Facebook was once again named the most popular social media platform in 2022. Authors are acting accordingly, taking advantage of the platform’s huge audience to get books into the hands of new readers.
if you’re already using facebook for your author pages, great. if not, it’s time to take advantage of this place for readers! facebook has made it easier than ever to create these pages with ready to use templates. These templates allow authors to tailor content to the exact needs of their audience.
You are reading: How to sell books on facebook
Navigating through these features can be confusing, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Set aside 15 minutes, grab a cup of coffee, and check out these tips to help your author page get more engagement and get your books into the hands of more readers. Don’t you have an author page on facebook yet? see our post on how to create one.
change your facebook author page template
There are several templates to choose from that will change the information available on your facebook author page.
the templates available for your facebook page are:
- standard (you will choose this)
- business
- places
- non-profit
- political
- services
- restaurants & cafes
- shopping
- video page
You’ll notice that none of these say “for authors,” but we found the standard template to be the best for authors to promote their books in the most direct way possible. Previously, Facebook allowed Pages with the Shopping template to list products for sale on other sites. unfortunately, that functionality has been removed.
changing your template
You probably have the standard template selected, but in case you don’t, here’s how to change it.
- click settings on the left side of the screen (under “manage page”) when you see your author page. you may need to scroll to the bottom of this list to find it.
- select templates and tabs on the left side of the screen.
- click the “standard” button from all the template options.
- click the “apply template” button.
configuring your tabs
once you have chosen your template, a system of default tabs will appear below it. You will need to activate the offers tab, which will show the books you have for sale. activating the offers tab is easy. here are the steps:
- from the templates and tabs page, scroll down to the bottom of the list that says “tabs”.
- turn on the switch next to “offers “. ”
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now you should reorder all your tabs to put offers first and then list the events tab second. reordering tabs is easy, just click and drag. here are the steps:
- stay on the templates and tabs page.
- all tabs are listed in the order they appear on your page.
- click and drag the six black dots next to the word offers to move it to the first position.
- click and drag the events tab to the second position.
configure your offers
The best way for authors to list their books on facebook is to bid on each title on their author page. To start creating offers, return to your author page, click the offers tab and select create offer.
on the left side of the screen, under “create new offer”, change the discount typeto custom
You can then enter your book title under “product or service” and your book description under “description (optional)”.
Next, click add photo on the left side of the screen and upload an image containing your book cover. this image needs to be at least 500px wide and 262px tall, so just your cover won’t work. we recommend using a program like canva to put together something with a nice wide background.
then set the offer to expire as soon as possible. usually this is one year from the day you create the offer (you can always create a new offer for the book after the first one expires, so we recommend setting a reminder or calendar event for the next year).
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under “where is this offer available?” select online and enter a url of a page where readers can purchase your book. for most authors, this will be an amazon link.
make sure buy now is selected under “button” and provide information on any relevant terms & conditions or promotional codes.
press publish!
customizing your offer button
Beneath your author page cover image on the right side of the screen, you have the option to add a custom button for your offers. here, you can direct readers to your amazon page or website with just one click.
- click the blue button that says “+ add a button”.
- choose the shop on the website option at the bottom of the list .
- Insert a link to your author page on Amazon or another general location where readers can find all of your work.
- Click save.
Readers can now click the “buy now” button to see all of your work.
create an event
Are you going to be at a conference or local event and want your readers to know? organize a facebook event so your followers know when and where you will be. To create an event, go back to your author page, click the events tab, and then click “create new event” in the top right corner.
Fill in all the information for an online or in-person event in the form that appears. then publish or schedule the event for when you want it to go up.
that’s it!
once you’ve followed these steps, you’ll have a facebook author page optimized for book sales and event participation. With nearly two billion daily Facebook users, spending some time optimizing your Author Page is a great way to reach more readers. the easier it is to buy a book, the more likely it is that readers will buy it. With an easy-to-access store, event listings, and advanced publishing tools, Facebook is a great platform for converting potential readers into fans.
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