It’s a wonderful experience to write and publish a children’s book – but that’s just half the journey.
The other half is discovering how to get your book noticed by the people who will benefit and appreciate it most.
For a children’s book to gain more recognition, make more sales, and develop a devoted fanbase, it needs to be properly promoted and marketed.
To effectively market and sell your children’s book, start by following the steps in this detailed guide. It will help you with everything from creating a brand strategy and developing your online presence to fine-tuning a marketing strategy that gets real results.
Brand Strategy
Before you can market and promote your children’s book, you need to develop a brand strategy that defines your unique brand identity and outlines EXACTLY who you are hoping to reach.
This entails developing a distinct brand for your children’s book or series that will appeal to your ideal reader and distinguish you from other authors in your genre.
Here are some of the key steps in developing your brand strategy:
1. Know your Target Audience
Knowing your target audience is critical for creating a brand that resonates with them.
Your target audience will likely be kids within a particular age group, parents, caregivers, and teachers. And understanding their needs and preferences will help you create a brand that appeals to them.
What age range is your book intended for? What are the key themes and messages of your book?
Consider the reading preferences and interests of the children. What types of tales do they enjoy reading? What subjects and themes appeal to that particular age group?
Think about why parents and other caregivers choose to purchase children’s books. Are they looking for books that entertain or educate their kids? Are they interested in books that promote values, morally positive traits, or certain life lessons?
And finally, think about the guidelines teachers have for choosing books for their students. Do they search for books that meet curriculum requirements? Do they have an interest in reading books that encourage literacy and critical thinking?
2. Book/Series Branding
After you’ve clearly identified your target audience, it’s time to develop your brand identity.
Generally, once a children’s book author becomes trusted and known in the marketplace, buyers often buy several – if not all – of an author’s books.
Therefore building your author brand becomes increasingly crucial to maximize your opportunities and grow your book sales.
However, it’s important to note that there is a difference between an author brand, which refers to the reputation and identity of the author themselves, and a ‘sub-brand’ which is specific to a particular book or series.
Developing your author brand involves creating a consistent image or persona that reflects your values, writing style, and target audience. This might be considered your main or ‘umbrella’ brand.
Your visual style, tone, and messaging should be consistent across all marketing materials, including your book cover, website, and social media. And should also appeal to your readers, both big and small.
Think of it as the sum total of how your readers perceive you and your writing – ideally molded and fashioned by how clearly you communicate your vision or the purpose behind your work.
This includes factors such as your brand values, how you position yourself in the marketplace, your key messaging, and the overall experience for readers.
Essentially, your author brand is what distinguishes you as a writer and helps readers identify and connect with you and your work.
On the other hand, developing a sub-brand for a book or series involves creating a unique identity and marketing plan specific to that particular work.
This can include designing a book cover that is distinct from your other books, creating a unique aesthetic or tagline, and developing a targeted marketing campaign that appeals to the specific audience for that book or series.
The key difference between the two is that an author brand is meant to be consistent across all of your books and marketing efforts, while a sub-brand is specific to a single book or series.
Developing a sub-brand allows you to create a distinctive identity for a particular set of work and reach a specific audience, while still maintaining the consistency of your overall author brand.
In both cases, the branding should be unique and memorable, and it should communicate both your book’s themes and values, as well as your overall vision for your author brand.
3. Creating an Eye-Catching Cover
Your book cover is one of your most important marketing tools. It’s the first thing your potential readers will see, and it can make or break their decision to buy your book.
In fact, covers are essential for boosting sales of kids’ books, but it’s important that a children’s cover should attract both kids and adults.
Here are some tips for designing an eye-catching cover:
- Make sure your cover is relevant to your book’s content, genre, and age-appropriate.
- Choose bright colors and fonts that are appealing and easy to read.
- The atmosphere is joyful or adventurous.
- Use high-quality images or illustrations that communicate the book’s theme.
- Make sure your cover is legible and easy to understand, even when it’s displayed in a small size.
- Consider hiring a professional designer to create your cover.
4. Tone and Voice
A unified tone and voice for your book or series should also be a part of your brand strategy.
This involves choosing a writing style and tone that matches your target audience’s preferences and expectations.
When it comes to brand messaging, a middle-grade fiction author, for example, might focus on creating a sense of adventure, imagination, and wonder for their readers.
They might also emphasize the importance of friendship, empathy, and understanding, as well as the value of creativity, curiosity, and exploration.
