Are we talking the tortoise or the hare here?

Calli Team

Calli Team

— 4 min read
Are we talking the tortoise or the hare here?

Well, probably something in between. A tortare?

We've all seen it. An influencer shares a book, and BOOM. Overnight sensation.

Influencer marketing is now one of the most powerful digital marketing tools, especially in the romance genre, where BookTok and Bookstagram have exploded book sales.

But most influencer marketing follows a deliberate process, and you can't bank on going viral.

This post is for you if you've been wondering:

1) How long does it take to see results?

2) How do you know if it’s actually working?

Influencer marketing is like all marketing: it requires testing and investment (of both time and resources). You need a strategy and to be prepared to refine the strategy.

Here’s a breakdown of an indicative timeline to plan for and the key milestones that indicate you’re on the right path. (Keep in mind that everyone's journey is different, and your personal experience may be shorter or longer.)

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Influencer marketing isn’t one-and-done. It’s a long game that requires strategy, testing, and refinement.

Phase 1: Test, baby, test (Approximately 1–3 Months)

Do you live for the phrase "patience is a virtue"? Yeah, me neither. Unfortunately, the first thirty to ninety days are all about testing.

This is the time that you start figuring out which influencers, content styles, and platforms resonate best with your book(s) and audience.

You may want to try:

  • Gifting free books to influencers and tracking engagement.
  • Providing book swag (stickers, bookmarks, character art) for unboxing videos.
  • Running small paid campaigns with nano to mid-tier influencers to see if they drive sales.
  • Experimenting with different messaging (e.g., “If you love [popular book or TV series] and [popular book or TV series], you’ll love [your book]”).

What to Watch For:

  • Engagement (likes, comments, shares, saves)
  • Follower growth on your social platforms
  • KDP page reads and book sales increasing

AHEM At this stage, however, you shouldn't expect explosive sales.

This is the "awareness building" phase. If your content is getting traction, you’re on the right track. If engagement is low, try adjusting your targeting or messaging.

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Want to accelerate testing? Try running paid ads on the content (with usage rights, of course).

Phase 2: Optimization for the win (3–6 Months)

Now you have a clearer idea of which influencers, platforms, and content styles generate work for your book(s).

Woohoo!

The next step is refining your approach to continue growing your return on investment.

What the marketing greats before you have shown works:

  • Double down on influencers who delivered strong engagement and audience interest.
  • Test different types of content
  • Offer exclusive content or incentives for influencer audiences

Keep an eye on important metrics:

  • Are sales going up? (even if small)
  • Are preorders/page reads/sales increasing?
  • Is engagement increasing?

Red flag: Engagement is strong but sales are not moving. Your messaging or approach might need tweaking.

Phase 3: Shoot for the stars (6–12 Months)

Phases 1 and 2 went well, and you're ready to scale! Congratulations! This is when influencer marketing becomes a repeatable, scalable strategy.

Now ask yourself:

  • Do you want to secure long-term relationships with your high-performing influencers?
  • Do you want to test investing in higher-tier influencers?
  • Do you want to invest more in repurposing influencer content in ads?

(All the tea on repurposing influencer content in ads will be spilled when Chord launches!)

Keep an eagle eye out for:

  • Consistent increase in book sales and KDP page reads
  • More organic word-of-mouth marketing from readers

By this point, you should be seeing measurable returns and feeling more comfortable with the process.

If influencer marketing is driving engagement, increasing your social media following or newsletter list (or both), contributing to sales AND trending towards paying for itself or already more than paying for itself...BY GOD YOU'VE DONE IT, WATSON.

If influencer marketing still isn't doing those things, you need to reevaluate your strategy and consider if influencer marketing is right for you.

When to Pivot or Stop Investing

Red Flags That Mean You Need to Pivot:
1) You’re not seeing any increase in engagement or book sales.
2) You’re working with influencers, but their audiences aren’t your ideal readers.
3) You’re only investing in one-off posts instead of long-term collaborations.

Instead of giving up completely, adjust your approach:
1) Try different types of influencers (BookTok vs. Bookstagram, small vs. large).
2) Focus on longer-term (e.g. 3+ month) partnerships instead of one-time posts.
3) Consider if you need to improve your product (i.e. your book), because influencer marketing does not fix product problems, sadly.

It May Lead to Gold But It's No Silver Bullet

Influencer marketing isn’t a quick-fix sales generator. Though we all wish it was (wouldn't that be awesome?).

But it IS an extremely powerful brand building tool that can lead to book sales over time.

Years of other B2C industries investing in influencer marketing (think beauty, travel, fitness) have shown that the best results come when you treat it as an ongoing strategy, rather than an on-again, off-again or one-time endeavor.

If you commit at least six months to testing, optimizing, and scaling, you’ll likely see a powerful snowball effect, including more visibility, which over time leads to higher book sales.

Sending all the book sale fairy dust your way.

Join Calli and get started when we launch in May!

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