How does an unknown author create a bestseller? While it’s still possible to create a runaway hit based on nothing more than a great story and rapid word-of-mouth, it’s an exceedingly rare phenomenon. We here at Best Thrillers wanted to know. Our new infographic, The Book Marketing Landscape, illustrates some of the most popular services and platforms that help authors gain significant sales traction.
Please find analysis and sources below the infographic, as well as a complete list of services providers included.
Analysis
At the minimum, writers need a great book cover design that connects with readers in their target genre. That is especially true for romance and thriller books – the two two fiction genres – because readers tend to favor familiarity. Slotting books in the right categories on major sales platforms, as well as getting reviews from top influencers, are also commonly cited as factors strongly correlated with sales traction. And while publicists, in-person events and social media are vital, email marketing has taken on heavier influence (more on that below). And while it may seem like eBooks are taking over the publishing industry, as Nielsen’s recent study shows, they still make up just 23% of the overall market. That number varies hugely, by the way, on genre. Romance Books, for example, make up 47% of Amazon.com’s eBook sales.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com continues its pivot from book seller to an end-to-end book production and marketing machine. The company owns Audible, several on-demand book creation tools and is singlehandedly responsible for the consolidation of online book communities. Once numerous, many social reader sites have shrunk in influence, as Amazon’s GoodReads and to a far lesser extent, Shelfari, reign supreme.
Email marketing is now widely considered one of the most effective ways to reach thousands of targeted fans in any genre. The largest player in the discount eBook email space is currently BookBub, but several other email marketing services have proven that it’s possible to replicate the business model and are rapidly growing their subscriber base. Several such services also employ social media campaigns with varying degrees of success.
Did we leave any major influencers out? Tell us in the comments!
List of Services in the Infographic:
Book Cover Designers
- 99 Design
- The Book Designers
- DamonZa
- Syd Gill Designs
Book Reviews
- Best Thrillers [disclosure: that’s us!]
- BookPage
- Clarion Reviews
- Entertainment Weekly
- Kirkus Reviews
- Midwestern Book Review
- National Public Radio (NPR Book)
- The New York Times
- Publishers Weekly
Email Marketing
- BookBub
- Book Gorilla
- Book Sends
- Free Booksy
- The Fussy Librarian
- The Midlist
Book Publicists
- authoright
- Book Publicity Services
- Literally PR
- PR by the Book
- Smith Publicity
Book Sales
- Amazon.com
- American Bookseller Association
- Audible
- Barnes and Noble
- Google Play
- iBooks
- Kobo
- Walmart
Events
- Barnes and Noble
- Book Expo America
- BookCon
- ThrillerFest
Reader Communities
- GoodReads
- Library Thing
- Shelfari
Social media
Did we leave any major influencers out? Tell us in the comments!
Download this infographic.