Congratulations, you can now call yourself an award-winning author! Now what? How do you make sure you use these awards to your advantage? Below are a few strategies to use that award win to help promote your book and boost your author brand.
Announce it to friends, family, and followers
We know that sometimes bragging about your accomplishments can feel a bit self indulgent, but you deserve it – you won an award! Here are some places where you can announce your accomplishment so friends, family, and fans can celebrate with you!
- Have an author newsletter? Be sure to add it there!
- Reach out to your Books Forward publicist to add to our author newsletter
- Post about your achievements on social media.
- Update your social media bios to show off your award-winning or bestselling status:
Add it to your email signature
Adding your award win to your email signature is a great way to keep your network up to date on your wins, even if they don’t subscribe to your author newsletter:
Update your website
Books Forward author Anne Abel, is a fantastic example of an author who is leveraging her success on the very first page of her website.
She’s also utilizing Instagram’s pinned post feature to ensure that her book’s accolades are front and center when new followers visit her account:
Contact your publicist or publisher to add it to your book listings
You want to make sure that your award-winning status is updated on your book’s buy pages so that new readers can see your wins. Awards can lend credibility to a book and the author’s writing, so new readers are more likely to check out your story if your award win is featured on the book page.
Books Forward author Evette Davis has her award seal featured on the book cover listed on Amazon:
Books Forward author Ava Reid has “A Study In Drowning” listed as an “Instant New York Times Bestseller” at the top of the book description on Amazon:
Authors can also use Amazon A+ content to leverage their book’s accolades:
Ask your publicist to add your wins to your press kit and pitches
At Books Forward, our publicists are your champions, and we’re always looking for ways to leverage your wins! Keep your publicist in the loop if you’ve entered into any contests for your book and we’ll be sure to add them to your press release and our personalized pitches. This will help ensure that your book stands the best chance of receiving the media attention it deserves!
Looking for more ideas on leveraging your book’s awards and accolades? Need a passionate publicity team that will tailor a plan to your personal needs? Get in touch with us today!
A literary omnivore and influential Bookstagrammer, Layne applies her vivid creativity for every title we promote by deftly coordinating news coverage and events for authors, writing and editing diverse content for social media, and assisting with Books Forward’s social media engagement initiatives.
As a former special education teacher, Layne firmly believes in the importance of literature and accessibility. This unique point of view is an asset in her publicity efforts as she works to reach readers across various platforms and demographics.
Layne received her Bachelors of Arts in Creative Writing and Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and her Masters of Art in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education. She lives in New Orleans with her loyal, but sadly illiterate cat, Macaroni.
