How to Use Influencer Marketing to Increase Book Sales

The number of people searching Google for the phrase influencer marketing has more than tripled over the last year. Many companies (and authors) have discovered that influencer marketing can be a cost-effective way to build brand awareness, drive online conversions, and increase sales. 

If you want to increase your book sales through influencer marketing, here are five tips to help you get better results.

1. Set a Clear Goal

Although there are some unique aspects to working with influencers, this strategy is still a marketing activity. Getting the best return on your investment from this marketing channel requires having a clear goal. Before you start reaching out to influencers, decide if your goal is to build awareness, promote a specific book, drive people to Amazon, increase your followers, grow your email list or something else.

2. Start with One Platform

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the different options for collaborating with influencers. Instead of trying to do everything at once, choose one platform and start with it.

Instagram is a popular choice. Snapchat can work great if you're targeting younger potential customers. There are also tons of bloggers out there that can have a big impact on your influencer marketing efforts. From motherhood bloggers, to health and fitness Instagram Influencers, there's an endless world of bloggers and social media influencers that you can collaborate with to promote your book. Research and find the influencers that would be the best fit to reach your target audience. Send them an email and ask if they would be interested in reading your book, offer to send them a complimentary review copy. Once they've had a chance to read it, follow up and ask if they enjoyed it to post about it on their social networking platforms. The photo above is an example of Instagram Influencer Nicole Cogan. She posted about a book on her Instagram feed - resulting in 4K likes in just 2 days. That's 4,000 potential readers. You can see how having an Instagram Influencer post about your book could be a great way to get the word out and increase sales. Having several influencers post about your book all at once can help provide instant credibility (and sales) for your book.

3. Look Beyond Follower Counts

The most significant mistake authors make with this type of marketing is only looking at people with big follower counts. 

Instead of follower counts, your evaluation of potential influencers should focus on how much engagement they create and whether they reach your target audience. That can help you identify "micro-influencers." These influencers are highly engaged with their smaller audiences and tend to charge very reasonable rates, or are willing to help promote your book for free (if they like it).

Most prominent influencers may charge more than you are willing to spend. Do the math. Calculate how many books you would need to sell - and base that on what you are willing to spend for influencer marketing. Start with smaller influencers and go from there.

4. Give Influencers Freedom

Micromanaging is another mistake authors often make when working with influencers. Providing brand guidelines for influencer partners is fine. What you don't want are strict rules that prevent an influencer from being authentic.

Influencers understand their audiences better than anyone else. Giving them the freedom to choose how they share your product with their followers will yield the best results.

5. Build Long-Term Relationships

It's essential to invest time in finding the right influencers. Once you do see an influencer who is an excellent fit for your book, it's worth building a long-term relationship with them. By finding multiple opportunities to collaborate, you will be able to maximize the amount of value you get from their audience.

When done correctly, influencer marketing can be a potent channel. By setting a clear goal, starting with one platform, looking beyond follower counts, giving influencers freedom and building long-term relationships, you'll be able to grow your followers and sales through influencer marketing successfully.