Case Study Category: Audience Growth

Revitalizing a Six-Book Indie Series with Strategic Marketing

Promoting an ongoing, independently published series—especially one with a five-book backlist—is no small feat. Mel Harrison’s “Alex Boyd” spy series, however, proves that with good storytelling and smart, targeted marketing strategies, indie authors can build momentum and attract new readers, even mid-series.

Partnering with Books Forward, Mel sought to boost sales for his latest installment, Crescent City Carnage (Book 6), while reigniting interest in earlier titles of the series.

Optimizing Long-Term Discoverability and Sales

To drive sales, our team organized a newsletter promotion for the most recently published novel in the series, Spies Among Us (Book 5), with remarkable results. The book soared to #50 in War & Military Action Fiction and #58 in Political Thrillers, underscoring the potential of reader-focused marketing campaigns.

Simultaneously, we optimized each book’s Amazon listing by refining categories, adding bold hooks and enhancing the Editorial Reviews section with new accolades, making the entire series more appealing to new readers who were now discovering it.

Building Excitement for the Next Book’s Release

With the backlist now receiving new attention, our promotion of Mel’s forthcoming “Alex Boyd” book, Crescent City Carnage (Book 6) picked up speed. We coordinated strategic media features to highlight Mel’s unique background, the series’ engaging themes and the latest exciting release. We intentionally targeted diverse coverage, securing opportunities like cover reveals, excerpts, Q&As, podcast interviews, book listings, guest posts and spotlights.

Boosting a Backlist to Promote Series Success

The results were significant. Media and influencer coverage elevated the visibility of the series, and the newsletter promotion delivered immediate sales growth. More importantly, the campaign laid a strong foundation for long-term success by enhancing discoverability and building momentum for future books in the series.

With the right strategy, an ongoing book series can find fresh success and reach new readers.

Reflecting on the campaign, Mel shared: “The Books Forward campaign produced a dramatic increase in my book sales. Without a doubt, many more potential readers were exposed to my work and are now familiar with my writing. The team demonstrated flexibility and creativity every step of the way.”

Building Momentum for a Trilogy’s Second Act

When Noah Lemelson‘s second fantasy book in his The Slickdust Trilogy was set to release, we had an exciting opportunity: expanding on the solid foundation laid by book one to create a compelling, buzzworthy campaign that would both satisfy returning fans and intrigue new readers. Our approach harnessed both the established reputation of book one, and a targeted strategy to expand book two’s reach.

Leveraging a Strong Foundation for Success

Since Noah’s first book had garnered widespread interest and positive reviews, we strategically re-engaged media outlets and influencers who had championed the first installment. We spotlighted key accolades from the debut, positioning book two as an eagerly awaited continuation. This approach resonated with both the book community and established media contacts, many of whom were thrilled to dive back into Noah’s compelling story. Accolades for book 2 began piling in: reviewers gushed that they were “thoroughly enjoying reading this steampunk fantasy“, finding it “quite fun” and “truly impressive.”

Strategic Outreach and Community Engagement

We engaged Bookstagram and BookTok influencers, and crafted tailored outreach to magazines that value in-depth storytelling. This community approach paid off: the campaign yielded an impressive volume of thoughtful, in-depth reviews across platforms. Major magazine interest paired with social media buzz fostered an organic momentum, highlighting both the quality of the writing and readers’ genuine investment in the story’s progression.

Campaign Highlights and Lasting Impact

With readers eagerly diving back into the series, book two saw substantial positive coverage, marked by numerous glowing, detailed reviews and an National Indie Excellence Award win—a testament to Noah’s storytelling. The book’s captivating cover and the solid backing from a supportive publisher also played a crucial role in driving enthusiasm. By building on a strong foundation, we crafted a campaign that not only honored the series but expanded its reach, setting the stage for continued success as Noah’s trilogy unfolds.

Winning Major Media After Carefully Building Momentum

Suzette Mullen’s memoir, The Only Way Through is Out, captures a unique and deeply personal journey of coming out later in life. Our campaign strategically aimed to connect her with diverse communities, including LGBTQ+ readers, memoir enthusiasts and audiences in her local Pennsylvania area. The focus was on building media coverage step by step, with a clear understanding that meaningful gains often take time and commitment to fully materialize.

Breakthroughs Thanks To Persistent Outreach

One of the biggest highlights of the campaign was securing SELF Magazine’s Well-Read Book Club Pick, as well as a SELF Magazine feature. This result was months in the making, involving consistent follow-ups even after an initial lack of response. Nearly six months after our first pitch, the magazine confirmed its plans to feature Suzette’s book, proving that persistence and patience can pay off.

