When it comes to marketing books, the holiday season is a key opportunity to boost sales. Getting your book featured in gift guides is one way that book marketing services pros will promote it, but there are other strategies to increase your visibility online and in the media. While books sell throughout the year, focusing on maximizing sales in November and December can lead to higher overall sales volumes. People who are hard to shop for are often excellent candidates to receive books as gifts. They can be in genres with established interests or fresh ones that open their eyes to new topics. 

In-store and online promotions working together are most effective, especially with the trend of large retailers embracing an "omnichannel" concept. By selling in all channels, you can reach people where they shop. While local bookstores can contribute to sales, chain stores, and big box retailers generally have higher volumes. Online, the largest booksellers command staggering market shares and are crucial to your sales success. A renewed marketing push during the holiday season can be lucrative if your book was released earlier in the year. Capitalizing on all available annual sales periods is beneficial.

Specific genres like children's and cookbooks tend to do particularly well during this time. Children's books, for example, are almost exclusively purchased by parents and grandparents and make favorite gifts. Likewise, cookbooks are often added to gift lists or purchased by those who already own copies to gift to others. Timing your book release to coincide with the winter holidays can also be advantageous, especially if your book has a seasonal topic. Optimal launch times vary widely and depend on the book and author. It’s wise to benchmark against other in your genre whose books have been successful.

However, it's also important to consider less competitive launch months to stand out among fewer competing titles. Regardless of the release date, you can expect increased sales during peak gift-giving times. If your book has a seasonal topic, it is crucial to ensure you release it when people will be most interested. It's a wise way to go after higher sales. One final note consider is that many of the most successful titles sell consistently in a slow-drip style, accumulating impressive sales over time. It’s understandable to drams of a bestseller with an avalanche of initial sales, but it doesn’t always happen.