I picked the brains of influencers and did countless hours of research so you don't have to.

Book marketing has been likened to screaming into the void.

Now imagine that you could outsource the void screaming to build your owned audiences (social media followers, newsletter subscribers) and sell more books.

This magical marketing avenue is called influencer marketing, which you can combine with paid ads to create an evergreen source of new readers.

Humans are tribal, and research from Nielsen and others shows that social proof is one of the most powerful ways to sell any product.

Bottom line: readers trust recommendations from people they know, and influencers (especially in niche communities like Bookstagram and BookTok) can bridge the gap between your book and a dedicated audience.

Ready to demystify influencer marketing? Let's go.

Ok, but what is it?

According to a 2023 McKinsey article, "Influencer marketing is a collaboration between popular social-media users and brands to promote brands’ products or services."

Influencer marketing for publishing is, simply put, working with social media influencers on promoting your book.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Influencer marketing is not getting influencers to review your ARC or running a street team.

Think of influencer marketing like deliberate, gifted or paid promotions that work like word-of-mouth recommendations to build hype.

Why you should care:

• Influencer marketing done right is built on a bed-rock of authenticity. Readers trust influencers to recommend books they genuinely think their audience will enjoy.
• Which brings us to our next point. You need to niche down with influencers and choose ones that have your target audience in their followers. We're talking about finding influencers who like and post about the specific characteristics that match your book (think as detailed as possible, i.e. dark fairytale romance retellings with lots of spice and only-one-bed trope or enemies-to-lovers workplace romance that's closed door).
• You can make it work for basically any budget, but smaller budgets tend to yield smaller results. Collaborations can range from gifted books to paid campaigns, and you choose how many influencers you work with and what you're willing to spend (which determines the size and type of influencer you collaborate with).

Let's Talk Common Myths

Myth 1: Influencer marketing equals paid reviews.
Influencer marketing is about promotion, not reviews.

Myth 2: It’s only for big names.
Micro and nano-influencers (less than 10,000 followers) often accept gifted or low-dollar paid campaigns.

Myth 3: It’s too complicated.
Platforms like Chord make influencer marketing accessible with templates, directories, a marketplace, payment processing, analytics, and best-practice guides.

Well then, give me some ideas for how to use it.

Sure thing, jelly bean! Here are four ways you can use it, but the options don't stop here!

1. Run Book Launch Promotions
Influencers can create buzz and TBR adds by sharing cover reveals, hosting behind-the-scenes or sneak-peak author interviews, and more.

2. Revive Backlists
Try spotlighting older titles! Do you have lots of star ratings or reviews on a title that can help support social proof? What about the start of your series, so you can get read-through?

3. Newsletter Promotions
It's smart marketing to build an audience of loyal fans whose contact information you control. Influencers can direct their followers to your newsletter instead of to directly to your book.

4. Giveaways
Run joint giveaways with influencers to boost engagement and expand your audience. For example, offer a signed copy of your book along.

Let's See Some Examples

Rebecca Yarros and Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros's novel Fourth Wing demonstrates how strategic influencer marketing can create magic. The hashtag #FourthWing garnered millions of views.

Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient found a devoted following with the Bookstagram community. Influencers significantly boosted the book’s visibility and success.

Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game
Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game also gained traction on Instagram, with influencers leaning in to the enemies-to-lovers trope.

Influencer marketing has immense potential to elevate your book’s visibility, help you connect with your ideal readers, and ultimately outsource the painful grind that is social media marketing.

Why not try leveraging social media platforms (without having to become an influencer yourself) by partnering with the influencers instead?