Harnessing the Power of Book Clubs for Marketing

Taking the brave step of self-publishing is a huge accomplishment, so congratulations on your literary achievements! Now that your books are out in the world, you might want to spread the word, engage with readers, and boost your sales. An often underestimated—yet highly effective—marketing tool is the book club. An enthusiastic group of eager readers is a powerful resource for authors, and using book clubs for marketing can grow your audience, enhance reader interaction, and rack up your book sales. 

The magic of book clubs

Book clubs hold a lot of sway for self-published authors. Club members tend to be voracious readers who love to discover and discuss new books, so they’re the perfect audience for your masterpiece. Their conversations about your work can provide valuable insights into their preferences and opinions, which you can then apply to your future manuscripts. And, since book club members often recommend great reads to their family, friends, and peers, they can have a domino effect on your book sales by spreading positive reviews about your book. 

On top of being an engaged audience that serves as built-in market research and free word-of-mouth advertising, book clubs also allow you as the author to connect with your readers on a personal level. You’ll get to know new people who might be as excited about your work as you are, and if you set up an effective strategy, these groups can be a magical book marketing resource for you.

Five strategies to effectively use book clubs for marketing

You don’t have to be a marketing wizard to effectively market your work using book clubs, but you do need a strategy. In order to reap marketing benefits like word-of-mouth promotion, book reviews, and social media attention, you must develop a marketing plan—and it starts by finding the right book clubs for your book.

Find suitable book clubs 

First and foremost, find some book clubs that you’re confident will be interested in your book. It’s sometimes difficult for an author to accept the fact that their subject matter isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the fact is that your book will resonate more with readers who are interested in your genre and themes. 

There are many different places to look for suitable book clubs. Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

• In-person book clubs build relationships. Groups that meet in person instead of over the internet foster local connections and often have lively discussions about the books they read.
• Online book clubs offer feedback from a large pool of readers. Members who are spread out across the country—or across the world—can bring a wide variety of new opinions and perspectives to the club. 
• Retail-based book clubs let you home in on your audience. Think about where your book is being sold and find out if their platforms offer book clubs. For example, Goodreads is a great resource for finding like-minded readers. If you don’t already have one, set up a Goodreads author profile and search for clubs relevant to your book’s niche. 

After you’ve done the legwork of finding some book clubs that will love your work, you can start getting to know the members.

Engage with club members 

As you start to engage with and get to know book club members, be yourself! Authenticity matters, so don’t hold back—be sincere about your work as an author and your passion as a reader. 

When it comes time for the group to read your book, be sure to actively participate in the discussions. Offer insights, respond to questions, and share anecdotes about your writing process. Depending on whether the book club is virtual or in person, consider a live visit either at their meeting place or via video call so you can engage with them in real time. This will help the club members get to know you on a deeper level, and you can even provide them with some ideas and resources they can use when reading your book and other authors’ work moving forward.

Offer ideas and resources 

Some book clubs consist of casual readers who like to chat about their books, and others are more formal and structured. You can use both types of book clubs for marketing by offering helpful tools and exercises that members can apply to your book. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing: 

• Develop loyalty with reader guides. Create guides or discussion questions specifically tailored to your book. These resources can assist book clubs in their discussions and show your dedication to your readers. 
• Connect with your readers by offering a live Q and A. Extend an invitation to conduct a Q and A session with the book club members. These sessions give your readers a unique opportunity to interact with you as the author. 
• Increase your engagement by offering exclusive content. Share bonus materials with book club members that only they get to see or hear. These materials may include things like character profiles, deleted scenes, or short stories related to your book. 

Providing these resources encourages the club to collaborate with you, and maybe even post some positive book reviews that’ll help you sell more copies. 

Encourage collaboration—and book reviews! 

In addition to engaging with book club members, you can collaborate with them as well. This might mean partnering with a few different clubs to host events like author interviews, virtual book launches, or exciting giveaways. You can also have some fun and create reading challenges or contests with prizes. To really make your work accessible to members, assemble a book club kit that includes discussion guides, author notes, and additional materials. 

As you get to know the book club members, don’t be afraid to ask for positive online reviews. Platforms like your Goodreads profile and your optimized Amazon listing are perfect venues for happy book club members to write a couple of sentences about how much they loved reading your book. 

You can also offer incentives like signed bookplates or bookmarks for positive reviews. Just be careful here, as you don’t want to violate any club policies—some book clubs might prefer not to post public reviews, and you certainly don’t want an incentive to seem like a bribe. However, if they like you and your work, chances are they’ll be happy to help you reach more readers!

Promote your book club experience 

Using book clubs for marketing provides a lot of advertising potential at a low cost. And here’s another way to increase your audience and book sales: promote your book with these groups! Let the world know how much fun you’ve had getting to know the different clubs and members. For example: 

• Share your interactions with book clubs on social media to highlight your engagement with your readers. 
• Write and send out an occasional author newsletter updating your fans about your involvement with book clubs. Talk about how much fun you’re having with the members, share a brief but engaging story or two about a club meeting, and include some positive reader reviews. 
• Create a dedication section on your author website or blog to showcase the book clubs you’ve engaged with. This can help attract more book clubs to your work and encourage them to reach out to you about engaging with their members. 

In other words, you can leverage the time you’ve spent with book clubs to widen your audience and earn more book sales. 

Learn to leverage the power of book clubs for marketing

There are many benefits of using book clubs for marketing. You have the potential to get great feedback on your work as well as some publicity to a wider audience thanks to word-of-mouth promotion and positive online reviews. Plus, you get to meet some great people who love your work! 

Marketing your book can be a lot of fun, but for some self-published authors, it’s a daunting challenge that’s outside of their wheelhouse or comfort zone. Fortunately, Elite Authors are the experts in marketing your book so you can reach more readers and ring up those book sales. 

Contact us today to learn more about our book marketing services!