Have you ever found yourself asking...

How can I post on social media without a book to sell?

How can I post without giving everything away?

Should I post if I’m querying?

What If I don’t know what publishing path I want to go

with?

…you’re in the right place!

Because today we are going to squash those questions and

show you exactly what you can (and should!) post well
before your book is even published.

This pertains to self-published authors, traditionally

published authors, fiction and non-fiction authors - no
matter where you’re at on your publishing journey.

This will also be a great tool to help you grow your audience
and get more eyes on you and your book.

So let’s dig in…

If we haven’t met yet, hi! I’m Jenn!
I’m the co-founder of Mixtus Media and I've been working in marketing
and promotions for over 24 years.

When I got my first job out of college in 2000, I was a publicist at a

record label in Nashville, TN and I worked at two labels over the next
five years. Social media wasn't yet a thing, the internet was still
relatively new, and CDs were the way people listened to music. I feel
🤦🏻‍♀️
old just typing that. ⁠ ⁠

I've worked with creatives my entire career - musicians, photographers,

artists, writers - and I've loved every minute of it. ⁠

But working with authors exclusively for the past 14 years has been
particularly special to me. ⁠

I've worked with NYT best selling authors all the way to brand new
authors learning how to self publish their books...every single one has
been valuable to me. ⁠

I firmly believe that the more incredible books we put out there the
better the world will be. ⁠

And I'm all in to help authors...⁠

⭐️ connect with readers - both online and offline ⁠

⭐️ make marketing less intimidating and more straightforward ⁠
⭐️ sell books and accomplish their goals ⁠
And I’m thrilled to have connected with YOU!

If we aren’t already connected on social media, follow and say hi at

@mixtusmedia across all platforms. I’d love to meet you!

And now, let’s dig into the good stuff...

The first thing that we need to know is that marketing and actually
selling our book are two different things. Yes, marketing and sales
work together and are the perfect pairing to help you sell more books
- but they have two different jobs.

Marketing is all about building awareness. It’s about connecting with

readers and showing readers why your book is for them.

Sales comes later in the process - it comes after we show them why
our book is for them and why they should be interested.

And this is for a very important reason…

✨ It’s a lot easier to sell your book to people who are already
paying attention. ✨

Write that on a post-it note, tape it to your computer, whatever you

need to remember this.

Our job with marketing is getting more eyeballs on your content and
let people know you and your book exists.

The first step to getting a better grasp of this is to understand the

three phases of book marketing:

The Attraction Phase

This phase begins the minute you start writing your book until about
three to four months before your book’s release date.

This is the phase where you’re focusing on building building

relationships and making yourself visible.

This phase is focusing on connecting with people as a human being,

not as an author trying to sell a book. We know that selling comes
later. :)
The Promotional Phase

This phase begins about three - four months before your release date
until two weeks after your release date. This is the phase is when we
begin to enter the sales zone.

During the Promotional Phase we can begin to announce when our

book will be released, any pre-order details - essentially we are
getting people excited about the book being available for purchase.

The Follow-Up Phase

This phase begins two weeks after your book releases and into
infinity. This is a phase that many authors dismiss or move on from to
work on the next book.

We need to remember that the lifespan of our book doesn’t begin

and end during the release week.

In fact, the bulk of your sales will come during the Follow-Up Phase.

This phase helps us to make sure that we continue to talk about our
book, to continue to build our audience and visibility. It’s kind of a
mixture of the Attraction Phase and the Promotional Phase.

The great thing about being aware of these phases is that it provides
us with some parameters to work within. It gives us a better
understanding of what we should post and when to make the
biggest impact.

It doesn’t matter if you’re just getting started or if you have several

books under your belt.

We all need to create Attraction posts to continue to grow our

following and build that awareness to ultimately drive readers to our
books.
What can authors talk about in the Awareness
Phase to connect with readers?

Here are some ideas to help you get started…

Idea #1: Share what you’re reading

This is by and far my favorite way to help authors connect with more
readers. Readers LOVE this! What reader doesn’t want to add more
amazing books to their TBR list?!

