Did you know books were among the first commercially produced holiday gifts? It’s true! Publishers practically invented modern-day holiday gift giving. To this day books remain extremely popular gifts. Why? Well, there are millions of choices and books are affordable, easy to ship, and can be personalized. Choosing a unique title for a friend, family member or colleague and inscribing it with a personal note makes each book a truly special and memorable gift.
That’s why it’s a great time of year for authors to get creative and boost promotional efforts.
Here are our top 5 ideas to sell more books this holiday season:
Run a holiday-themed ad. It’s great to advertise your book year round, but during the holidays think about shifting your promotional message for the book. On Facebook, for example, your seasonal ads could showcase your book amid holiday scenery and explain why it’s a great gift for a specific type of reader. When holiday shoppers come upon your ad, make it easy for them to say, “Wow! that sounds like the perfect gift for so and so.” This marketing tactic works great for both fiction and and nonfiction books.
Publish a holiday short story. Take a character or scene from your book and give it a holiday spin as a short story. Use your short story as a giveaway or reader magnet to grow your email list and introduce readers to your work. The eBook format is great for this type of promotion because you can insert buy links at the back of the eBook for your other titles. If you’re a nonfiction or business author, consider some type of useful asset for your readers, instead of a short story.
Give fans an exclusive holiday offer. Your offer should align with your goals for the season. If you want to sell lots of books and drive up your visibility, offer a steep holiday discount for a limited time. If you don’t want to discount your book, consider offering a bonus of some sort. This might be a free short story that isn’t available in any retail channels, a signed copy of your book, or an invitation to an exclusive online event for a limited number of fans.
Create a holiday gift box. This is a specific type of holiday offer. If you have books on hand that you want to sell, consider pairing them with a few holiday-themed items and sending them in a special holiday box. You’ll have to do the box stuffing and shipping yourself, but it’s a one-of-a-kind gift that will make your book pop in a crowded marketplace. Make sure to limit the number of gift boxes you’re willing to create, run the special for a limited time, and ship your gift boxes early so they arrive on time for the big holiday. This idea works great for fiction, nonfiction, and business books.
Offer your series as a box set. If you think a physical holiday gift box is too much work, and you’ve published a book series in the eBook format, consider creating an eBook box set that is available only for a limited time and at a special holiday price. Promote your eBook box set on social media and with paid social advertising to bring home those book sales. Since eBooks aren’t given as gifts as often as physical books, consider marketing your box set with a message like this: “Amid all the holiday madness, pick up a treat for yourself—one that you can relax with by the fire after a hard day of shopping.”
Ho! Ho! Ho! The holidays are upon us, but there’s still time to get creative and sell more books this holiday season.
Happy Holidays! xo Team Bublish
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