5 Tips For Marketing Fantasy Books
#1: Utilize the notes you already have to create bonus content.
Writing in the fantasy genre, in particular, requires plenty of advance planning. You most likely have character building and worldbuilding notes from your prep stages hidden somewhere in a notebook, a computer folder, or Google Drive. Take your notes and turn them into character and worldbuilding profiles that you can post on your website as bonus content. Readers love when you give them additional information about a story that they otherwise wouldn't get to see. These can be done as a blog post or as downloadable files. You can design a basic template on Canva that you can then utilize for all of your books going forward.
#2: Create a Pinterest board for your world.
Another marketing tip utilizing worldbuilding notes would be to create Pinterest boards for all of the major settings within your world. These can include entire realms, kingdoms, or even all the way down to individual cities and towns. Are there images that inspired you when you were writing the story? Can you find images that speak to you by browsing Pinterest for a couple hours? This is a low time investment strategy that has far-reaching impact. More readers than you think are on Pinterest, and even without paid advertising, authors can rack up thousands of views a month. Visibility is crucial.
#3: Share other books in your genre that are similar to yours.
This one can be accomplished in many ways. If you're an avid reader of the genre you write (which you probably are!), create top 5 or top 10 lists of books that you enjoy that fall under certain tropes that are also included in your book. Share their summaries and the reasons that you love them in detail. Then at the end, give a bonus #6 or #11 where you share how your book nails the trope in question. You can also join BookFunnel promotions that are targeted at certain niches like readers who love strong female leads or enemies to lovers romance. Promote your fellow authors' work.
#4: Learn which paid promotions work best for you.
Not all paid promotions are built the same. Some require more skill than others, and some target a tighter group of readers versus a larger genre-wide group that may generate you a ton of sales. It is important to experiment bit by bit and keep track of your results so that you know what works and what doesn't. For example, through trial and error, I discovered that Fussy Librarian's combination of a YA and an epic fantasy newsletter promo for my YA fantasy story, although more expensive, gave me far more value than a simple fantasy promo elsewhere. As of very recently, Facebook Ads now allows you to target people who are interested in fantasy books. If you're operating on a low budget, try out one or two newsletter promotions or a Facebook Ad at $5 a day for a few days. Every attempt is either a success or a lesson learned.
#5: Write the next book.
This tip may seem a little on-the-nose, but it is more crucial than you think. Many fantasy readers have stopped starting new series until it is complete due to constant publishing delays from authors like George R. R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss. Should this be your problem? No. Does it affect you anyway? Yes. Nothing sells the first book in a fantasy series like the next book. Share your writing process with readers via social media as you go along through draft quotes, excerpts, and the good and bad days of writing where you get a ton or nothing accomplished on a draft.