Hi writers! Today I have an amazing and informative guest post for you by Rose Atkinson-Carter. Rose will be sharing with you some amazing tips for marketing your young adult book and when to start marketing. Let me tell you, this post is full of some great information. Without taking up anymore of your time, let’s check out these marketing young adult book tips!

No matter what writing stage you’re at, if you’re here, chances are you’re ready to up your marketing game for your next YA book. After all, book marketing is an essential and increasingly prevalent element in the publishing process. Not only that but, you need to start marketing earlier than ever nowadays — often before you’ve even finished the first manuscript draft. 

Having strong marketing, and starting early, is just as important (if not more important) in YA than any other genre. In fact, today’s adolescents are internet-savvy and more likely to appreciate a good media presence. So, with that in mind, here’s 5 tips for successfully marketing young adult books!

1. Go where your readers hang out

It’s important to find out what your audience’s preferences are and which platforms they spend most time with when developing your book marketing plan. This includes which platforms appeal to readers of that demographic, and which platforms are popular among YA fans in your specific niche. For example, if you’re writing and publishing sci-fi novels within YA, your readers might prefer Bookstagram or BookTube, whereas a dark academia readership might prefer BookTok, or Pinterest. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t utilize every platform, but it’s good to keep an eye on where to spend the most time. 

That said, don’t focus all your marketing efforts online. The first way you can turn heads (and, hopefully, hearts) towards your book is by giving readings of affecting excerpts — delivering a taste of what’s in store if they buy your book. Great places to host readings might be at libraries (bonus points if they’re university or school libraries), slots at literary festivals, or even at your local community center — if you advertise it right. 

You can give readings before and after your book launch, the former to generate interest, and the latter to sell books too. Either way, if you read with passion, you’re sure to start gathering a following. 

2. Secure reviews from influential bloggers in the YA sphere

Nowadays, you don’t necessarily have to be a book reviewer by profession — at least, in the traditional sense — to have clout in the industry. In fact, over the past decade, book bloggers, BookTubers, bookstagramers, and other bookish influencers have seen their followings snowball. So, as you might have guessed, securing a review from one of these top reviewers can skyrocket your marketing success. Luckily for us, plenty of bloggers are keen to cover YA fiction, since their audience often overlaps with yours. 

That’s all well and good, but how do you get book reviews? Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it sounds — you’ve already completed the first step by identifying your target audience. The next step is just to find relevant book review blogs, such as Pretty Little Memoirs, Epic Reads, Book Briefs, or other active and popular blogs currently taking queries. Pro tip: to quickly find viable blogs, search for reviews of titles similar to your own — e.g. “[Comp Title] + book review”. 

3. Collaborate with fellow YA authors to bundle books into a price promotion deal

Promotions always drive a book’s sales above where they were pre-promotion — that much makes sense. Many publishers and self-published authors also choose to go that extra mile and bundle different authors’ books together in price promotion deals to sell more copies, amongst other benefits. 

This type of book promotion deal generates word of mouth buzz amongst YA readers who may not have heard of you yet. Collaborating with fellow YA authors will also boost your network, something that will come in handy further down the line — either during this launch or with your next publication. It can also lead to making friends in the industry, which is always important, not least because writing, publishing, and marketing can feel like a pretty solitary process otherwise. 

Bundle promotions benefit both YA fiction publishers, who can sell similar books to readers who are passionate about that specific genre, and self-published authors, who can associate themselves with other important authors in the space. For example, if a reader’s current favorite author is doing a book deal with you, they’ll probably trust that your book is good too — and who knows, maybe you’ll become their next favorite author! 

4. Share a free prequel, sequel, or related short story online

For many readers, just asking them to read your book isn’t enough of an incentive. To encourage them to follow and support their work, it’s beneficial to offer them something of value in advance, also known as a “reader magnet”. However, if you offer them something in return (for example, a related sequel, prequel, deleted scene, or short story) readers are more likely to trust you and be intrigued by your book. 

Not to mention, reader magnets can be pretty fun to make! For example, when you see deleted scenes from TV series or movies, it’s intriguing because you develop more insight into the characters, and feel endeared if there’s a comic element. The same happens with reader magnets: they’re an incentive to read your book and great for injecting humor or furthering character development — not to mention they generate interesting discussion and get your readers invested in the lore. 

5. Get yourself a gorgeous book cover that people will want to share on Instagram

In a social media-centric world, readers, book bloggers, and influencers alike are far more likely to share your book if it has an aesthetically pleasing cover, and vice-versa. 

Like it or not, we judge books by their covers — front and back — constantly. This is simply because, if the cover isn’t visually appealing, or it doesn’t match certain conventions we expect of the genre, then we’re less likely to register it as something we’d enjoy reading. That’s why book cover design is often the best investment an author can make! A professional will understand current genre trends and the best ways to implement them seamlessly while creating an original design that represents your book and stands out on the shelf. 

Of course, many publishers will take care of your book cover for you. But, if you have control and you’d rather not budget for a professional, you can still create a viable book cover. There are plenty of DIY apps and guides available that help get to grips with what draws the reader’s eyes — though you can often pick up what sells well from taking a broad look at the current bestsellers. For example, many popular YA books in 2021, such as The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, and The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe, all feature various artistic renditions of faces on their covers. 

Whatever trends you implement on your cover, just remember to have fun with it — after all, it’s reflecting something you’ve put a whole lot of heart into! 

With all of that said, I hope my five tips for marketing young adult books have been helpful, and you now feel ready to tackle the world of book marketing. In the end, no one knows the genre better than the authors (and readers) that love it. So, as long as you pay attention to current trends and make an effort to connect with your readers, you’ll be on your way to marketing success in no time!  

 

Rose Atkinson-Carter is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with the world’s best self-publishing resources and professionals like editors, designers, and ghostwriters. She lives in London.

Thank you so much Rose for the amazing tips! I know I learned more about marketing in more strategic ways. Hopefully you’ve found this post to be as informative as I have. And until next time, keep writing!

 

 

What’s your favorite way to market your young adult book? Did you learn a new tip in today’s post?

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