It’s important to focus on establishing a consistent tone and voice throughout your work, as well as highlighting the themes and messaging that make your books unique.
Here’s a summary of what that might look like using middle-grade fiction as an example:
Tone and Voice: Middle-grade fiction often features a whimsical and adventurous tone, with a sense of wonder and possibility. The voice should be relatable and engaging for young readers, while still offering something fresh and unique. It’s important to find a balance between being accessible and being distinct, in order to stand out in a crowded market.
Themes: Middle-grade fiction often deals with themes of coming-of-age, self-discovery, and friendship. The stories should be relatable to young readers, while also offering them a sense of guidance and support as they navigate their own lives. Some common themes a middle-grade author might include are overcoming obstacles, learning to be true to oneself, and finding one’s place in the world.
Brand Messaging: An author’s brand messaging should emphasize the unique qualities that set their books apart from others in the genre. This might include highlighting the middle-grade author’s unique voice and perspective, as well as emphasizing the themes and messages that are central to their work. The messaging should be consistent across all marketing materials, including social media, book covers, and their author website, in order to establish a clear and recognizable brand identity.
5. Build a Strong Online Presence
Another crucial element of good brand strategy for your children’s book is building a strong online presence.
In order to do this, you need to start a website or blog where you can promote your book, interact with readers, and offer useful information like interesting or helpful blog entries, book reviews, and interviews.
The difficulty when creating a website or content that appeals to both children and adults is that you must consider the needs and interests of both audiences.
Here are a few tips to help you create content that resonates with both kids and adults:
- Design for both audiences: Create a website that is visually appealing and easy to navigate for both children and adults. Use bright colors and fun graphics to capture children’s attention, while also making sure that the site is organized and user-friendly for parents and teachers.
- Offer a variety of content: Provide a mix of content that appeals to both kids and adults. This might include book reviews, author interviews, writing prompts, and interactive games or activities related to your books.
- Keep it age-appropriate: Make sure that your content is appropriate for both children and adults. This means avoiding adult language or themes that may not be suitable for younger readers, while also making sure that your content is engaging and interesting for adults.
- Provide resources for parents and educators: Include resources on your website that are specifically geared towards parents and educators. This might include discussion guides, lesson plans, and recommendations for further reading.
- Engage with your audience: Encourage both kids and adults to engage with your content by leaving comments, sharing on social media, or participating in contests or giveaways.
By taking these steps, you can create a website and content that appeals to both children and adults, helping you to build a strong and engaged audience across multiple age groups.
There are many types of creative and compelling content that you can share with your readers to build your online presence. Here are some examples:
- Behind-the-scenes content: Share insights into your creative process, such as sketches, storyboards, and character designs. This can help to give readers a sense of how your books are made and help to build anticipation for upcoming releases.
- Excerpts and teasers: Share excerpts from your books or teasers of upcoming projects to generate excitement among your readers and their parents.
- Interactive content: Create interactive games, quizzes, and activities related to your books that kids can enjoy online and off. This can help to keep them engaged with your work and foster a sense of community around your brand.
- Author interviews: Interview other authors and share their insights on the craft of writing, your creation process (where you get your ideas), or other topics related to children’s literature. This can help to establish you as an authority in your field and attract new readers to your work.
- Writing prompts: Share writing prompts or challenges to inspire young readers to write their own stories. This can help to foster a love of reading and writing and build a community of young writers around your brand.
- Book reviews and recommendations: Share reviews of other children’s books and provide recommendations for further reading. This can help to establish you as a trusted source of information on children’s literature and build your reputation as an expert in the genre.
- Exclusive content: Provide your fans with exclusive content, such as bonus chapters, character sketches, or deleted scenes. This can be a great way to keep readers engaged and interested in your work.
As you can see, the options for creating interesting and valuable “extras” for your readers are endless.
And by sharing these various types of content on your website, email, and social channels, you can build a strong online presence as a children’s book author and connect with your readers in a meaningful way.
Marketing Strategy
The next crucial factor in selling and promoting your children’s book is your marketing strategy.
It involves developing a comprehensive plan that includes a range of tactics to reach your target audience and drive sales.
Marketing initiatives for children’s books are frequently developed for parents and grandparents, who purchase books for their families’ younger members.
So keep both audiences in mind as you consider these key components when developing your marketing strategy:
Define Your Goals
The first step in developing a marketing strategy is to define your goals.
Do you want to generate buzz and excitement for your book launch? Increase book sales? Build your brand as an author?
