Start from your releases, not from tactics
A marketing plan built from tactics (“post daily on TikTok, run Facebook ads, start a podcast”) collapses by March because nothing on it has a reason to happen on a given day. A plan built from release dates has a spine: every release gets a 12-week runway (the book launch timeline), and every gap between runways has a job — grow the list, work the backlist, rest. Put your release dates on the calendar first. If you don’t know them yet, decide your release pacing before you decide your marketing.
The four channels, and why only four
- Newsletter. The one audience no platform can take from you. Grown with a reader magnet, kept warm with a regular issue, multiplied with newsletter swaps. Every other channel exists to feed this one.
- Backlist and pricing. A first-in-series at a low or free price, a box set, a Countdown Deal on an older title. Your backlist is the marketing budget you already paid for.
- Launches. The 12-week runway and release week, where demand is concentrated so Amazon notices. Two to four per year is the working-author rhythm; more than that and the runways overlap.
- Paid and partner reach. Promo newsletters (BookBub Featured Deals, Freebooksy, Fussy Librarian and their peers), swap partners, and Amazon or Meta ads. Powerful — and a way to set money on fire if the first three channels aren’t in place, because paid traffic lands on a product page and a list that can’t hold it.
Social media is not a fifth channel; it is a feeder for the first one. Use whichever platform you genuinely enjoy to send readers to your magnet, and give yourself permission to do the others badly or not at all.
The 12-month template
This version assumes two releases, in April and October. Slide the blocks to match your own dates; the pattern holds for one release or four.
| Month | Mode | Newsletter | Backlist & pricing | Launch | Paid & partners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | List growth | Refresh reader magnet; 2 issues | Price-check every title against the shelf | Foundations for April (cover, blurb, categories) | Book 2 swaps for April release week |
| Feb | Runway | 2 issues; cover reveal tease | Countdown Deal on book 1 of the April series | Heat: preorder up, ARCs out | Apply for a promo-site feature on the series starter |
| Mar | Runway | Release email drafted and scheduled | — | Countdown: files due 4 days before release | Confirm swaps; schedule release-week promo |
| Apr | LAUNCH | Release issue + follow-up | Series-starter price drop for release week | Release week; watch categories daily | Swaps + promo land in release week |
| May | Follow-through | Read-through issue (“what’s next”) | Box set planning if the series has 3+ | Post-launch review: what worked | Small ads test on the new release, if ready |
| Jun | List growth | 2 issues; new magnet swap round | Free run or Countdown on oldest title | — | Swaps every 2 weeks |
| Jul | Rest / draft | 1 issue | — | — | Pause paid |
| Aug | Runway | 2 issues; tease October | Price-check again | Foundations for October | Book October release-week swaps |
| Sep | Runway | Cover reveal; release email scheduled | Countdown Deal on the series starter | Heat then countdown | Promo-site application; confirm swaps |
| Oct | LAUNCH | Release issue + follow-up | Series-starter price drop | Release week | Swaps + promo land |
| Nov | Follow-through | Holiday-gifting issue | Box set or bundle release | Post-launch review | Ads on the box set if margins allow |
| Dec | Plan | Year-in-review issue | — | Next year’s release dates | Annual budget; renew what paid |
Budget: time before money
The honest budget for most indie authors is 2–4 hours a week outside runways and 6–10 hours a week inside them. Money comes second and should be earned by the books: a common rule is to spend on paid reach only what last month’s royalties can cover, and only on a series with read-through, because ads on a standalone rarely pay back. Promo-site features run from free to a few hundred dollars (a BookBub Featured Deal is the expensive, effective end); swaps cost nothing but a slot in your own issue.
Measure it in KDP, monthly
One review a month, same day every month, using the numbers KDP already gives you. Units and KENP per title from the Sales Dashboard; settled money from Prior Months’ Royalties (the KDP reports guide explains which report to trust). Three questions: did the list grow, did the backlist hold, did the launch beat the last one? If a channel can’t answer one of those, it isn’t a channel — it’s a hobby, which is allowed, as long as you know.
What to cut when life happens
Cut in this order: paid reach first, social second, backlist promos third. Never cut the newsletter and never cut a runway once it has started — a release with no runway is a release you paid for and didn’t market. If a year becomes a one-release year, move the second runway rather than compressing it; the plan bends, it doesn’t break.
Perfect Year HQ builds this plan for you, around your real pace
Perfect Year HQ is a done-for-you author planner: all 12 months mapped to your energy seasons with protected rest, every release with its runway and deadlines on one calendar, 20 one-press marketing plays that hand back finished work (a launch timeline, a month of newsletters, 30 TikToks), a swap admin team that runs your promo weeks, and your real KDP sales synced hourly to show whether it worked.
See the Perfect Year →Questions authors ask
What should an author marketing plan include?
Your release dates first, then four channels placed around them: a newsletter grown with a reader magnet and swaps, backlist and pricing moves, a 12-week runway for each launch, and paid or partner reach once the first three work. Add a time budget, a money rule tied to royalties, and a monthly review using KDP reports.
How many hours a week should I spend marketing my books?
Two to four hours a week between launches and six to ten during a 12-week launch runway is realistic for a working indie author. Protect the writing first; a marketing plan that costs you the next book is a bad plan.
How much should a self-published author budget for marketing?
Spend time before money. A common rule is to spend on paid reach only what last month's royalties can cover, and only on a series with read-through. Newsletter swaps are free, promo-site features run from free to a few hundred dollars, and ads should be a small test after the newsletter, backlist and launch channels are working.
Do I need social media in my author marketing plan?
Not as a channel of its own. Social media is a feeder for your newsletter: pick one platform you enjoy, use it to send readers to your reader magnet, and let the rest go. Your newsletter is the only audience a platform cannot take away.
How do I measure whether my marketing plan is working?
One monthly review in KDP: units and page reads per title from the Sales Dashboard, settled income from Prior Months' Royalties, plus subscriber growth from your email tool. Ask three questions each month — did the list grow, did the backlist hold, did this launch beat the last one?