Your TBR list

Favorite book series
Favorite covers
Series on favorite author books
Books that inspired you to write
Top 5 books in a specific genre
New releases
Bookstore/library haul

Think of yourself as a Bookstagram or BookTok account - connecting

with readers about books is absolutely one of the easiest and most
natural ways to grow your audience.

Idea #2: Go behind the scenes

This is a way to create community and show readers what you’re like
as a person. It’s also a great way to start to hint at the fact (or come
right out and say) that you’re working on a book.

It lets readers see more behind your process, your interests, and get
to know you more.
 Share your writing journey
Talk about your research
Show readers your writing space
Your favorite place in the house to read
Your book nook
Your bookshelves
Your favorite bookstores
Your favorite coffeeshop
Your writing setup

When it comes to behind-the-scenes content, I always tell authors to

share as much or as little as you want - you get to decide. I like to
have a line in the sand indicating, “Yes, I will talk about this, this, and
this. But I will not talk about this, this, and this.”

It’s different for every author and you can share whatever you feel
comfortable with.

Idea #3: Begin to introduce your book

Many authors ask me when is a good time to start talking about your
book.

For fiction writers, I advise that you can start talking about it once you
know the details of your story are dialed in - you know that the plot is
solid and you won’t be making any massive changes to the storyline.

For non-fiction, once you have the main elements outlined and are
set on your topic, that’s a good time to start.

The earlier you start, the better. I’ve known and worked with authors
who have started to talk about their book a year to two years before
the release date and it just builds all the more support, anticipation,
and buzz.
 You want to share the “essence” of your book - meaning you
don’t have to give it all away, but rather focus on the feelings
your book draws out and the main highlights.
Focus on using words that spark a feeling (spicy, dark, feel-
good, etc.) that your book will draw out
For fiction, share a touchstone that the book has - a movie,
book, TV show, or current event that shares a similarity or vibe
to your book. For example, “It’s a modern Sense & Sensibility,”
or “It’s a Game of Thrones meets Fourth Wing epic fantasy.”
For non-fiction, address questions or solutions your book
provides
Share tips or how-tos

So how can you get started with your posts? Here’s

what I would suggest…

Scroll through your feed and be intentional to notice what

stops your scroll. Is it a certain style of post? Does it have
particular features? Colors? Text on screen? Write down what
stops your scroll to want to know more or to read the caption.
This is a good indication as to the style of post you can create.
Look at what other BookTok or Bookstagramers are posting -
find inspiration from their posts.
Look outside of the book world for inspiration. Look at other
industries like designers, musicians, artists, interior designers,
etc., whatever you’re drawn to to be inspired by other types of
delivery.
It doesn’t have to be perfect - you learn from mistakes and
wins!

This is a great way to get things rolling!

But if you’d like even more guidance like this PLUS templates,
tutorials, guides, and so much more to make your publishing
journey easier and more secure, this is for you….
 UPGRADE TO
THE AUTHOR CIRCLE

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LEARN MORE

ALL THIS FOR $27/PER MONTH!

I’M ALL IN!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

CHANGES TO SEE GROWTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA

A few key changes can make all the difference in growing on

social media and connecting with more readers.

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS TO BE ON

Here’s where authors should be online to see the best
growth and connections with readers.

HOW TO GET BOOK REVIEWS

Here are three ways authors can get more reviews for your
books.

HOW TO MARKET WITH A SMALL AUDIENCE

You don’t need a huge audience to successfully market your
book - here’s how.

JENNDEPAULA.COM
 COPYRIGHT NOTICE

© JENN HANSON-DEPAULA,
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS

BOOK OR ANY PORTION THEREOF
MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OR
USED IN ANY MANNER
WHATSOEVER WITHOUT THE
EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION
OF THE PUBLISHER EXCEPT FOR
THE USE OF BRIEF AND CITED
QUOTATIONS IN A BOOK REVIEW.