Writing a children’s book is not an easy feat. Writing is only one half! Book marketing is the other half. To make sure the book reaches your actual target audience (children), how would you market it? Of course, children will not be buying the books themselves; rather, adults will. And while you do want to market to adults, the book should still appeal to children. Keeping this all in mind, here are some of the top children’s book marketing ways to position your children’s books for success.
1. Build Your Brand
When you market your children’s book, you must ensure you hold the copyrights to its illustrators and character design. These characters can be used to create your very own brand. To add more to your brand, you can introduce coloring books, official merch, educational materials, party supplies, etc. If you want to earn even more revenue, you can bundle your books with official merch.
Just be sure to optimize your brand according to your target audience. Your book must hold a particular theme. Say your book discusses the story of an astronaut. You are better off marketing to young children who love science, space or astronomy. Parents who are aware of their interests will find your book a good fit for them!
2. Optimize Your Website
In this digital age, being a published author and not having a website is unheard of. Where else would your audience look you up? For impressive children’s book marketing, you need a professional website that is appropriately designed with themes that are playful and colorful for sure. However, don’t compromise aesthetics for quality in your book marketing plan. Ensure your website is easy to navigate, optimized for web and mobile use, and has quality content for SEO ranking.
3. Meet Your Readers
Don’t ever rely solely on digital sales for your book. You should always push for early physical sales. After all, printed books are the most popular reading format among children and adults alike This can help you get the word out about your publication. Nothing can market your book better than word of mouth. The goal is to get parents, children, teachers, and librarians to begin recommending your books.
How can you do this? You must meet your target audience one-on-one! You can do this by marketing your children’s books at specific locations where children and children books are found. This includes your local libraries, your local bookshops, educational visitor centers, and your local schools. At the start, you should request to share your books for free. This is also a wonderful opportunity for you to get feedback on your book so you can foster personal growth as a writer.
4. Leverage Social Media
Young children may not be scrolling on social media just yet. But their parents, teachers, and librarians will be. You must target this audience on your social media. Build a social media profile on the platforms of your choosing to not only share your publications but also to share more about you. Your audience wants to learn about the person behind the book as well. You can further share your books in audience-specific groups, such as those on Facebook that share children’s books or new reads for budding children.
We highly recommend sharing video content as this performs much better than plain content copy on social media for children’s book marketing. You don’t have to get professional equipment; even your at-home camera can record videos in HD. Share your book, what it’s about, and the inspiration behind it in the form of a video to your audience.
5. Provide Review Copies to Bloggers or Reviewers
Don’t underestimate the power of bloggers and influencers for book and author marketing. Micro-influencers are great for those who wish to market to specific target audiences. Look for mothers, readers, librarians, or teachers who share such reads on their profiles to see if they can give you a review. We wouldn’t recommend paying for reviews, as you want only genuine, honest feedback. You can also get user-generated content (UGC) from them, which you can share on your own social media or website.
6. Marketing On Amazon
Amazon is one of the global leading marketplaces for booksellers, so be sure to leverage their services. Optimize your Amazon page so it provides your book description, appealing visuals, book images, and your own author’s page. You can even use Amazon’s Kindle direct publishing services to create and sell your children’s books to millions of children around the globe. Publishing with KDP also automatically gives you full rights to the book, even if you are not working with a traditional publishing house.
Final Thoughts
So, now you know how to market a children’s book the right way? There are many ways you can market your children’s books, in person and online. Depending on your budget and time constraints, choose the book marketing methods that best meet your needs. For best results, we recommend using a mix of multiple book marketing strategies!
