Indie Authors, Global Readerships: Keys to Success with Digital Self-Publishing

As an indie author, it can be difficult to find your feet in the industry in the traditional sense, but self-publishing has always offered an alternative route to success. In the age of ebooks and digital publishing, it has become even more viable, as it effectively enables you to broaden your potential reach and boost your chances of selling copies while simultaneously keeping overheads low. Of course, there are challenges associated with digital self-publishing that goes beyond just technical aspects like ebook formatting.  So, let’s talk about what to consider when trying to capitalize on self-publishing and some steps you can take to improve your chances of building a global readership.

Understanding digital publishing and distribution

By publishing digitally and making your work available on online platforms, you can effectively achieve international distribution, which is attractive as a new author. Apple Books and Amazing Kind Direct Publishing are two great examples of platforms that can help you to get your name out there, build a readership, and increase the potential to generate income from your writing.

While digital book platforms do provide greater visibility for your work, however, the reach they offer is not always global in the way it first seems. Each platform has a different selection of countries in which it is available, for instance, as well as terms and conditions. Likewise, some platforms can have larger user bases than others in certain regions. For instance, Amazon, Apple, and Barnes and Noble may have the most widely used platforms in the US, but Google or lesser-known platforms like Tolino or Kobo may be more popular in other regions. 

It is important to keep these factors in mind when choosing where to distribute your work, as some platforms may impose certain restrictions. Distribution via Kindle Unlimited, for instance, will require you to agree to an exclusivity period, which could be detrimental to sales if the platform is not the right place to reach your particular audience. Likewise, some content may not be available in certain places due to country-specific censorship, so it’s important to do thorough research before deciding where to distribute your work.

Maximizing appeal and discoverability

Having published your work and made it available on your preferred distribution platforms, your next focus is reaching out to your intended readership. Depending on who that is and where they reside, you may need to go to some lengths to tailor your marketing and promotion. Even if you are selling an English-language book to an English-speaking audience, you will likely need to localize your accompanying content to suit the culture-specific sensibilities of readers.

Likewise, to get the best possible results on distribution platforms, you’ll want to work on search engine optimization (SEO). Everything from the title and subtitle of your work book to meta information like its description, categories, and tags can affect how it sells in different regions, so it’s advisable to do your research to see what keywords and terms will boost your book’s discoverability most effectively. Making your book easily findable to readers using search engines will boost your chances of sales, which will in turn help it become more prominent on your chosen distribution platforms.

When determining what terms to choose, you can use tools like Google Trends to help you determine what terms are ranking in different regions. Then, you can go about tweaking your content to optimize performance in specific regions. You can also use social media content to check trends in relevant niches and post localized content to promote your book. In some cases, you encounter geoblocks that prevent you from seeing or posting content in certain parts of the world, but this is easily solved by using a free VPN. Then, you can optimize your SEO and your social presence.

Monitoring performance and building engagement

Once you’ve got your book selling online, you’ll have access to new data, so you can start tracking and analysing market performance. This is often easy to access, too, as the biggest distribution platforms will typically provide an analytics dashboard where you can view important metrics. 

By accessing this, you can check sales according to region. You can then determine in which regions your book is selling best and which require some attention. By analysing the data and spotting emergent trends, you can determine where you need to refocus your efforts and begin to devise a strategy to better engage readers.

Depending on your goals, you may feel it necessary to create new marketing and promotional materials to drive sales in specific markets. Or, you may find it more appropriate to go the route of grassroots engagement, participating in online forums, writing blogs or newsletters, or posting online polls and discussion topics on social media to start up conversations and create buzz around your book. 

There are many different ways to optimize sales, but ultimately, it’s about engagement and resonance. Building a genuine connection with your intended audience is the best way to establish a strong readership long term, so that should be a key consideration of your approach.

Wrapping up

Self-publishing has always been a great alternative option for ambitious writers without an abundance of industry connections. Now, in the digital era, things are more democratized than ever, and as an indie author, you’re no longer limited by logistics or geography. With a good understanding of the digital publishing landscape and the right strategy, you can build an audience and turn your digital book into a bona fide global success story.