How to Increase Visibility and Sales of Your Self-Published
Kid's Book
When you self-publish, you're responsible for all the marketing and promotion. How do you make a splash in a sea of other books and capture the attention of parents, teachers, and kids? The good news is with some planning and persistence, you absolutely can increase the visibility and sales of your book. We'll walk you through the essential steps to get your book on the radar of your target audience. From building buzz on social media to scoring reviews to reaching out to schools and libraries, we've got you covered. Get ready to make waves and watch your book start making its way into the hands of young readers. The adventure of sharing your story with the world awaits!
Start With a Stellar Children's Book
To have a shot at success, you need to start with a stellar children’s book. That means:
- Focus on an engaging story. Come up with fun, whimsical characters and an exciting plot that will capture kids’ imaginations. Keep the story upbeat and action-packed.
- Use expressive illustrations. Vibrant, colorful pictures bring a children’s book to life. Work with a talented illustrator who can create memorable images that align with your story.
- Keep it interactive. Include questions for readers, puzzles, mazes or coloring pages. Anything to make kids want to actively participate.
- Ensure age-appropriate content. Know your target audience and craft the story, vocabulary, page length, font size, and subject matter accordingly. What’s suitable for a 3-year-old will bore an 8-year-old.
- Refine and proofread. Get feedback from parents, teachers, and children. Fix any issues with the writing, spelling or grammar and also double check that the illustrations are captivating and match the story well.
Once you have a creative, high-quality children’s book, you’ll be ready to start promoting it. Build a website to help boost your visibility, reach out to book bloggers and influencers, do virtual school visits, and apply to awards programs. With some hustle, you can turn your fun little story into a bestseller!
The key is simply crafting a book that children will love. Do that, and the rest will follow. Your adventure in children's book publishing awaits!
Optimize Your Book's Metadata
To increase visibility and sales of your self-published children's book, you need to optimize its metadata. Metadata refers to all the details about your book that help readers find it, like the title, description, and keywords.
Choose a compelling title and subtitle
The title and subtitle are the first things people see, so make them catchy and keyword rich. Think about phrases and words kids and parents search for. A good title can capture attention and convey the theme, setting, age group, or genre.
Write an engaging book description
The description, or book blurb, should hook readers and make them want to know more. In 3-4 sentences, describe the story, highlight the key features, and end with a call to action telling people to buy or download your book. Include the age range, themes, and any awards or reviews.
Select targeted keywords
Keywords are the terms people enter into search engines to find books like yours. Include 5-10 keywords, like the title, character names, location, topic, and themes. Think of synonyms for key terms too, e.g. for “princess” use “royal,” “castle” or “tiara.”
Choose suitable categories and subcategories
Select categories and subcategories on sales channels that match your book's content and intended age group. The closer a match, the more visibility you'll gain.
Optimizing your metadata is one of the best ways to increase visibility and drive readers to your book page. With a compelling title and description and well-chosen keywords, categories and subcategories, you'll be making a splash in no time!
Get Active on Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to spread the word about your new self-published children’s book. By regularly posting updates, excerpts, announcements and more on platforms where parents and kids spend time, you can increase visibility and drive sales.
Facebook is ideal for connecting with other parents and kidlit fans. Start an author page and post updates on your book’s progress. Share cover reveals, teasers, reviews and release announcements. Engage with readers by replying to their comments and messages. Join Facebook groups related to children’s books, parenting, education and more. Politely promote your book by posting in appropriate groups and starting discussions.
Instagram is hugely popular with parents, kids and book lovers. Post eye-catching photos of your book, characters, giveaways and more. Share snippets of illustrations and text to give followers a sneak peek. Engage with readers by replying to their comments and tagging them in posts. Use popular hashtags like #kidlit, #selfpublished, #childrensbooks to increase visibility. Follow authors, publishers, book bloggers, teachers and librarians.
Twitter is fast paced but effective for connecting with readers, reviewers and publishing pros. Tweet about your book’s milestones, share snippets of text and art, announce giveaways and promotions. Engage by replying to tweets and retweeting relevant content from others. Use popular hashtags and follow kidlit authors, bloggers, teachers, librarians and publishers. Reply politely when others tweet about topics related to your book.
