A friend is working on his first book.

He reached out for advice and asked me these questions (edited lightly for clarity)

“How to go from being an unknown author with no following, how to get people to see the book, and how to reach out to potential customers and market the book. Improving social media exposure. Getting more attention on platforms. Creating a following. How?”

Sharing what I shared with him.

Everyone is unknown before they are famous.

Everyone starts from scratch.

The best time to start building visibility and audience for anything you want to launch was 2 years ago.

If you missed that bus, give yourself at least 100 days. 6 months is even better.

And, go with the platforms/formats where the algorithm is helping push the content. For the current times, those platforms/formats will be LinkedIn, Instagram Reels, and TikTok (globally, outside India).

Post there consistently and daily ideally 2x a day, content related to what you are going to launch. Learn the ins and outs of that platform by observing other successful creators and by taking some short courses.

2nd month onwards, start asking your audience to sign up for the launch list. Plan to create special offers for those on your launch list. These can be something that complements your book.

After 100 days, start talking about your book, and in the 5th-month launch it and ask your audience to buy.

It’s as simple as this. Of course, there are nuances. If you want to discuss building visibility for yourself or your book, DM me on Twitter.