by Erin Mitchell
As a reader, I love backlists. As a marketeer, I love them even more.
Unfortunately, publishers love them less. Most authors might love them, but it’s often hard to tell based on their public communications. Understanding that there’s a limited amount of energy in the world and we all have to allocate what’s available, this is understandable. Still, you can help readers find and embrace your backlist without breaking the virtual (or tangible) bank.
Your Website
Yes, your website needs to feature your newest book. (Side note: I have seen a disturbing number of sites lately that are woefully out of date. There’s no excuse for this!) But don’t hide your backlist…and if it takes more than 10 seconds and two clicks to find it, it’s hidden.
Think of a bookstore or a library…they put all the books by any given author on the shelf. Why shouldn’t you?
Your Social Media
Apparently this has not yet been said enough: If your entire social media plan is to say “BUY MY [NEW] BOOK” as often and in as many venues as you can, you’re doing it wrong.
Take a moment to check out which of your books your readers are talking about. If you have more than two, I’ll bet it’s not just your newest. Ignoring those who are just discovering your work through a book published years ago is a mistake.
Give It Away
While your backlist might have less financial value to you, it is no less valuable to readers. Hey, some people (myself included) even prefer paperbacks (or, gasp!, ebooks). The more people who read and love your books, the more people will read and love your books, and the better your next new release will sell. So get your backlist books into readers’ hands through any means necessary, including enlisting the assistance of your local post office.
Remember Reality
Ah, the dreaded R word. Here’s the news flash: For many people, brand new, hot-of-the-presses books are a luxury. That’s not to say they don’t want to read new books, but they simply might not be able to afford them. By letting these folks know about your backlist, you give them a path to enduring fan-dom, which will, in turn, increase sales of your next new release (I promise).
So go ahead and write a blog post about a book in your backlist. Tweet a link to a review that ran years ago. Like a Facebook post from someone reading an oldie-but-goodie.
Your readers will thank you.
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