Tag: preorder strategy

Take the Leap

When I first decided to put my book up for preorder in September (2023), I wondered if I had made the right decision. I had never run a preorder campaign that far in advance of the release date. And I was wondering if I could keep the momentum up. In my experience, people forget after a while, and the excitement fades.

Still, I took the leap of faith and put it up anyway.

The result is a book that has been selling every month since September and is currently a #1 New Release on Amazon for the ebook edition. The book doesn’t officially come out until the end of next month (Feb.).

“What if I fail?”

“Oh, but what if you fly?”

There is a common belief that if you give too much of your book away, people won’t be interested.

While I don’t think you should reveal everything, I do believe that talking about topics related to your book never gets old and, in that sense, you can never give away too much information. You can never know too much about your topic. You can never over study. The more you know, the more you can give.

And the more you give, the more interested people become.

This is my first nonfiction book about Black history. My other books cover these topics, but they are fictional. The nonfiction authors I admire and respect and who have done well with their launches all have something in common. They all educate their audience on their topic.

Whether in the form of a story and lesson learned or just putting fun facts out on social media, they have garnered interest in their books by talking about them. 

My biggest worry is not knowing enough, which (from a not-so-positive end) sometimes causes me to shrink. However, from a positive end, it keeps me searching, reading, and studying to show myself approved. It keeps me humble and hungry.

So, I thank you for supporting this work and I hope it inspires you to take the leap on whatever that might be. You might discover that you can fly!

I’d also like to remind you that we are ONE week away from closing preorders! If you haven’t yet, you can grab your paperback, hardcopy, or bundle at the link here. You can also find the link to the ebook on the site and more information about the book.

We are one week away from closing preorders for Black History Facts!

Order Your Copy Here

http://www.blkhistorybook.com | 2.24.24

Should You Put Your Book Up for Preorder? It Depends.

What is a preorder?

A pre-order is when you make a book available for purchase before its official release date—typically a week to a year in advance.

Traditionally, publishers have books available for preorder as early as six months to a year in advance. They do it because strong pre-sales tell retailers the book will be in high demand, affecting the number of books stocked at stores and allowing them to make bestseller lists.

Self-published authors can learn from this, not necessarily to make the bestsellers list but to gauge interest in their new book and give them time to market/promote it.

I believe studying the traditional publishing model can help Indie Authors become better self-publishers in some areas, but that’s a conversation for a different day.

By putting my book up for preorder, I have not only made early sales but already have a bookstore interest in stocking it. (I am also aiming for schools. We’ll see how this goes!)

Reasons for setting up preorders depend on your marketing strategy, which could be:

  • To gauge interest in the book based on preorder sales
  • To increase sales ranking
  • To get the proof copy of the book into the hands of early reviewers, bookstores, and organizations
  • To give you time to market /promote the book (on/offline)
  • To prepare your audience for the next book in a series
  • To build excitement and anticipation

Preorders that tend to do well

Authors with several books published and larger audiences tend to do better with preorders because they already have people waiting for their next book.

Even if the author has a small audience, preorders can be good if the book is in high demand. It is one of the reasons I put my black history book up for preorder so early.

I’ve built up enough hype and awareness for the book that people were already looking for it on Amazon and asking where they could buy it. Putting it up for preorder ensures I take advantage of the opportunity to catch interested readers while the book is on their minds.

blkhistorybook.com

Authors writing a series also do well. They might offer the first book at a discount and then have the next book on preorder. People who love the first book in the series will likely buy the next one.

Preorders that don’t do as well

First-time authors who don’t have an audience do not always do well with preorders and might benefit from just releasing the book. As stated, preorders are more useful for experienced authors because they already have an audience.

It is also not a good idea to set up preorders if you’re not able to commit to a publication date in advance.

The most important thing to remember is that you have much more flexibility and creative control as an independent author than if you were traditionally published. You can play around with different strategies and see what works.

Cover Reveals

Cover reveals are fun and all, but they serve no real purpose if people can’t buy the book or preorder it on the spot. I recommend holding off on showing the cover until you are ready or almost ready to accept orders.

Promoting Preorders

Although preorders are a beneficial marketing strategy for some authors, it is also a lot of work. Here are my top tips:

  • Consider running your preorders for a shorter time than the traditional model. Just because your celebrity authors release books on preorder a year in advance doesn’t mean you have to. We are Indies. We do what we want. (*wink*) Yours can be as short as two weeks to a month before release. Also for Amazon, the preorder only counts on the day of the order. This means that the longer the preorder period, the harder it is to sustain a high ranking on that book. (If your goal is to achieve a high ranking.)
  • Preserve most of your energy for when the book is out. Too many authors get hung up on the release date and wear themselves out. Remember that your book will sell for weeks, months, and years afterward, so pace yourself. If your preorders are through Amazon, you still receive your royalties per their regular royalty payment schedule after your book is published anyway, not before.

This is my first experience running a lengthy campaign, but I’m saving most of my energy for when the book comes out. Those of you who know me are aware that I rarely do anything without a purpose. Because I anticipated my schedule would be hectic toward the end of the year, I postponed the release until the new year. I’ll put it to the test and, of course, report back!

Check out more Indie Author Basics articles here.

Preorder Your Copy of Black History Facts You Didn’t Learn in School Here!

http://www.blkhistorybook.com | 2.24.24