We didn’t waste time while we waited to hear back: We secured a series of high-quality placements in influential outlets, reaching LGBTQ+ readers through LGBTQ Nation, Diva, Queer Guru, Tagg Magazine and Out Front Magazine. Her story also found gained traction in popular women’s media like One Bad Mother, Gloria, Authority Magazine and Mombian. We also heavily targeted local media outlets where Suzette had events and personal ties, such as Good Day Seattle, Houston Matters, Good Day Northwest, Philadelphia Gay News and WITF “The Spark”.

A Book – and a Campaign – That Proves It’s Never Too Late

With each gain, The Only Way Through is Out reached new readers and created a ripple effect of interest that extended well beyond its initial release. This campaign was characterized not by a single, immediate media blitz, but by cumulative impact, with each placement building on the last to create an extensive media presence over time. Suzette’s story, combined with our persistent outreach, created a lasting media footprint that continues to resonate, underscoring that sometimes the best results come from a steady, ongoing approach rather than a rapid flash of publicity.

Reaching New Audiences With Guest Articles

We love helping authors think outside of the box — or rather, outside of the book — when it comes to promotion. While book reviews and interviews are essential, guest articles are an often-overlooked yet powerful tool to boost visibility, connect with new audiences and keep a book in the spotlight long after publication.

The Power of Guest Articles

Guest articles offer both fiction and nonfiction authors the chance to tell their stories or share insights that resonate with readers. They boost search engine optimization (SEO) for an author’s name and book title (linked in the article bio), and attract audiences who might not otherwise discover their work. Best of all, guest articles can be published (and by association, boost your book’s search visibility) any time, including post-launch.

Publishing Impactful Guest Articles 

For fantasy author Alison Levy, we secured placements that showcased her personal journey in relation to the themes of her novel Magic by Any Other Name. Highlights included:

These articles revealed the “story behind the story,” offering readers authentic insights and inviting them to connect in a new way with Alison and her book.

Lasting Results and Broad Reach

These guest articles introduced Alison’s work to audience sizes ranging from tens of thousands to over a million followers, across platforms. Each article continues to attract readers and drive traffic to her author page after publication.

Guest articles are a versatile and impactful tool, and we’re proud to help authors like Alison use them to reach new audiences and share their stories in meaningful ways.

Boosting Online Reviews with NetGalley

To get Ana Lal Din’s indie YA fantasy debut Descent of the Drowned in front of an engaged YA audience, we knew that securing online reviews would be critical to the book’s success. One of the most effective tools for generating early reviews is NetGalley, a platform that allows reviewers, educators, librarians, booksellers, and media professionals to access advance copies.

Maximizing Exposure on NetGalley

We made Descent of the Drowned available to NetGalley’s 400,000+ subscribers for a limited time and secured a paid promotional spot to increase visibility. The results were impressive:

  • 1,009 downloads
  • 220 reviews
  • 285 cover up-votes
  • 68 5-star reviews
  • 82 4-star reviews

Driving Review Coverage Across Platforms

To build on this momentum, we personally followed up with each reviewer who downloaded the book, encouraging them to post their reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, personal blogs and social media.

By the time of publication, Descent of the Drowned had accumulated over 100 Goodreads reviews, with many more added in the following weeks.

Establishing a Debut Author’s Online Presence

These early reviews helped Descent of the Drowned make a splash, giving first-time author Ana Lal Din the visibility and credibility needed to build a loyal readership from day one. A thoughtful NetGalley strategy helped position this debut novel for long-term success.

Developing a Niche Media Strategy that Sparked International Attention

When Holocaust survivor Laureen Nussbaum set out to share the story of her family’s escape — with the help of a little-known German official, Hans Calmeyer — her memoir Shedding Our Stars deserved global attention. But in a crowded market of Holocaust-related titles, standing out would require a strategic and creative publicity plan.

Overcoming Visibility Challenges with Smart Targeting

Despite the enduring historical significance of the Holocaust, new titles often face steep competition for coverage. Books Forward stayed resilient, persistent and adaptable, utilizing highly specific media targeting. We built a list of journalists who consistently covered:

  • Holocaust survivors and memoirs
  • Anne Frank (whom Laureen knew personally)
  • Stories of Germans who resisted the Nazi regime
  • Local human interest stories in Seattle, where Laureen resided

This granular focus helped us find fresh entry points for outreach and enabled highly personalized pitches.

Strategic Pitching Leads to International Media Wins

Thanks to our targeted efforts, Shedding Our Stars earned feature stories, reviews and interviews in major international outlets including:

These placements built strong early momentum and meaningful reader engagement.

