Is Book Marketing Always Stuck at the Bottom of Your To-Do List? (And How to Finally Bump It Up)
You finished your book! Congratulations! That feeling of finishing your manuscript, whether physically or digitally, is truly something special. And you know now is the time to get going on your marketing. Does it feel like you know you should be doing book marketing, but it’s always the last thing you get to? You're not alone. Trust me, I've heard this story countless times.
The core issue is clear: author + book marketing consistently gets delayed and pushed down to the bottom of the to do list…even though marketing your book is a big part of selling your book. In this post, we'll explore why book marketing ends up at the bottom of your list and, more importantly, how you can prioritize it up and start seeing real results.
The All-Too-Familiar Story: Marketing Gets Pushed Aside
Let's paint a picture, shall we? Your schedule is a jam-packed. You are working on so many projects and you have so much life happening. And then there’s that nagging feeling in the back of your mind: “I really should be doing something to market myself and my book.”
As an author, you know part of the job is marketing yourself and your book. But what does that really mean? The short of it is that marketing includes:
Finding your audience
Knowing how to talk to you audience
Getting your audience to trust you
Building a community
Knowing how to succinctly talk about your book
Being able to share the reasons why your community (and other readers) need your book
Connecting with potential partners and collaborators
Being visible so that new people can find you
Building your platform
Pitching yourself to be on podcasts and in media
Get in front of people who don’t know you so that you can grow your platform
The list could go on forever, but the main goal of marketing is to build a community of people who know, like and trust you and want to buy your book. Every one of these bullets on the list is actually a million more tasks - so no wonder many authors might freeze when it comes time to actually getting to work on their marketing.
Where do you even begin? How do you begin?
I have worked with authors on their third cookbook, their first middle grade book, their 55th romance novel and more. Each one knows that “marketing” is something they should be dedicating more time to.
Why "Marketing" Ends Up at the Bottom: Decoding the Roadblocks
So, why does marketing for authors consistently get pushed to the land of "later"? Let's break it down:
The Time Constraint Myth (and Reality): We often tell ourselves we don't have time for book marketing. But is it truly a lack of time, or a matter of priority? You, my friend, made time to write an entire book! Think about it – you carved out months, maybe even years, for that incredible feat. It's not about finding more time for author marketing, it's about strategically directing the time you already have.
The Overwhelm Factor: The sheer volume of marketing advice and tactics out there can be paralyzing. Between social media strategies, building an email list, optimizing your website, and the endless opportunities to build your community… it’s easy to feel like you're drowning in a sea of "shoulds." This overload often leads to inaction – where do you even begin?
The Accountability Void: Being an author can be a solitary journey, and so can book marketing. When you're working on your own, self-accountability is often weak, especially for tasks we don't enjoy or find daunting. It's easy to let yourself off the hook when no one else is checking in. That marketing task can always slide to tomorrow… and then the day after.
The Price of "Later": The Impact of Not Marketing
What happens when author marketing consistently stays at the bottom of the pile? It will look different for everyone, but it can be:
Struggling to Build an Author Platform: Building a platform and finding your community is the a long term project - it can’t be done overnight. So the longer it takes you to start, the longer it will take you to build the community that you want.
Missed Readers: Fewer readers discovering your incredible book. Remember… your book is great. And people want to read it. But they just have to know that it exists and the easiest way for them to know this is if you tell them. And then remind them again and again.
Lower Sales and Royalties: Your hard work not translating into the financial rewards you deserve.
Missed Opportunities: Marketing is a muscle. Once you start doing it, you’ll get better at it. And once you get better at it, you’ll like doing it. An example that comes to mind is - let’s say a writer is doing a story about the very topic that you wrote your book about. Someone mentions your name and they Google you. They find your website (that is outdated) and your social channels. But the social channels have nothing to do with what you wrote your book about. And they hesitate in reaching out because they aren’t sure if you still are involved in this specific topic area. Or maybe you want to be on Good Morning America. It’s been your dream. In order to on GMA, you have to send in vidoe or you do live TV. How do you get the Live TV clip? You probably have to appear on a local shows. How do you do that? You have to pitch yourself. Everything about marketing is a process and there are plenty of opportunities… you just need to be ready for them!
Feeling Like Your Book Isn't Reaching Its Potential: A heartbreaking feeling for any author who has poured their soul into their work.
The frustration and disappointment can be hard when you feel like your book is not reaching the intended readers or that people aren’t talking about it. Neglecting marketing early on in the process could mean playing catch-up later, often with less impact and more stress.
Small Shifts, Big Impact: Practical Tips to Elevate Marketing
The good news is, you don't need to overhaul your entire life to start prioritizing book marketing. Small shifts can lead to big impact:
Time Blocking: Schedule specific slots in your calendar dedicated solely to author marketing. Even 30 minutes, twice a week, is a powerful start. Treat these appointments with yourself as non-negotiable.
Batching Marketing Task: Group similar marketing tasks together. For example, dedicate one hour to scheduling all your social media posts for the week, or another hour to brainstorming email content. Batching can make marketing feel less overwhelming and more manageable.
External Accountability: The power of having someone else to keep you on track cannot be overstated. Consider finding a writing buddy or accountability partner who also needs to prioritize book marketing. Or… you could consider a more structured approach to accountability that takes the guesswork out of it…
Stop the Inaction! Introducing a Structured Approach with CHECKED OFF: Finally Get Your Book Marketing Done.
These small steps are fantastic starting points, but for many authors, consistent marketing requires more structure and dedicated support. That’s why I created CHECKED OFF: Finally Get Your Book Marketing Done.
Checked Off provides that dedicated, non-negotiable time each week for marketing, making it a priority, not an afterthought. With weekly email accountability, co-working sessions, and office hours, you're no longer marketing in isolation. You have a built-in support system and external accountability to keep you on track. And when you do get stuck or have questions about the best marketing strategies for your book, you have direct access to expert guidance to cut through the confusion.
Ready to get those marketing to do’s CHECKED OFF?
Book marketing doesn't have to be a forever-deferred task that fills you with dread. It can become a consistent and manageable part of your author life, leading to more readers and greater success for your book.
If you're tired of knowing you need to market but still somehow not doing it, check out CHECKED OFF: Finally Get Your Book Marketing Done. It will get you going and keep you going so that your marketing gets done and you see the results you want.