What type of experience are you hoping to create for your young reader? For moms, dads, grandmothers, and grandfathers?
What impact are you hoping to make with teachers, bloggers, influencers, or other organizations devoted to children, parenting, families, and education?
Identifying your goals will help you determine which tactics to prioritize and also help you measure the success of your marketing efforts.
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Develop a Budget
Marketing can be expensive, so it’s important to develop a budget and allocate your (often limited) resources accordingly.
Consider which tactics will have the biggest impact on your target audience and prioritize those. Be sure to also track your expenses to ensure that you are getting the best return on your investment.
Here’s a sample marketing budget checklist for a children’s book author:
Pre-production:
- Illustration services
- Cover design
- Manuscript editing and proofreading
Advertising:
- Facebook Ads
- Bookbub Ads
- Amazon Ads
Public Relations:
- Press release creation and distribution
- Media outreach and pitch creation
- Media training for author
Events:
- Book launch party
- School visits and readings
- Book fairs and festivals
Collateral:
- Business cards
- Postcards and bookmarks
- Brochures and flyers
Website and Social Media:
- Website design and development
- Social media management
- Email marketing
Miscellaneous:
- Book giveaways and contests
- Book trailers and video production
- Book reviews and blog tours
It’s important to remember that the quality of your illustration and cover design can have a significant impact on the success of your children’s book, so it’s important to allocate sufficient resources to these areas.
Your budget should be reviewed and revised periodically based on the marketing results achieved, as well as your needs and goals.
Collaborate with Your Illustrator
If you’re working with an illustrator, it’s important to collaborate with them effectively.
Your illustrator can help you create marketing materials that showcase your book’s or series’ visual style, helping you grab your reader’s attention.
But your illustrator will also be motivated to promote your book to their network and via their social channels because it highlights their work as well.
Here are some tips for collaborating with your illustrator:
- Communicate your expectations and requirements clearly.
- Provide your illustrator with a detailed brief that outlines your book’s or series’ themes and characters.
- Ask for samples and feedback throughout the process.
- Use your illustrator’s art in your marketing materials, such as book trailers, posters, and bookmarks.
- Coordinate social media or email campaigns for both audiences (yours and your illustrators).
- Ask your illustrator if they are amenable to introducing you to other authors in their network/portfolio to coordinate cross-promotions or collaborations that benefit all involved.
Leverage Reviews and Recommendations
Reviews and recommendations are essential for building trust and credibility with potential readers. Here are some ways to leverage these endorsements of your work:
- Encourage your launch team to post honest reviews and recommendations on Amazon, Goodreads, and social media.
- Reach out to book bloggers and book reviewers to request reviews.
- Use book review quotes on your book cover, website, and marketing materials.
- Display your book’s or series’ awards and nominations on your website and social media.
For a more in-depth resource, check out How to Get Reviews For Your Book (Without Begging, Bribing, or Resorting to Subterfuge).
Recruit your Launch Team
Your launch team is a team of people who will aid in the launch of your book and spread the word about it among their contacts.
Friends, relatives, coworkers, bloggers, book reviewers, and influencers can be on your launch team.
The launch team can help you with:
- Spreading the word about your book before and after launch day.
- Posting reviews and recommendations on Amazon, Goodreads, and social media.
- Creating buzz on social media by sharing your posts and using relevant hashtags.
- Hosting giveaways and contests to attract new readers.
To recruit your launch team, send out a call to action on your social media channels, email list, and website.
It’s also a good idea to offer incentives such as free copies of your book or access to exclusive content. The more invested your team is in your book, the more excited they generally are to help get the word out about your new release.
Book Trailers and Video
Book trailers and videos are powerful tools for promoting your book and capturing your target audience’s attention. Here are some tips for creating book trailers and videos that both kids and adults will enjoy:
- Write a script that highlights your book’s key themes and characters.
- Use images, music, and sound effects that match your book’s genre and mood.
- Keep the trailer or video short (around one to two minutes).
- Include a call-to-action at the end that encourages viewers to buy your book.
Here’s an example book video trailer made using Canva.com:
Use Promo Sites
A multitude of sites promote books to their audiences through book tours, author interviews, and book spotlights.
There are also free and paid book promotion services that you can vet to see which provides you with the best service at the best price. (Discover the ideal book promotion sites for your price range with this free tool created by Reedsy.)
Promo sites are a great way to increase visibility and reach new readers.
Here are some popular promo sites for children’s books:
Host Events & Giveaways
Hosting events and giveaways is an excellent way to engage with your readers and promote your children’s book.
