If you write in the highest-selling romance genre, you know that romance readers are voracious consumers…but because it is the largest fiction genre, figuring out how to promote your romance book can seem daunting. The good news is that romance readers are more likely to try new-to-them authors. With Valentine’s Day next week, there’s no better time to spotlight your stories about love and connect with new readers. Here are 5 ways to promote your romance book and grow your book sales.
5 Ways to Promote Your Romance Book This Valentine’s Day (and Beyond)
Do a Blind Date With a Book Promo – There are a few options for how to create and execute this fun romance book promotion. If you have multiple titles and you’re able to sell your print books through your own author shop, sign some books then wrap them in some fun paper (or brown packing paper and decorate) so the reader doesn’t know which book they’re receiving and include some extra romantic swag to make it a special offering. You can also do this as a giveaway to generate buzz about your books and author store. Or partner up with a local shop (e.g., bookstore or coffee shop) to make this a fun collaboration.
Another option is to do a giveaway for ebooks, where the recipient doesn’t know which title they’re going to receive. You can gift the book through Amazon or send the download via BookFunnel or other service you use to safely deliver digital downloads. You can do this with only your books or, better yet, gather some other authors in your genre to make it a cross-promo opportunity. Each author gives away a book by one of the other authors, but the readers don’t know which one they’ll get until they receive it, making it a blind date.
Group Promotion & Newsletter Swaps – Discover or create a group promotion and/or newsletter swap with other authors who write in your romance niche. BookFunnel and StoryOrigin, book delivery services, provide numerous group promotions created and supported by indie authors. Visit the sites to discover which ones are currently available to join. If you don’t see any that interest you, create your own! Also join genre and niche-specific author groups on Facebook and other social media for group opportunities to promote your romance book.
Romance Book Group Takeovers – Speaking of social media groups, are you a member of any reader and book groups specifically for romance and your niche? Many of these reader groups offer feature opportunities for authors, including the ability to do a special event, such as a group takeover, “giving you the floor” to promote your romance book. Plan out your time so you offer a nice balance of fun, engagement, and talking about and promoting your books. Include games and giveaways to create excitement and buzz, feeding the algorithms that invite others to join.
Romance Author Virtual Meet and Greet – Gather your fellow romance author friends and invite all of your readers to a virtual meet-and-greet on Zoom or as a livestream on social media. You can format it as a discussion among authors and readers can join in with questions, as a panel where one of you moderates with predetermined questions and readers can add their own, as a party with time slots for each author to talk about their writing and books, or as a virtual signing. As a creative bunch, you and your author friends may come up with another idea of how to do this romance book promotion. If so, let us know in the comments.
PillowTalk Books – We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you about our most popular site to promote your romance book: PillowTalk Books. It’s not too late to schedule a Valentine’s Day promotion – or one for any other day. Simply sign in to your CraveBooks account or click here.
“Romance is in the air” may sound like a cliche phrase, but it’s true this month. Even those who read other genres are more likely to give romance a try right now. That makes February a great time to promote your romance book – but really, any time is good. Readers can never get enough of this beloved genre. The above suggestions are ideas to promote your romance book and inspire you to come up with other ways to reach and connect with readers new to your books.