If you write and publish a book on your own, eschewing a publisher, literary agent, and other industry members, it's a significant achievement. But don't get yourself to the finish line and make an error that stands in the way of your book sales – and a surprising number of self-published authors do when they make it challenging for people to buy their books. The goal is to have the book for sale in places that are easy to find and where your target readers are browsing. Savvy authors today understand the value of promoting their books, which means fully completing the pages about it available online.
Even if your book is available for sale on a mega bookselling website (we all know the one), you need to do your part by fully completing the web page about the book and your author page. Make sure to fill in all the blanks and give it some time as you did in writing the book itself. Don't forget to add keywords to help search engines direct potential customers to you. If you leave sections black or omit keywords, you may miss potential sales. When people are searching, some can be impatient, and if a book doesn't come up readily, they'll move on to another one. Losing a sale when someone intended to buy is avoidable.
Your author's website needs to have clickable links that take people to places online where they can order your book. Make sure your website is responsively designed, which means that it is as easy to open and read on a mobile device as it is on a desktop computer. Every year, the percentage of web surfing that originates on smartphones increases, and search engines prioritize websites with a responsive design. If your site goes haywire when someone tried to read it from their phone, you've made an instant poor impression and lost a potential book sale. It's an easy mistake to correct and avoid.
It's essential to have a well-designed book cover and one that is created by a designer with the skills and experience to make it look good in all formats. Covers are meant to be eye-catching, and make sure you upload yours in all the required spots. Even if people are buying eBooks and not physical copies, they are persuaded by seeing a cover. You need to market to your online book buyers just as thoroughly and carefully as you would to someone walking into a local independent bookstore. The competition in the book world is off the charts these days, and you need to do everything correctly to succeed.
