How Author Visibility Drives Book Sales (And Why It Comes First)
Why readers usually need to see, recognize, and trust us before they buy our book
This is Part II of the Author Visibility Series. If you missed Part I, start here: Why Book Marketing Has No Easy Button. Please subscribe so you don’t miss the rest.
Let’s talk about one of the more frustrating truths about book marketing and author visibility:
Author visibility comes before sales in book marketing.
Most writers want it to work the other way around. We talk about our book; people immediately buy it; the angels sing. I wish that were how it worked. Truly. I mean, this would make my job way easier. It’s less a philosophy and more a sequence:
No visibility → no awareness → no trust → no sales.
💥 Gratitude to my exclusive advertising sponsor, the always-free Booklinker, and the paid tool, GeniusLink. I love both💥 (affiliate link).
Readers need to see us, recognize our name, and understand what we write about. Eventually, they begin to trust us (think about it: what got you here reading this?). Then, sometimes weeks or months later, they buy. Our marketing may not have been working visibly at that moment, but the earlier steps are doing their job.
After more than fifteen years of helping authors with book marketing, I see this pattern all the time. The writer thinks something is broken, the marketing isn’t working, ergo the book and marketing must be invisible.
Usually, it’s none of those things - patience, Grasshopper. It’s still early.
Quick note, because writers often mix these up: visibility and discoverability aren’t the same thing. Visibility is when readers notice you. Discoverability is when readers go looking for something and find you (I’ll discuss this in a future post in this series in great detail).
Both matter, but visibility usually comes first. The cycle looks something like this:
Visibility → trust → discoverability → readers → sales.
People Can’t Buy a Book They Don’t Know Exists
Before someone can buy your book, they have to know you exist. Sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to forget. Writers tend to focus on sales because sales are easy (haha) to measure. Visibility feels slower and less satisfying.
Without visibility, sales struggle to happen at all. If readers have never seen your name before, they can’t search for you. If they’ve never encountered your book title, they won’t remember it or you, in most cases (always exceptions).
Visibility simply means people are beginning to notice that you and your work are ‘out there.’
Marketing research reflects the same pattern. A long-standing marketing concept you’ve probably heard of is the “Rule of 7,” which suggests people often need to encounter something at least 7 times before taking action. I heard this a lot in my previous life as a Big Pharma rep (recovered now, thanks).
Most Readers Don’t Buy the First Time They See Something
Think about how you discover what to buy as a consumer (books, products, courses, shows, restaurants, etc) yourself. For our purposes, let’s stick with the book example.
If a friend mentions a book once, we might forget about it. If we hear about it again later, we may start to remember it. But wait, then we see the title a few more times online or hear someone else recommend it, and suddenly it feels familiar.
That familiarity matters more than we sometimes realize. We’ve all done this, right?
People usually notice the book first, recognize it later, and buy when the moment feels right. Psychologists call this the “mere exposure effect.” Research shows people tend to like and trust things more when they become familiar with them over time.
That’s visibility doing its job, y’all.
Familiarity Is Not Annoying
Writers often worry they’re repeating themselves when they talk about their book more than once (and when I say ‘talk,’ I don’t mean spamming ‘buy my book’ constant slop).
In reality, most readers see our content far less often than we think. 🤔
You’re the one seeing your own posts every day. Your readers might only see one out of ten, depending on where you’re posting and who or what the platform's algorithm gods decide to bless that day.
Repetition isn’t annoying in marketing. It’s how recognition happens. Visibility might look like mentioning your book again later, sharing a quote from it, talking about the ideas behind it, or writing about the story behind the story.
The sale may not happen right away, but recognition is forming.
Readers Buy on Their Own Timeline, Just as We Do
Another piece writers often forget the second we hit publish: readers operate on their own timeline. You don’t stop being a book consumer just because you wrote one. Think like the reader, not the writer.
You may be obsessing stressing kvetching thinking a lot about your book every day because you wrote it and launched it. Your reader is thinking about work, family, bills, and what to do for dinner. The connection is somewhere in between.
