Reaching out to book influencers is a great way to market your book. Why? Because you’re getting your book in front of someone’s audience, that is also your ideal audience. However, it can sometimes be challenging to capture the attention of book influencers. A lot of it comes down to how you pitch, which is precisely what we’re going to be discussing in today’s newsletter.
Today, you’ll learn how to find the right influencers to pitch to and write a pitch that grabs their attention.
8 Tips for Effectively Pitching to Book Influencers as an Author
1. Find Influencers in Your Niche
Finding the right influencers is the first step to successfully pitching your book to influencers. That means using hashtags, such as #romancereaders, #fantasylovers, and #thrillerreads, to find influencers in your genre to reach out to. Look for posts that feature books and determine whether they are reviews or recommendations. That way, you know they share this type of collaboration post. You can also check their Instagram or TikTok bio, or their website, to see if they review books.
When discussing this topic, ensure you are contacting influencers with a diverse following. Don’t only reach out to influencers with 20K followers. Include ones with small to medium followers as well. They’re more likely to respond!
2. Engage with Influencers on Social Media
Before reaching out, follow the influencer on social media and engage with their content. This indicates that you genuinely appreciate their content. It’s also helpful to do this if you’re contacting them via direct message (DM) instead of email. They will be more inclined to respond to your DM if they see you liking their posts and leaving a couple of thoughtful comments.
3. Try Out Multiple Pitch Templates
Experiment with pitch templates to determine which ones yield the best results with influencers. Have one template for book influencers on social media and one for bloggers. Have one template that’s a bit shorter and one that includes more information about your book. I always recommend keeping it on the shorter side (2-3 short paragraphs), but sometimes a more thoughtful message lands better with an influencer.
Make sure to include these key ingredients in your pitch template:
- A strong email headline.
- A personalized introduction, such as mentioning a post of theirs that you really liked.
- An engaging one-liner that sums up your book to intrigue them.
- A media kit that provides them with more information about your book.
- A call-to-action, like “If this is something that interests you, I’d love to send you a free copy in exchange for a feature on your Instagram account.”
4. Highlight the Value of Collaborating with You
Why should the influencer say yes? Explain the value of your collaboration for them in your pitch. For example, the value could be that they receive a free copy of a book they might enjoy, as well as sharing a new book that their followers might like. It can also be helpful for you to highlight the value to yourself. Perhaps you truly admire the influencer, and it would be an honour to see your book featured on their page. Or you are a new author who is really trying to connect with new readers.
5. Offer a Free Copy of the Book
Unless you are willing to pay influencers (which some require), you are expected to provide them with a free copy of your book in exchange for featuring it on their social media page or blog. While I always recommend giving physical copies, you can also offer digital copies. Some people do prefer reading on Kindles!
Before contacting influencers, order however many physical copies you are prepared to give away, so they are ready to go when the influencers respond. For the Kindle copies, you can gift those through Amazon.
6. Keep Your Pitch Short & Sweet
I mentioned a bit about length earlier, but ultimately, people are busy. Personalize the pitch, but also get straight to the point so it doesn’t take them too long to read. Especially when it comes to bigger influencers. Here’s an example pitch to get an idea of length:
Subject: Free Copy – {Insert Your Book Title}
Hey [Influencer’s Name],
I came across your Instagram account and loved how you encourage families to get outside and connect with nature! I wanted to reach out because I recently published {INSERT BOOK TITLE & LINK TO AMAZON}—a fun, hands-on guide that teaches kids essential outdoor skills like shelter building, water sourcing, knot tying, and much more!
I’d love to send you a free copy in exchange for an honest review on Amazon or a shout-out on your social media. I think your audience of adventurous traveling families would enjoy this book, and it’s a great resource for kids looking to build confidence and independence in the outdoors. I have attached a media kit that highlights more information about the book for your review.
Let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll send a copy your way!
Thank you!
Zoe
7. Design and Attach a Media Kit
A media kit provides the influencers with everything they need to know about your book. It’s a great addition to an email pitch (you could send a viewable link with your DM pitch, too!) because it means you don’t have to spend too much time sharing about your book in the actual email.
Here’s what I’d include in my 5-page media kit:
- Page 1: The book cover, title & author name
- Page 2: The book’s synopsis
- Page 3: Reviews of your book
- Page 4: A look inside your book (you can either take a screenshot of a Kindle page or insert a quote)
- Page 5: About the author + links to your social media and website
8. Don’t Be Afraid to Follow Up
And don’t be afraid to follow up! If you haven’t received a response after one week, send them a gentle follow-up. I recommend providing a one- or two-sentence summary of your previous email and stating that you’d really love to collaborate. Avoid being too pushy, though!
BONUS TIP: This is a valuable bonus tip that can significantly enhance your pitch. And that is showing gratitude. Always be mindful of the influencer’s time and work capacity, and show appreciation for their time, even if they decline to participate. This also means being flexible. If they are interested but don’t have time right now, offer to send a follow-up email in a couple of months to see if their interest remains. And, of course, always say “Thank you.”
I’m a social media manager who specializes in helping authors grow their online presence and turn followers into readers.
Whether you’re launching your first book or looking to boost ongoing sales, I create tailored strategies that help you build an engaged audience, establish a consistent presence, and sell more books without the stress.
Ready to grow your author platform and get your stories in front of the right readers? Let’s connect!
Zoe Mathers Creative 