How to Market Your Novels at Christmas

Whilst it might be ever tempting to just kick back and relax in December, the Christmas period is a crucial time in sales and marketing for your novel – an opportunity you do not want to miss! The Independent reported a few years ago that book sales during the Christmas period were the highest they had been in over ten years, with a mind-boggling 83.3 million books being sold. To make sure you’re featuring in that incredible figure, we’ve compiled a practical guide of how best to market your novels during the Christmas period.  

• Social media is king 

Now whilst this may seem an obvious one in our digital-saturated era, we really can’t impress enough the importance of using your social media presence in the most resourceful and efficient way to market your novels. It’s important to create a coalesced holiday-focussed campaign across your platforms to show a unified and organised approach to your marketing; Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest will probably be your most influential tools. On Instagram, finding the right hashtags for the Christmas period is a critical way to drive traffic to your page and reach the right audience: Flick Tech is a platform which allows you to find the right hashtags for your target audience. Using your platforms to interact with literary bloggers is also important; if you can, find your way onto Christmas gift guide blog posts to widen your outreach! But most importantly – stay active.  

• Email marketing 

Research has shown that email marketing is considerably more successful during the holiday period as consumers tend to watch their inbox vigilantly for festive deals and offers. So during this period, it is absolutely crucial that you use your mailing list expansively and wisely – essentially, don’t be afraid to overdo it! Send out Christmas-themed newsletters, as well as any relevant discounts and deals. If you have a blog, send out mailers with links to recent content you’ve posted to keep people interested in you and your brand. Keeping them steadily reminded of your presence over the holiday period maintains your presence and visibility, and fingers crossed will lead to some sales.  

• Using Amazon efficiently 

As we all know, Amazon can be an extremely powerful tool – but there is a knack to best exploiting it. Studies have shown that 42% of digital consumers turn to Amazon for Christmas gifts each year, a pretty hefty figure indeed, and it’s important that you best capitalise on this huge market. Three of your best tools for maximising your audience are Sponsored Brand Placements, Amazon categories and Amazon keywords; and luckily for you, we have already written some handy guides on how to access and use these features here, here and here.   ​

• It’s a marathon, not a sprint 
  

Christmas novel marketing is not something that can be achieved with a snap of your fingers (as lovely as that would be!). It’s important to remember it can be a lengthy process; ideally, you should be beginning your Christmas marketing campaign mid-November, which is typically when the public will begin their holiday shopping. Equally, the finish line isn’t Christmas day! If you have been marketing gift vouchers, be sure to send out mailers in the days following Christmas encouraging consumers to redeem them. Looking even further, countless people across the country will no doubt be setting their New Year’s resolution as reading more books, so try to reach this audience as well. These few months are an immeasurable resource – use them wisely! 
 

• Think about partnerships 
  

Marketing your novels at Christmas doesn’t have to be such a lonely process. The creative industries and community tend to be a lovely bunch (we certainly think so); think about partnering with local independent businesses, bookstores or even other authors to include your novel in a gift bundle. You could create a storefront on a website like Etsy to sell these bundles through, or alternatively through the business you are collaborating with. This can be a great way to not only make contacts in your local creative circle, but also grab the consumer’s attention by providing a stylised and charming Christmas gift.  
 
Alternatively, here at Rowanvale we offer a fantastic Marketing and Aftercare Service which will help you navigate this difficult period with ease! Get in contact with one of our talented Marketing Advisors for any queries you may have.