Real-World Impact and a Successful First Print Run

As a result of this strategic media campaign and Laureen’s powerful story, the book’s first print run sold out within just a few months, triggering a second printing. Perhaps most importantly, Laureen achieved her personal mission: spotlighting Hans Calmeyer’s brave acts of resistance. Readers wrote in asking to learn more about him, demonstrating the profound impact of sharing untold stories with the right audience.

Helping an International Author Connect with a U.S. Audience

When New Zealand author Christopher Parker came to us with his debut novel The Lighthouse, we felt we had discovered something truly special, and we couldn’t wait to help U.S. readers discover Christopher’s storytelling as well!

To introduce Christoper’s author brand and debut novel to a wide audience here in the States, we knew our best strategy was to get his book directly into readers’ hands. We designed a gorgeous promotional #JourneytoSeabrook box mailing full of interactive swag to introduce readers to his mysterious and fictional town of Seabrook, Oregon. We implemented a strategic mailing to top American social media influencers and were gratified to see the buzz building quickly!

We also coordinated a Little Free Library giveaway that got Christopher’s book placed in 50 prime locations across the U.S., and we managed an advertising campaign to entice prospective reader fans and grow his email list.

Post-launch, we wanted to build on the momentum already rolling by coordinating a comprehensive e-newsletter campaign for The Lighthouse. We worked with Christopher to discount his ebook (for a limited time to $.99) and put it in the inboxes of thousands upon thousands of avid readers, dramatically helping boost the novel’s review count and stateside awareness. We also made sure to share his audiobook on industry platforms, where it was well-received by dozens of librarians, educators and reviewers.

Christopher’s readership continues to grow after our work together. To date, his book has more than 2,000 reviews on the American version of Amazon and an ever-expanding audience worldwide. He told us:

“It’s definitely crazy to go back through that document and review all the milestones and achievements we were able to reach. Definitely a lot to celebrate. Just yesterday I had the librarian from a town in Parkersburg, West Virginia email me to say how much she loved the book and she’s promoting it around the library and it’s now got a waiting list on it. To get messages like that is just crazy and really demonstrates how far and wide the book has been able to go (and it’s not over yet!)

Thank you again to you all for your hard work and the effort you put into publicizing my novel, and thank you also for your encouragement and support along the way. It was definitely a nervous process sending my baby out into the world but knowing I had you all in my corner and championing the book made it a lot easier.”

Finding Big Advantages in Small Towns

Big cities like New York and L.A. get plenty of literary attention, but did you know that setting your book in a smaller city–especially one you have a real-life connection to–can have big advantages?

Mystery author Roger Johns went to college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And since the town has always had a special place in his heart, he decided to set his Wallace Hartman mysteries there. This was a smart move, as the relative scarcity of books set in Baton Rouge helped Roger’s books stand out from the highly competitive mystery crowd. 

Books Forward highlighted Roger’s local connection and tenaciously pitched Baton Rouge media, which responded well to the series. We landed a full page spread in the local newspaper (which has a 100,000+ daily circulation), a feature in Southern Distinction magazine and made a splash on local radio. 

Roger’s local connection also caught the interest of indie booksellers, who were eager to promote a book set in their backyard–and his fun and gregarious nature did the rest! We knew he’d be perfect for events, and prioritized his book tour to give him a chance to shine. Roger happily hit the road and appeared at multiple bookstores, festival and conferences. The many personal connections he made with booksellers and readers ultimately paid off, securing him return-spots at events in the coming year.

Leaning into your local connections, no matter how “small,” can give your book a big boost!

Helping a Genre Publisher Find a Mainstream Audience

As one of the most respected Christian publishers in the industry, Tyndale’s authors have traditionally found success among Christian booksellers and readers (also called the Christian Booksellers Association or CBA market). The publisher knew their titles could also find a wider readership beyond the CBA market. When Tyndale approached us about creating a strategy to promote their titles to a more mainstream audience, we were happy to assist!

Christian and mainstream markets intersect the Southern U.S., (which was also where some of the Tyndale authors were based), so targeting booksellers and readers in that geographic region was a natural first step to not only maximize Tyndale authors’ genre influence, but extend to a broader, receptive audience. We positioned Tyndale’s authors for optimum visibility at the Southern Independent Booksellers Association Tradeshow (SIBA), where they were able to network with and promote to thousands of mainstream Southern booksellers and influencers who were not exclusively faith-based.

We also coordinated blog tours and secured coverage for Tyndale’s authors, including now New York Times bestseller Lisa Wingate, with online reviewers and influencers who cover a diverse variety of genres, which helped expose these wonderful books to mainstream readers across the worldwide. 

With some strategic geographic positioning and creative online exposure, we’re pleased to say that Tyndale’s titles did indeed find a host of new fans beyond their original genre market, growing the publisher’s and authors’ platforms!