It’s tough growing a following on social media platforms, but it can be a great way to draw more attention to your book and get more readers to buy it. The most important thing to remember is that it isn’t a one-size fits all approach. You start by focusing on the readers that are most likely to buy your book and then targeting that niche.

Since my books are non-fiction self-help books about grief and loss, my niche is those readers that are bereaved and struggling with a loss. I created a social media platform by determining the perfect formula for attracting, retaining, and turning my target audience into my biggest fans.

I currently have a social media following of over 400k followers, and, yes, many of them buy my books!

Here are 5 simple strategies you can use to create a basic formula for your social media following and to build an engaged online community that can’t get enough of your book(s).

1. Focus On Your Niche (This is Key!)

Consider who your target readers are, what their needs are, and where they hang out. See what other books are being published in your niche. Consider what makes your book stand out from the others. Start a blog to engage with readers and build a loyal following. Provide digital deals and coupons to encourage readers in your niche to buy your book. (Incidentally, my publisher, BookLocker, gives authors personalized discount codes to share online that work automatically on the site. BookLocker does NOT charge their authors any fees to do that.)

2. Use Your Personality

Convincing someone to follow you is hard, and you have to give them a good reason to want to do that. It all comes down to creating a strong brand voice and identity in your social media marketing. Your ‘personality’ is what will draw readers to your page. It’s how you stand out from the competition, create a recognizable presence on a social media platform, and help users relate to you and your book.

3. Post Engaging Content

Create posts that stand out and make your followers want to follow you. Don’t just post content that tells them how good you think your book is, give them something that entices them to want to learn more about you and your book. You can post excerpts of what you think are the best parts of your book and leave them wanting more.

4. Be Consistent

One of the top reasons pages don’t attract followers is because they’re not consistent. Being consistent is so important because it builds a relationship with your audience, and it establishes trust. It also gives the algorithm what it wants: users logging in and spending time on your page and learning more about why they should want to read your book.

5. Collaborate!

There’s a lot of noise on social media and everybody struggles to cut through it. The very best way to become a loud voice is to collaborate with influencers in your niche. Send popular authors in your niche a copy of your book to read and review. Pitch them a content idea to collaborate on and, when it comes time to publish, use the collaboration feature on the post and the content will post on both feeds, helping you gain direct access to their audience.

These are just a few of the ways to increase your following on social media to sell more books, but for now, nail into your head that your content is meaningless if you don’t get eyes on it. This should be obvious. It’s fine to write content into the void for practice, but don’t let that turn into an excuse because you’re afraid to grow and face criticism.

My book: https://mybook.to/SURVIVINGGRIEF365

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SurvivingGriefGarySturgis

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• How I’ve Sold Thousands of Books at Events I Organized – by Gary Sturgis, Author of SURVIVING: Finding Your Way from Grief to Healing

Gary Sturgis survived the greatest loss of his life and now works as a Grief Specialist, Bereavement Facilitator and Speaker, guiding and supporting others in their struggle with grief. He finds it an honor to help those that are grieving a loss navigate their way through the maze of grief in a very personal and meaningful way. He lives by the ocean in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Contact Gary directly RIGHT HERE.

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