Someone might discover you today, buy your book three months from now, perhaps subscribe to your newsletter first, and maybe buy another book later. They might ignore your first few posts, then suddenly click on something that finally resonates and perhaps subscribe or purchase.
Earlier visibility matters, and often helps prepare the reader (and you) for that ultimate connection = the book sale. I’ve seen this happen countless times with authors I work with: someone subscribes to their newsletter, reads quietly for months, and then suddenly buys two or three books at once.
Visibility was working the entire time. We just couldn’t see it yet. Trust the process.
Visibility Shows Up in Smaller Ways First
Sales are only one sign that marketing is working. Often, the earlier signals look different.
You might see more people subscribing to your newsletter, readers might start replying to your posts or sharing them, someone might recommend your book to a friend, or mention your writing somewhere else online.
May not look like revenue yet, but these are all signs that people are noticing you. Your work is circulating. You’re connecting. Now keep at it.
A Healthier Way to Think About Marketing
If you expect every post or newsletter to immediately produce sales or put you on a leaderboard, marketing becomes discouraging very quickly. Give everything time to gain traction. Breathe.
TIP: Quick tip from years of watching this happen:
If you create a tag or keyword that nobody knows (e.g., blue bunnies in space), you’ll likely have less success than if you can find a balance between a more general genre (e.g., fiction) and get specific with the sub-genres (science fiction).
Also, if you’re writing here on Substack, hashtags don’t hyperlink, so skip ‘em.
Writing already asks a lot emotionally. Marketing doesn’t need to add daily disappointment and frustration to the mix. Build slowly, engage as you can, and create a super-strong foundation that makes sales possible over time.
Visibility is Crucial. So is Trust.
Visibility isn’t the consolation prize while we wait for sales; it’s the stage that comes first. Readers need chances to notice us before they trust us. Rule of 7, etc.
They need trust before they buy. And most people need to see something more than once before they even remember it. Think about it this way: Are you more likely to purchase a book about marketing from me or some rando on the net? Readers are no different.
As you know yourself as a consumer, trust is a major factor in buying decisions. The Edelman Trust Barometer reports that more than 80% of consumers say trust influences their purchasing decisions. We’ll discuss trust more in Part III.
Walk Away With This
If your marketing feels slow, I want you to ask yourself these three questions:
Are more people discovering my work?
Are more people recognizing my name?
Are more people beginning to trust what I write?
If the answer to any of those questions is yes, visibility is growing. You’re doing great. Sales often follow later. Adjust expectations. Have a little fun!
Marketing feels slower than you expected? Doesn’t automatically mean you’re failing. You may simply be in the visibility stage. And that stage matters more than most writers realize.
The truth is simple: Most authors don’t fail because their writing is bad. They struggle because readers never get the chance to find them.
If this helped make book marketing feel a little less mysterious, feel free to share with another writer who might be wondering why their marketing feels slower than expected.
And if you’d like the rest of this series, subscribe so you don’t miss the next part.
Most of what I write focuses on book marketing, Substack growth, writing and productivity, and helping writers become more visible online without losing their minds in the process. Sometimes I write about sci-fi, too.
If you’re figuring out Substack as you go (aren’t we all), you might like my free section, Substack Tips. I share what’s working, what’s not, and little tips I wish someone had told me sooner.
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Thanks for reading and being part of this little corner of the writing world. I’m really glad you’re here.
📕📘📗 I’ve also written three books just for writers if you want to go deeper:
https://badredheadmediallc.substack.com/about 🌻
This is a short series about how author visibility works. Click Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.
Part I: Why Book Marketing Has No Easy Button
Part II: How Author Visibility Drives Book Sales - you are here.
Next: Part III: Trust, Authority, and Long-Term Author Platform - Visibility may introduce readers to us, but trust is what eventually turns readers into buyers.
In the age of AI, trust in the person will become even more important than it was before.
Building genuine connections is what makes Substack so extraordinary. Before I pivoted in 2021 focusing exclusively on writing and editing, I worked as a life and business coach for 15 years, and I would always tell my clients, and remind myself, that sales are not what matters most. Service does. Numbers are not what matters most. Energy does. I love your approach and awareness, and you’d better believe I’m hitting that subscribe button!