YouTube
Create a book trailer or video series to promote your book on YouTube. Read excerpts, share how you got the idea for the story and introduce the characters. Engage viewers by replying to their comments. Optimize your videos using tags, a catchy title, description and custom thumbnail. Promote your videos on other social platforms to increase views.
With regular posting and engagement, social media can be an invaluable tool for promoting your self-published children’s book and connecting with your readers. Keep your content fresh, be active in the community and always promote inclusively and with empathy.
Run Targeted Ads on Facebook and
Amazon
Once you have your book ready to go, it’s time to start promoting it to attract readers. One of the most effective ways to increase visibility and drive sales of your self-published children’s book is by running targeted ads on major platforms like Facebook and Amazon.
Facebook Ads
Facebook allows you to create ads that are hyper-focused on your target audience. You can target parents of young readers, teachers, librarians, and reading advocates. Create an eye-catching ad featuring your book cover and a short, catchy message about your book. You can run ads to increase page likes, boost website traffic, or directly sell your book. Start with a small budget of $5 to $10 a day and see how the ads perform before increasing your spend.
Once your ad is live, be sure to frequently check on its performance and make changes as needed. See which audiences are responding best and adjust your targeting accordingly. Change up the messaging or image in the ad to improve results. The key is to test different options to find what works for the best return on your investment.
Amazon Ads
If you publish your book through Amazon’s KDP program, you have access to their advertising platform which allows you to target readers right on Amazon. You can run sponsored product ads to promote your book to shoppers searching for similar books. You only pay when someone clicks your ad.
Amazon ads are a highly effective way to boost visibility and drive sales because you’re reaching readers at the exact moment they’re looking to buy a new book. Start with a low budget of around $10 a day while you figure out the best keywords and audiences to target. Check on your ad’s performance regularly and make changes to improve its click-through rate and conversion into sales.
Promoting your self-published children’s book through targeted ads on major platforms is key to making a splash and increasing your readership. With regular optimization and testing, these ads can become one of your top drivers of discovery and revenue.
Arrange Local Book Signings and
Readings
Arranging local book signings and readings is a great way to increase visibility and boost sales of your self-published children’s book. Kids and parents will get excited about meeting the author in person.
Contact local bookstores and libraries
Reach out to independent bookstores, chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble, and public libraries in your area. Explain that you’re a local children’s book author looking to set up a book signing or reading. Offer to provide copies of your book for them to sell at the event. Some may charge a small fee for the space, while others provide it for free.
Plan an engaging event
Make the experience fun for kids and families. Consider having a craft, activity or snack that ties into your book’s theme. Read an excerpt from your book, share your inspiration for the story, and take questions from the audience. Provide bookmarks, stickers or other freebies featuring your book’s characters or title.
Promote the event
Once you have a date and location booked, spread the word to drive attendance. Create an event page to share on social media and ask friends and family to share it. Contact local parenting groups, schools, Scouts troops and activity centers like gymnastics studios or karate dojos and ask if they’ll help promote your event to their members and students. Issue a press release to local media like family magazines, blogs, TV and radio stations.
Make the most of your time
Arrive early to set up your space, greet people as they come in and make personal connections. Have plenty of copies of your book on hand to sell and sign. Share photos and updates from the event on social media. Collect emails to build your mailing list for future book releases and events.
With some planning and promotion, local book signings and readings can be a rewarding way to spread the word about your new release, gain new readers and boost your sales. Keep at it, and soon you'll have loyal fans eagerly awaiting your next book!
Conclusion
You've put in the work to write and self-publish an amazing book for kids. Now it's time to get it in front of as many readers as possible. With some strategic marketing, you can make a splash in the self-publishing world and see those sales numbers start climbing. Stay active in your local community by doing readings at schools and libraries. Build your online audience through social media and a blog. Run promotions and giveaways to increase visibility. Connect with book reviewers and influencers to help spread the word. It may take time, but with persistence you'll gain traction. Before you know it, your book will be inspiring the next generation of readers and making an impact. You've got this! Now go out there and make a splash.
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