Here are some ideas for events and giveaways:
- Virtual book launch party: Host a live online event to celebrate your book’s launch.
- Book signing: Host a book signing at a local bookstore or library.
- School visits: Visit local schools to read your book and talk to students.
- Goodreads giveaway: Host a Goodreads giveaway to attract new readers.
Social Media (Facebook Groups, Goodreads)
Social media – if done right – can be a powerful tool for promoting your book and connecting with your readers. Here are some tips for using social media effectively:
- Create a Facebook page and invite your followers to like it.
- Join Facebook groups that are relevant to your book’s genre and target audience.
- Create a Goodreads author profile and add your book to your profile.
- Participate in Goodreads groups and discussions.
For each platform, the key is to determine who are you trying to reach – the parents, the kids, or both?
If you’re looking to reach the kids, YouTube or TikTok may be good options.
As for parents, the most effective social media platforms to target will vary based on their location and gender. For instance, if you’re trying to reach moms in the US, you might consider using Facebook or Pinterest.
Ultimately, the key to creating a successful social media strategy is to understand your target audience and their social media usage patterns.
Do your research on the demographics you’re trying to reach, and then create content that resonates with them on the appropriate platforms.
Collaborate with Other Authors and Influencers
Collaborating with other authors and influencers can help you reach new readers and build your network. Here are some ways to collaborate with others:
- Guest post on other authors’ blogs.
- Host a joint book launch event with another author.
- Collaborate on a book bundle or boxed sets with other authors.
- Partner with an influencer to promote your book on social media or podcasts.
Guest Post & Magazine Articles
Writing guest posts and magazine articles can help you reach new readers and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Here are some tips for writing guest posts and magazine articles:
- Research the publication’s guidelines and audience.
- Develop a personalized pitch for a unique and relevant topic. Explain why your book is a good fit for their audience and why it would be of interest to their readers.
- Provide supporting materials that will help the outlet understand you and your book. This may include a press release, author bio, book summary, high-quality images, and a copy of the book. Make it easy for them to access and use this content.
- Include a bio and links to your book and website.
- Be persistent but polite. Follow up with the outlet after a week or two to see if they are interested in covering the book, and be open to answering any questions they may have.
- Take the time to get to know the journalists who cover children’s books and follow up with them after your book has been published. By building these relationships, you may be more likely to receive coverage for future books.
- Once your book has been covered by a media outlet or magazine, promote the coverage through social media and your email newsletter. Encourage your followers and subscribers to read the article or review, and provide links to the outlet’s website or social media pages.
Children’s Book Awards and Festivals
Children’s book awards and festivals are additional ways to get your book noticed and build your credibility. Here are some popular children’s book awards and festivals:
School and Library Visits
Visiting schools and libraries is an excellent way to promote your book and connect with your target audience. Here are some tips to increase your success with this form of outreach:
- Research the school or library’s curriculum and requirements.
- Prepare a presentation that is interactive and engaging.
- Bring copies of your book to sell and sign.
- Follow up with the school or library after your visit.
Conclusion
Marketing and selling your children’s book can be challenging, but with the right strategies and techniques, it is possible to reach your target audience and build a successful career as a children’s author.
Focus on developing a brand strategy that targets your ideal audience, collaborate with others in the industry, and leverage social media, reviews, and recommendations to build your platform and engage your readers.
Also consider hosting events and giveaways, participating in festivals and awards, and creating book trailers and videos to engage with your readers and build buzz around your book.
FAQs
Q: How do I know my target audience for my children’s book?
A: Research your book’s genre and subject matter to identify your target audience. Think about who your ideal reader is and what their interests and needs are.
Q: How important is branding for my children’s book?
A: Branding is essential for creating a unique and recognizable identity for your book or series. It can help you stand out in a crowded market and attract your ideal readers.
Q: Can I promote my children’s book on social media?
A: Yes, social media is a powerful tool for promoting your book and connecting with your readers. Create a Facebook page, join relevant groups, and use Goodreads to reach new readers.
Q: How do I collaborate with other authors and influencers?
A: Reach out to other authors and influencers in your genre or niche and pitch collaboration ideas. You can guest post on each other’s blogs, host joint events, or collaborate on a book bundle or boxed set.
Q: How do I create a book trailer for my children’s book?
A: Write a script that highlights your book’s key themes and characters, and use images, music, and sound effects that match your book’s genre and mood. Keep the trailer or video short and include a call-to-action at the end.
