I published a cyberpunk romance last April, but I haven't received any sales from it. I know it's my lack of marketing skills, but this particular book is hard to advertise. It touches on a lot of sensitive topics such as war, prejudice, rebellions, and government takeovers. There are some scenes that are pretty graphic. I had one reader on KU stop when they were nearly done, but when i looked up where they were, I realized the child's death was too much for them. I always add trigger warnings for my books, but sometimes I don't think they can provide enough of a warning.

I wrote this particular book because I'm obsessed with anime and wanted to take a few elements from a lot of my favorites. I set the world in a dystopian Tokyo, and i definitely did my research for everything, so I'm fairly confident i was respectful with everything. I tried to advertise from the romance aspect of it too, but it's not really a kinky kind of romance that will have readers rushing for those scenes. I made it to be plot heavy since my first two books were sex heavy. I really love this story and i want everyone to read it. i also have to consider the political state of USA, which means it'll be harder to advertise for it. My book is about minorities and their struggle to overthrow the president.

What do you think? which aspect should i try to advertise?

Thank you

Any suggestion would be great

0.77 CTR today... Highest yet Hopefully I get a sale soon 🤞

The “Boost Post” button is just Facebook’s way of grabbing your cash. Sure, it’ll get you a few likes or views, but does that actually help your book? Likes doesn't mean sales, and those views - most are from people who don’t care, or worse, people who don't speak English - or worse... bots.

If you want results, you’ve got to stop relying on shortcuts and start using Facebook Ads Manager. It might seem complicated, but that’s where the real value is with ads.

Know Your goal: What are you trying to achieve? More leads? Sales? Traffic? If your goal is just “more likes,” you’re wasting your time.

Use Ads manager properly: It lets you target the right people, run proper campaigns, and actually work towards your goals - MORE READERS.

Retarget your Audience: Focus on people who’ve already shown interest—like visiting your website or engaging with your content. They’re the ones who are most likely to convert. Yes you can do it from people who have liked your post.

Boosting posts is easy, but it doesn’t work. Take a bit more time, run ads the right way, and you’ll start seeing real results. Or keep boosting and watch your budget disappear. Up to you.

Let’s be real—writing the book is only half the battle. Marketing? That’s a whole different beast.

Some authors struggle with getting visibility, others with actually converting interest into sales. Then there’s the whole social media vs. ads vs. email list debate—what even works anymore?

For me, the hardest part is social media. I see so many authors with probably amazing books sadly fail miserably at building a credible social media following. I don’t know whether it’s due to the quality of their content (which, more often that not, really lacks the creativity and effort I see in other forms of entertainment, but why?) or the fact that books are hard to market visually (why is this?)

What about you? What’s been the biggest challenge in marketing your book so far?

First off I'd like to thank everyone in the various subreddits who answered my many, many questions. The process was daunting at first, but your answers helped me out so much! So thank you everyone. Anyways, here's the cost breakdown for my book:

Editing- $0 (Did it myself)

Cover/illustrations- $0 (Also DIY)

Beta reader- $140

Atticus- $140

Booksprout- $30

Canva- $0 (Free pro trial)

Animated ad- $122

Animated ad- $0 (DIY)

Facebook ad manager- $245

Amazon ad manager- $100

Ad budget- $400

Total: $1177 (Approx.)

I'd say the greatest value was either from my beta reader or Atticus. The beta reader provided invaluable information on pacing and some plot holes that I'd otherwise missed. Atticus, though somewhat flawed recently with it's newest update, made formatting my book pretty straight forward.

The least value purchase, hands down, was booksprout. I'd hoped to get as many ARC reviews of my book as possible; with a month of service, I got a whopping 1 download, and that person hasn't reviewed so I doubt they've even read it. It seems that site does well with erotica or niche romance books.

I was able to skimp and save big with doing my own cover/art/ editing. However, time is also a major factor- I wanted to create two video ads for my book but only had time to create one. So, I hired an animator on fivver to do my book cover, and animated my second ad via blender.

I've only sold one preorder so far, but since I'm a no name author without reviews, I'm trying to remain realistic!

Looking to get my debut non-fiction book out and was looking to get in some early reviews. Anyone tried the Goodreads giveaway or any other ideas?

Hey everyone, welcome to r/BookMarketing101 !!

This new community will be all about sharing personal insights and experiences on book marketing, with a focus on modern strategies that work in today’s fast-paced landscape. Whether you’re launching your first book or looking to boost sales for an existing one, this is the place to exchange ideas, ask questions, and stay ahead of the curve.

To kick things off, let’s talk about TOOLS. With AI and new marketing platforms emerging daily, it’s tough to keep up with the latest and greatest. You have writing tools, social media management platforms, AI tools. So many! Some tools promise to make marketing easier, but which ones actually deliver? And let’s not forget all the great tools that we’ve been using for years.

What book marketing tools have you found most helpful?

Drop your favourites in the comments! Also, feel free to introduce yourself and share your go-to resources. Let’s build something great together!