Here are some additional book marketing timing tips. Market Your Book to Your Super Bowl That is, create your books buzz around the most natural, best timeframe - the event or season when your potential readers attention is riveted on your subject matter. For example If youve written a cookie decorating book like I have, the best time to promote it would be from late-monat des herbstbeginns to through December - prime holiday cookie-baking season.If youve written a book about how to find a job in book publishing, the season to promote would likely be around graduationwhen tens of thousands of English majors are looking for jobs.If youve written a novel about pirates, the Talk Like A Pirate Day (see below) might be the date that you gear your promotions toward - read more about hooking your book to an existing event. If youre lucky enough to backlist, there may be anopportunity to re-promote your book on an annual basis,hooking it to an annual eventor the season when booksellers are focusing on it. Market Your Book When the Media and Booksellers Are Focusing on the Topic Following are some areas of and timeframes for typical, annual book promotions. Keep in mind that different booksellers have slightly different calendars, and the lead time for media varies greatly. And note that in-store promotions arent limited to bricks-and-mortar booksellers. Online retailers also promote titles seasonally. January Book Promotions New Year, New You Including diet books, exercise manuals, self-improvement of all types to key with a ny New Years Resolutions, and clutter-clearing. February Book Promotions Valentines Day Books promoted around Valentines Day include sex how-to books (like the Kama Sutra), erotica, dating advice... and books about chocolate March Book Promotions St. Patricks Day Since the Irish monks saved civilization by protecting the volumes of the day, the St. Pats people have been a book-loving crowd. Books on Irish history, Irish cookbook, etc., are generally in promotion. Spring / April Book Promotions GardeningSpeaking of all things green, gardening how-to and picture books bloom on bookseller tables at this time of year. WeddingsBridal-related books - While weddings obviously happen all year long, bridal is generally promoted in the early spring, coinciding with the bridal industrys own promotional efforts at that time. These include wedding planners, wedding etiquette books, books with wedding inspirations. And while a young womans fancy turns to matrimony and a young mans fan cy turns to... BaseballBaseball books May Book Promotions Mothers Day Womens fiction note Fifty Shades of Grey, which experienced a somewhat surprising Mothers Day bump its first year on the market. Surprising because it seems to indicate that people were buying erotic books for their Moms. June Book Promotions Fathers DayGrilling books Timed for the beginning of the summer grilling months, bookstores merchandise grilling books at Fathers Day. Golf and other sports books Golf books of all types generally sell well versus other sports books. GraduationTraditionally dictionaries were a graduation gift, but that market has diminished with the internet. Books that tip to the rite of passage of graduation, such as Dr. SeusssOh, the Places Youll Go or Anna QuindlensA Short Guide to a Happy Life, adapted from a college commencement address she gave. Books about jobs and careers are understandably popular. AudiobooksJune is officially Audiobook Month, when the Audie Awards take p lace. Audiobook versions can take aride on the promotional tails of the nominees and winners. July Book Promotions Summer ReadingThe beach reading season highlights lighter adult fiction, generally fast, fun reads. Also popular isYoung Adult and childrens books, which are driven by school summer reading lists. Travel guides and maps - again, a changing market with the preponderance of online travel information and GPS systems, but people still do look for guides to carry. August Book Promotions Back-to-School September Book Promotions September marks the start of the fall bookselling season, by far the best time of year for book sales, leading up to the month of December when holiday gift-buying boosts book sales to their annual peak. Traditionally, big books are launched at this time of year, in time to ramp up the book publicity and get those books on everyones holiday gift list. Also popular are how-to and cookbooks for the season - craft books, baking, holidaycookin g.Talk Like A Pirate Day (September 19) - you know you wanted to ask. September through early November is also the time of manyannual book fairs. These tend to showcase local authors, and if youre crafting a seasonal marketing plan, you might take a look at theBook Publishing Calendarto see when there might be a show in your area, and then readhow to pitch a book fair programmer to score a spot at a show. October Book Promotions HalloweenHalloweens popularity as a retail holiday has gained much in recent years and the growth in thenumber of Halloween titles- especially cookbooks and kids craft books- has reflected that. November Book Promotions Jewish Book MonthTimed a few weeks before Hannukah, local book fairs focus on books of Jewish interest. ThanksgivingTurkey roasting seems to generate hostess insecurity and people are gearing up for their year-end holiday cooking. Books on holiday cooking and baking, especially cookie books, are popular at this time. Indies First / S mall Business SaturdayAuthors of all kinds have opportunities to volunteer at their local booksellers while helping to promote their books themselves on Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) when many independent bookstores host a IndiesFirst events. According to its founder, Sherman Alexie, What could be better than spending a day hanging out in your favorite hometown indie, hand-selling books you love to people who will love them too and signing a stack of your own? Why not give it a try? Contact your local indie bookseller/s to see how you might participate. December Book Promotions Gift BooksDue to the give-ability of print books, December hardcover and paperback sales generally outpace the sale of ebooks. Also due to the gift-giving factor, theres an uptick in sales big, hefty, more expensive books, like major biographies, and color-filled coffee table books, art books, and cookbooks.