How do you get readers to buy your books?
Almost every author I speak to wants to know the answer to this question—really, it's one every author has asked at some point in their career.
All the book marketing tips in the world can't offer a foolproof solution. But beginning with the right foundations will give your books the best chance of success: knowing what to say about yourself as the author, and by extension your books, to make you stand out from the rest of your genre, and knowing exactly the ideal readers you are speaking to as you're saying them.
These foundations create your author brand. The good news is that these two things are eminently possible to figure out, and getting the first one nailed down will help you untangle the second.
To define an author brand further and explain why you need one, it's a good idea to first distinguish between a "brand" and "branding," which is normally used to talk about logos, images, graphics, colors, headshots, and book covers. Imagery helps to illustrate a story, but the words and messaging associated with that image are the most important ways for readers to get to know the author behind the books. Only when your messaging resonates can a readership clearly connect with you. Your author brand is essentially an advertisement for what your books seek to do. It contains the messages, themes, and stories behind the books you are communicating to your readers, whether overtly or covertly. What do you want your books to stand for, and what do readers associate them with? Your author brand emerges from both answers.
The Author Brand Story: The Key to Connecting with Readers
The first thing marketers and publicists do before promoting anything is to establish the answer to the question, "What's the story?" The story, as writers know, is the driver—the thing that gives a book or an event or an action its reason for being there. Stories connect us as humans to other people, places, and things. Stories are how we interpret and make sense of the world around us.
The author brand story, once fully uncovered, tells the potential reader why you wrote your book, conveys that you wrote it specifically for them—that they are your ideal reader—and clarifies why they should care enough to read it. Your author brand story can then form the basis of your marketing and publicity efforts, drawing in whoever you are pitching yourself to as an author, be it agents, publishers, journalists, award judges, or others.
You may have heard marketers say before that people don't buy objects—they buy feelings. They buy stories; in other words, they buy what the things signify, the emotional attachment they have assigned to the story they believe about the thing.
The same is true for books. Readers buy what they believe a book will give them emotionally. This might be a cozy warmth, the excitement of being transported to a fantasy world, or a sense their mind has expanded and they've learned a new perspective into a part of the human experience with which they weren't familiar.
Marketing and publicity for your book are not simple paint-by-numbers games of review A going into publication B or website C. Your marketing materials must grasp the heart of your book and, from there, reach the heart of your readership. Authors often dive into minute details on social media about plots, characters, viewpoints, arcs, and motives within their book. While essential for writing, in the marketing stage you want to communicate to potential readers why you wrote your book and what it means to you more than any other detail.
As with all cultural properties—movies, TV shows, or music—the ultimate key that sells books is word of mouth. To get people talking about your books, sharing recommendations with their friends, and reviewing them online, you need to draw readers' attention proactively. Once you've uncovered and articulated these core elements, you'll genuinely compel readers to pick up your book, buy it, and read it.
Rewriting an Established Brand
Authors who have already established their brands may want to revisit foundations periodically. Articulating the unique drivers behind your writing usually leads to a deeper clarity about what attracts readers, allowing you to strengthen your authentic connection through targeted marketing and tailored messaging.
Your author brand doesn't have to reveal every personal detail about you; rather, it is a curated vehicle helping you reach your readers more effectively. Your brand can even serve as an umbrella for various pen names—you may leverage different marketing methods and platforms to reach different readers across genres while still conveying your core author brand story.
To assess how effectively you've shaped your brand, consider the following:
- Have you deeply examined the themes you explore in your writing? (Not surface-level tropes, but what your writing is truly expressing.)
- Can you confidently talk about your books without simply recounting plots (fiction) or summarizing key points (nonfiction)?
- Can you identify the specific type of reader who feels personally represented by your author brand and your books?
- Do your marketing efforts and promotional materials resonate deeply with your ideal reader?
Making a Long Story Short
Building your author brand isn't a one-time event. It doesn't happen through a single marketing campaign, a few targeted Facebook or Instagram ads, or even engaging TikTok videos alone. It's a strategic long-term plan—one composed of multiple marketing and promotional tools working consistently and cohesively to convey unified messages. Your author brand story will tie all these efforts together, paving the way for further opportunities, greater visibility, and a growing profile among readers looking precisely for the stories you're passionate about telling.
About the Author: Isabelle Knight is a former top-tier publicist with over 20 years of experience. Having worked with leading names in entertainment and publishing, including J.K. Rowling and the BBC, Isabelle is now an international speaker, author brand mentor, and Adjunct Professor in MA, PR & Advertising at the American International University of London. She also serves as a judge for the Page Turner Awards.
