This is a busy month for so many of us, so I’m going to keep it as short and sweet as possible. We’ve discussed so many aspects of the book marketing plan these past few months; many of which have been very hefty topics. This is a simple topic, one I’m sure you’ve heard about many times before. Conducting book research.

If you’re following along with the Book Marketing Plan from the Bound to Writing Shop or on Amazon, we are working through page 16. 

You’ve completed all of the steps before now. Your book is in the final stages of editing. Now, you need to figure out what similarities your book has to others already on the market. 

Selecting Keywords

First, you need to know your book and the marketable characteristics it offers to readers before beginning. Select as many keywords are you can think of that resemble your book.

For example, here is the list of keywords I used in my marketing plan for my latest release, Speaking the Truth of Family.

These keywords will help you narrow your results and find other books similar to your own. For a more in-depth post about keywords check out the Setting Your Keywords post.

Starting your book research

With your keywords in hand, it’s time to type in a bookseller’s web address. I personally use Amazon for this step. Here is where you will start the research process.

The Next Step

Once you’re on the retailer’s site, go ahead and type one of your keywords in the search bar. If you’re on Amazon, make sure you have “Books” selected in the search options so you’re sent to the right place.

The Results

Now is the tedious part. You will need to sift through the results you get and find books that are similar to yours. Whether that be the cover design, content, or overall message of the book. The ones that you feel meet those criteria, you can write down the title and price of the book in the chart. You can even add notes about those other books such as about their cover design on these pages as well.

In the marketing plan, I have separate categories for Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook. This will make it easier when you’re looking into pricing your book, but that’s for another post. 

You’ll do this step until you feel you are satisfied with the research you’ve done. 

By completing your book research you’ll be able to understand: what books are already out there, what they are selling for, selling points for your own book. I hope this post has made it a bit easier to get started in doing book research for your upcoming release. 

Ready to start your book research? Go ahead and get started today! My 34-Page Marketing Plan is here to help you along the journey. Want to gift the marketing plan to a writer on your gift list? Go ahead and check out the Bound to Writing Shop or Amazon today.

Have a great holiday season! See you next year with a whole new topic to cover in the book marketing plan!

Do you enjoy doing book research? Do you end up finding a bunch of new books to add to your TBR list? Let’s chat in the comments below!

 

This page may contain affiliate links. Click to read full disclaimer. I only promote products I support.

 

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