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In the first issue of The Indie Advantage, we covered the virtues of POD for indie authors. In issue #2, we cleared up common misunderstandings about POD books. Now it’s time to tackle POD marketing.
This issue of The Indie Advantage originally went out to our authors in December 2024!
Print-on-Demand (POD) Marketing Strategies
Marketing POD books comes with unique opportunities compared to marketing ebooks or audiobooks. By embracing the differences and tailoring your approach, you can more effectively promote your POD titles. Here are some strategies to guide you along.
Play Up the Tactile Appeal
Readers buy physical books for more than just the story—they appreciate the experience of holding and displaying them. A physical book displayed on a shelf, coffee table, or night stand is an extension of the reader, a form of self-expression. Use this to your advantage when you begin to think about how you will market your physical books to readers. For example, you can:
- Showcase Your Cover Design: Post high-quality photos or videos of your book on social media, focusing on details like the cover art, spine, and interior layout.
- Offer Behind-the-Scenes Content: Share videos or newsletter posts about what went into the creation of your book’s physical design. Was it fun? Was it challenging? Bring your readers into the experience.
- Enlist your street team to share unboxing videos: Most readers can relate to the feel of receiving an eagerly anticipated book in the mail, then peeling back the cardboard to reveal the goodness inside. Don’t just tell your readers what it’s like to unbox your new book, show them!
- Evoke the emotional experience of reading your print book: Imagine cozy photo setups with coffee, a park bench, the beach, a pool, or fireside with a glass of wine or cup of tea, with your book strategically placed—you get the picture.
Offer Exclusive Physical Perks
Physical books allow you to create collectible, exclusive experiences that can’t be replicated with ebooks or audiobooks. Here are reader favorites we’ve seen at conferences and author websites:
- Signed Copies: Offer a limited number of signed editions by ordering author copies to personalize. You can either ship them directly to your fans or bring with you to events.
- Bookplates: Send custom bookplates (stickers that can be affixed inside the book) to readers who request them. For readers who already have your book, but don’t have your signature, bookplates are a nifty way of providing a physical signature without requiring the reader to purchase another copy.
- Exclusive Bundles: If you maintain a small inventory of author copies, consider bundling your POD book with other author-branded items that you create such as postcards, t-shirts, bookmarks or other merchandising extras (D2D doesn’t produce merchandising extras). The key is to align what’s in the bundle with your brand to create a special, unique experience.
Think Outside the Box Store & Embrace Your Local Market
While most authors would love to see their physical books gracing the shelves of big box stores, the harsh reality is that it won’t happen for most indie authors. Not to worry, because you are a living, breathing, creative machine who’s built to crack the code on getting your books into readers’ hands. Here are some ideas to nudge you along:
- Bookshop.org: Perhaps the best thing to ever happen to indie bookstores, Bookshop.org is an online bookstore that helps put local, indie bookstores online so they can compete against Amazon. Your readers can purchase your POD book from Bookshop.org—and here’s the really cool part—at checkout your reader can select the indie bookstore of their choice to benefit from the sale. Isn’t that cool? If you use D2D Print for your POD books, your POD books are available for purchase at Bookshop.org and you can designate your favorite local store as a beneficiary!
- Collaborate with local booksellers: Instead of approaching local indie bookstores thinking about what they can do for you, flip the script. Tell the bookstore what you can do for them. For example, if they’ll agree to sell your upcoming book on consignment, let them know you have a plan to promote their store. Better yet, if the store would agree to host your release party, think of all the ways you can bring a crowd to the store. Nothing pleases shop owners more than seeing customers walk through the front door. If you don’t have an upcoming release, consider offering the bookstore 100% margin on a few copies of your books to prove the books will sell. The goal is partnership and risk alleviation. If you can convince the store that you have their best interest at heart, chances are you’ve earned a valuable and hopefully a long-lasting partnership.
- Think beyond bookstores: Bookstores aren’t the only places that sell books. Think about the characters, the locations, and the scenes in your books. There’s no limit to where your creativity can take you. Authors have pulled off successful events in breweries, cafes, coffee shops, churches, libraries, museums, fitness centers—the list goes on and on.
Experiment with Your POD Pricing Strategy
Indie authors can be generous to a fault, especially when it comes to pricing their ebooks. Because of this, ebook readers have been conditioned to either seek bargains or consume books from reading subscription services like Amazon Kindle Unlimited, Everand (formerly Scribd), or Kobo Plus for what feels like free.
When it comes to print, book buyers aren’t conditioned to seek bargains. They’re conditioned to seek good books. So, while an ebook price jump from $5.99 to $6.99 may turn off some ebook consumers, deciding between a $9.99 or $12.99 paperback won’t matter as much. The reader is getting something tangible. Nonfiction readers, who may be seeking a specific piece of knowledge, are usually willing to pay even more.
A great way to experiment with pricing is to start your POD book’s life as a preorder. Books that start as preorders sell more copies, on average, during their first year compared to non-preorder books. You can experiment with pricing by offering a discount on your preorder. Preorders help create buzz and excitement for upcoming books. To create a sense of urgency, be sure to let your readers know the price will increase once the preorder period ends.
Putting it all together
As we’ve covered in our 3-Part POD series, POD publishing can be a game changer for indie authors, especially if you learn the ropes and understand how POD books are brought to market.
We hope you learned in this final installment of our POD series, that marketing your POD book requires a strategic blend of digital and physical efforts. Whether you’re selling through online retailers, partnering with local bookstores, offering personalized copies at a conference, or doing a combination of all three, remember to emphasize the quality and collectability of your print books. With the right strategy, your POD books can thrive in an increasingly crowded marketplace and give your fans something to cherish.
We hope you enjoyed the first issue of The Indie Advantage. There’s much more to come!
The Draft2Digital Team