Book Marketing Plan for Self-Published Authors: The 90-Day Version

Days −60 to −31

Stage one: lock and build.

Everything that must be final before any promotion can start. Nothing here is visible to readers; all of it decides how the visible stages perform.

Lock the metadataFinal title and subtitle (how to choose one), cover, blurb, the two KDP categories, seven backend keywords, price, and the trim size if there's a paperback. Changing any of these later invalidates every asset built on them.

Build the asset kitThe reusable set every later stage draws from: 3D mockups, 8–12 on-book images at feed sizes, 2–3 short scene videos, a hook-line bank of 10–20 lines, character cards, A+ modules. Made once, used for 90 days. This is the stage we exist for — we generate the kit from the manuscript.

Set up the plumbingAmazon Author Central page, a reader-magnet and newsletter signup (BookFunnel + your email tool), a link page, your Meta pixel on any page you control, and Amazon Ads and Meta Ads accounts opened now so they're out of review before launch.

Start the ARC listRecruit 30–100 advance readers (your list, genre ARC groups, BookSirens or similar). Reviews live on launch day are the single biggest difference between a page that converts ad traffic and one that doesn't.

Days −30 to −1

Stage two: warm the room.

Pre-order (or not)

On Amazon, pre-order sales count on the day they're placed, not launch day — so a pre-order spreads your rank instead of stacking it. Use a pre-order if you have a list that will buy on announcement and you want the listing live for ARC reviewers and ads; skip it if your whole push is launch week.

Content begins

Start the social cadence three to five times a week from the asset kit: cover reveal, trope cards, a scene teaser, a character intro. Two newsletter emails: the reveal and the “it's next week” with the ARC quotes you have.

Seed the reviews

ARC readers get the book with a date to review by. Goodreads listing live. Aim to have 10+ reviews queued for launch day; 20+ is when ad conversion visibly changes.

Book the promos

Paid newsletter promos (Freebooksy/Bargain Booksy, Fussy Librarian, Robin Reads, and BookBub Featured Deals if accepted) book out weeks ahead. Reserve launch-week and week-three slots now. Most run $20–$150 per slot outside BookBub; BookBub Featured Deals run from the low hundreds into four figures depending on genre.

Days 0 to 7

Stage three: launch week.

The goal is concentration: as many sales and page reads as possible inside one seven-day window, so Amazon's rank and also-bought signals notice the book. A plan that fits in one line per day:

Day 0–1: your people

Newsletter at 9am local with one link. ARC readers' reviews go live. Launch posts on your platform with the best scene video. Reply to everything. If you launch at a discount (99c is common for a series opener), say so plainly and say when it ends.

Day 2–4: paid push

Newsletter promo slots fire. Amazon Sponsored Products go live on your comp-author keywords at a modest daily budget. A small Facebook/Instagram ad behind the post that already performed organically. Budget band for a first launch: commonly $5–$20 a day on Amazon and the same on Meta — enough to read the numbers, not enough to hurt.

Day 5–7: second wind

Second newsletter: “it's live, here's what readers are saying” with two review quotes. Post the character intros and the second scene video. Check the first Amazon search-term report. Note the rank peak and the review count — that's the baseline for the long tail.

Launch-week on-book ad image for a self-published romance — part of a book marketing asset kit — Three pieces of one asset kit, generated from the manuscript of one of our own pen-name titles in stage one and used across stages two to four.

Book marketing creative: paperback staged in a scene from the story, feed-sized — Three pieces of one asset kit, generated from the manuscript of one of our own pen-name titles in stage one and used across stages two to four.

Days 8 to 90

Stage four: the long tail.

Ads on the winners onlyKill the creative and keywords that didn't convert in week one; put the budget behind the two or three that did. Weekly, not daily, adjustments. A book with a converting page and one proven ad can run profitably for months.

Week three promoThe second newsletter-promo slot you booked. A price drop with a promo stack (two or three newsletters on the same day) often beats the launch peak, because the reviews now exist.

Cadence drops, never stopsSocial falls back to two or three posts a week from the same kit. Newsletter once a fortnight. Every post still points to one link.

Point everything at the next bookThe back matter, the newsletter and the A+ comparison chart all push toward book two. For series authors, read-through is where the launch actually pays; the first book's job is to be found, the series' job is to be finished.

The three numbers: (1) reviews — count and rating, because they gate conversion; (2) page conversion — orders ÷ sessions from the KDP dashboard for paid traffic, with anything under about 5–10% meaning fix the page before buying clicks; (3) cost per sale or per read across ads and promos, judged weekly against royalty per copy. Rank is a symptom of these three, not a goal.

Fair questions

Marketing plans, asked often.

How far in advance should I start marketing my book?

Sixty days before launch is enough for a self-published title if you use the time to lock metadata, build the asset kit, recruit advance readers and set up ads accounts and a newsletter. Visible promotion starts around 30 days out; the concentrated push is launch week; ads and promos continue for at least 60 days after.

How much should a self-published author budget for book marketing?

There is no fixed figure, but a realistic first launch commonly runs a few hundred dollars: a creative kit or design costs, paid newsletter promos at roughly $20–$150 a slot (BookBub Featured Deals cost more), and $5–$20 a day each on Amazon and Meta ads during launch week. Scale what proves it converts; do not pre-commit a large budget before the page has reviews and a measured conversion rate.

Should I do a pre-order on Amazon?

Use a pre-order if you have an audience that buys on announcement and you want the listing live for ARC reviewers and ads. Skip it if your whole push is launch week, because Amazon counts pre-order sales on the day they are placed, which spreads your rank instead of stacking it into the launch window.

What assets do I need before a book launch?

A final cover and blurb, 3D mockups, a set of on-book images at feed sizes, two or three short scene videos, a bank of hook lines and captions, character cards, Amazon A+ modules, a reader magnet and newsletter signup, and ads accounts already open and out of review. Built once in the first stage, the same kit carries all ninety days.

What numbers should I track during a book launch?

Three: review count and rating, because reviews gate conversion; page conversion (orders divided by sessions from the KDP dashboard) for paid traffic, with fixing the page before buying more clicks if it is low; and cost per sale or per read across ads and promos, judged weekly against your royalty per copy. Sales rank is a result of those three, not a target.

A book marketing plan for self-published authors.