by Karen Whiting @KarenHWhiting
For authors, a marketing campaign is a plan to get people excited and interested in your book, brand, or you, so they will respond with an action. Other campaigns maybe be to connect with media or meeting planners. The action may be to buy the book, signup for your newsletter, or book you to speak. The plan consists of a series of activities that target the audience with a message. Activities used in campaigns are the marketing tools including keywords, lead magnets, video clips, email sequences, and press releases.
Different Campaign Types for Authors
- Sales related campaigns that pitch products include book launches/relaunches, or sales events.
- Brand/rebranding awareness and email campaigns grow followers, raise awareness of what you offer, and help readers connect to you.
- PR campaigns are publicity campaigns to bring awareness to a new book or course and reach for media interviews. It's also good for damage control when needed.
- Lead generation campaigns target specific connections such as meeting planners, to get speaking engagements.
- Cross marketing and community building campaigns are joint campaigns to share followers and grow one another's email lists.
- Ad campaigns are paid marketing, on social platforms, in magazines, or programs books where you speak and sell books. These target for specific reasons such as attracting customers at an event, or to get people to join a group, or go to your website.
- SEO campaigns use key words and phrases to target specific readers.
- Influencer marketing campaigns use an influencer or celebrity to reach a larger audience.
- Social media campaigns reach a social media platform with a specific objective.
Sample Marketing Campaigns for Authors
Any campaign can use video, SEO, ads, and other tools. For any campaign set an objective and choose activities to meet the goal. Consider what tools will help the campaign be successful.
Sales campaigns might tie to a holiday, such as one my co-author and I did for Mother's Day with the kindle books on sale for 99 cents each. We created memes and posts to bring awareness of the sale, posted on social media platforms, and I did a store event. Posts shared reasons why the book's benefits and glimpses of the content.
Brand awareness might be done when you have revised brand or expanded your brand. My brand on growing wholesome families has not changed, but now that I have a four-book-series for moms, I have an ongoing sub-brand awareness with 5 landing pages with email sequences plus grouped together on my website. I'll work on a sales campaign before Christmas to sell the complete set.
PR campaigns I do with each book release to get coverage in print, TV, radio, and podcasts. It's not always tied to a book. This year as Israel's Ministry of Tourism chose me as one of 4 journalists from the US a special tour of Israel. I created a press release about the trip. I had local print coverage, did some TV shows, and several radio and podcast shows. I also used the opportunities to announce a 2026 book release on biblical archeology for kids.
A a lead campaign would be great to send information to meeting planners. I might make it a page on my website instead of a newsletter as I don''t have a meeting planner list, but I have a speaking page on my website and I'm part of a speaker's organization. I would include a video of my speaking and sharing my focus. I'd include a link to download my speaker one-sheet. I'd also have it available to send meeting planners.
Cross marketing is done when we share posts and write reviews, but sometimes it's a specific campaign. I've joined some that were scavenger hunts and Christmas in July campaigns. I do one for the Christmas season where I find 10 or11 other authors in different genres with a book on the topic I chose. I did joy one year and peace another year. It's a good way to grow email lists and bring awareness of books in other genres for Christmas shoppers.
I've done FB ad campaigns that target a specific area when I'll be speaking, such as the area around where I'll have a booth at an event. When I did this for a retail show I noticed quite a few retailers were aware of my newest title before I signed the book. At a homeschool show moms came for one specific book for which I ran an area targeted ad, and then they looked at others.
SEO campaigns tend to be ongoing. AI brought a change to SEO where the keywords at the beginning decrease visibility while an anecdote or personal experience increases traffic. My website traffic had dropped drastically. I do short posts once or twice a week with a little personal experience opener, some SEO words in the next little bit, an outside link to an article or interview, and an inside link to buy a book. It's increased the web traffic.
Influencer marketing campaigns generally means you know a celebrity well or you hired one. For my 2026 release I have someone with a huge following who will help promote the book.
Social media campaigns I do tend to be Pinterest where I have a hidden board I release when the book releases with other prepared memes prepared to add daily.
Let the types of campaigns expand your marketing plans!
TWEETABLE
Karen has a heart to grow tomorrow’s wholesome families today. She has written more than eight hundred articles for more than sixty publications and loves to let creativity splash over the pages of what she writes. She writes for Crosswalk. Connect with Karen on Twitter @KarenHWhiting Pinterest KarenWhiting FB KarenHWhiting.
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