If you’re an indie author, you don’t just need words at your disposal. You also need design expertise. After all, once the book is written, you’ll need a host of eye-catching marketing materials, including bookmarks, postcards, book trailers, memes and much more.
Not to worry. The Internet has tons of resources at your disposal that can help you master your projects with finesse. Here are a few of my favorites:
Canva is an online, easy-to-use design tool that almost anyone can learn. It offers an extensive library of over 400,000 design templates, allowing you to make almost any marketing material you’ll ever need. You can design and even schedule your social media posts right through the platform for a seamless marketing effort.
For example, you can create:
• One-sheets for your book and media kits • Promotional material for book signings • Book trailers • Branded social media posts and headers • Memes with reviews of your books
Canva has also added a CanvaAI version to its platform, which can help speed up design even further! You simply give Canva a prompt as to what you would like it to create for you, and it pops out several designs to choose from and even customize further.
BookBrush is the author-specific version of Canva. This platform provides social media and ad designs tailored specifically for authors, with features like 3D book covers, other images and buttons to add to your designs, and over 1 million backgrounds to choose from within their library. When this article was written, BookBrush was offering 20 free mockup images for your book marketing when you sign up for the free version. Of course, you can always upgrade to get more services.
Fiverr: For those who don’t want to create marketing materials themselves in Canva or BookBrush, Fiverr is the answer. This is a platform that gives you access to freelancers all over the world who can do almost any marketing task you need. Most services can be purchased for just $5, but prices range depending on the service you’re looking for.
Fiverr designers can create book trailers, printed marketing materials, and more, and can offer continued support throughout your book launch for any needs that arise. Staying out of the weeds of hands-on creation tasks allows you to accomplish more in other arenas.
MockupShots: This is another fan favorite. With this book promotion tool, authors can easily upload their book covers into their program and it will create 600+ designs with your book cover in it!
MockupShots contains:
• A complete library of 600+ realistic book display images. Just upload your cover and instantly see it shown on a 3D book.
• Book images with see-through backgrounds; place your book on any website, flyer, or social media post without a white box around it.
• Fun, customized GIFs of your book
• Easy-to-use book editing software
• Video software that puts your book into an attention-grabbing video in only 10 seconds
• And more!
Mockupshots makes creating content for social media easy so authors can spend less time designing, and more time writing.
Book marketing is not a simple task. Make it easier by enlisting the help of these online tools!
Amanda Miller is a self-publishing consultant with My Word Publishing who is passionate about guiding authors through the maze of self-publishing and helping them bring their written works to life. She is a writer of poetry and nonfiction essays. If you have a book in you, contact Amanda at [email protected]
BlueInk Review offers serious, unbiased reviews of self-published and traditionally published books penned by writers drawn largely from major mainstream publications, such as The New York Times and Washington Post, editors of respected traditional publishing houses and high-profile blogs. Select reviews appear in Booklist magazine, a highly respected review publication that reaches 60,000 librarians. For more great tips about writing, publishing and marketing, sign up for our free newsletter.